A new report from a New York Yankees insider suggests the team's sloppy play this season is less about manager Aaron Boone holding players accountable and more evidence of an organizational problem that starts at the lowest levels.
This has been a rough couple of months for the Yankees. Since June 1, they are six games under .500. A once sizable lead in the American League East has disappeared and turned into a 5.5 game hole. Throughout the season, New York has played some sloppy baseball, and it has seemingly gotten worse in recent weeks.
Manager Aaron Boone has been on the receiving end of the fury from unhappy Yanks fans calling for his job. However, during a Tuesday appearance on the " Foul Territory Show ," Newsday Yankees reporter Erik Boland suggested the team's sloppy play isn't on the skipper. And that there is an inherent lack of focus on fundamentals nurtured throughout the organization.
"The Yankees have been a poor fundamentals team for a number of years now. It's an organizational problem. It's not an Aaron Boone problem," Boland said. "I've talked to scouts assigned to the Yankees' minor league system for years about this, and they've talked about it from the bottom levels all the way up through Triple-A. Fundamentals are not stressed.
"It's all about exit velocity, spin rate, hitting home runs, drive line, all of the things that have become a big part of the sport in the last decade. And there is a place for that," he added. "But what you're seeing is that there isn't an emphasis on playing the game well. You can't measure that stuff, but you know it when you see it, or don't see it."
How the organization approaches talent development and what they coach up is a strategy from general manager Brian Cashman . Not big league manager Aaron Boone. He is the one guiding the focus of the organization. Not every player on the club's MLB roster came through their system. However, Boone doesn't have the power to change the mindset of an entire organization.
To hammer home his point about the lack of fundamentals in the Yankees' system, Boland revealed an interesting story about a former Yankees trip to the minors to rehab an injury five years ago.
"I still remember Didi Gregorious, when he rehabbed for a couple of weeks back in 2019 in the minor leagues, and he came back to the big league clubhouse and told several of his teammates, 'You wouldn't believe some of the s*** going on in our minor leagues.' And he was talking about what I am talking about."
Related Headlines
