By WFAN.com
Mike Francesa welcomed Yankees manager Aaron Boone on Wednesday evening to discuss Gleyber Torres' slump, Luis Severino's command issues and J.A. Happ's impact.
Torres is batting .122 with 3 home runs and 7 RBI through 13 August games. Through 82 games, the rookie second baseman is hitting .258 with 18 home runs and 52 RBI.
"I think he's just hit a little funk in the season where he's going through a rough stretch at the plate a little bit," Boone said. "You're trying to dig yourself out of that. You hit some balls on the nose that you don't get hits for. Similar to what we've seen a little bit with Gary (Sanchez) this year, where you start chasing that hit because you're in a little bit of a funk. Any player goes through this over the course of the season. I don't think this is a case of him hitting the wall or being tired. I think he's in a good spot physically. It's a matter of time before he gets rolling again."
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Cashman also commented on Severino's recent struggles. Severino gave up four earned runs in four innings pitched against the Mets on Monday.
"I think it comes down to fastball command -- first and foremost," Cashman said. "Once that gets back to where it needs to be, the rest will follow. It's also manifested itself a lot in the first inning. The first inning has been a big issue for him and even through this stretch, I feel like there's been some outings where it hasn't been great -- but for good portions of the outing -- it has."
J.A. Happ has stabilized the Yankees' rotation since donning the pinstripes. Happ is 3-0 with a 1.89 ERA since joining the Yankees.
"He's really good," Boone said. "He's a really good pitcher. I think that's evident. I don't think he's really gotten the credit. Even through this trade deadline, he was a guy that I was really hoping we would be able to get. He's been way underrated. This is a dude. There's no question, he's come in and really helped stabilize us."
Happ is 13-6 with a 3.86 ERA in combined duty with the Toronto Blue Jays and Yankees.
