On a humid August Sunday afternoon, the hit Neil Diamond song “Sweet Caroline” rained down throughout the ballpark just as the home team was sweeping up the visiting team. No, I’m not referring to what the Boston Red Sox did to the Houston Astros when the Sox swept the ‘Stros, but what the Miami Marlins did to the New York Yankees.
Oh, and the Red Sox did jump the Yankees in the AL East standings over the weekend, relegating the Bronx Bombers to third place. The franchise has fallen far from the nine-game lead the Yankees had on the Red Sox back in mid-June.
There’s plenty of blame to be shared amongst the team and within the organization for the team’s lackluster performance.
Fans can look towards the team’s handling of shortstop Anthony Volpe. Volpe, who came up through the Yankee farm system and was touted as the next Derek Jeter by the franchise, has been an abomination defensively. Volpe is tied with the Padres’ Manny Machado and the Reds’ Elly De La Cruz with 15 errors on the year so far.
Machado may be an albatross at third base this year, but he more than makes up for it with his bat and being the face of the Padres. De La Cruz may struggle defensively at short, but he’s still a raw talent expected to spearhead the Reds’ direction over the next few seasons.
Volpe came in with high expectations and, while they were unfair to him, he still has not even come close to the ceiling he was expected to hit by even the most conservatively hopeful Yankee fans.
Volpe has been rumored to be injured since he was hit by a pitch back in early June against the Red Sox. If that is the case, the Yankees have been practicing team malpractice running him out there for as long as they have. He’s appeared too tense and is trying too hard out in the field. Yes, he’s been hitting home runs since the All-Star break, seven to be exact. However, the only comparison that comes to mind is Jameis Winston’s 2019 season, where the quarterback threw 33 touchdowns and 30 interceptions.
As stated, Volpe doesn’t deserve full blame. It comes down to many of his teammates looking dead and despondent at times during losses. Ask any Yankees fan, and they will tell you that once they get down in a game, they do not appear to have any fight. It’s as if they’ve already waved the white flag.
Manager Aaron Boone may do his best to cover up his team’s mishaps with a lipstick that would make Kylie Jenner blush, but the ugliness is still there. Every press conference and appearance on Jomboy’s podcast shows Boone trying his damndest to rally his guys through the media. It’s an old tactic managers and coaches have used throughout time, but in the past, it usually came with some truth attached to it.
NHL Coach John Tortarella has never been afraid to use the media to acknowledge when a player is playing poorly, but he would also speak to the player through the media to try to have the player get it together and rally to play to the best of their abilities. Boone, on the other hand, has feigned away from critiquing players like Volpe, or anyone on the Yankees, for that matter.
Earlier in the season, when Volpe’s troubles were starting to pile on, clubhouse reporter Meredith Marakovits had a testy exchange with Boone where the Manager said the shortstop was “f—— elite.”
It’s a lack of accountability that truly angers Yankee fans and sees many of them moving onto football season while the team begins to free-fall in the standings.
The Marlins, after finishing their sweep, returned to a .500 record for the first time since April, when they started 8-8. The team has battled back to hopeful days after starting 24-40. Their reward? Sitting in third place in the NL East.
Perhaps the best encapsulation of the Yankees’ season this year was not just the Marlins trolling the Yankees with Neil Diamond, but during a routine infield fly to second by Paul Goldschmidt on Saturday. The Yankees’ runner on first, Jazz Chisholm, idly stared up at the pop-up to second and showed no urgency to tag back at first base, granting the Marlins a double play.
The Yankees are still sleepwalking from the disaster that was Game 5 of the 2024 World Series. There’s no word on when they will wake up.
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