The Yankees are seemingly right back to the bottom they have hit multiple times this season, mired in a poorly-timed losing streak after teasing a return to form that many have waited to see since last season.
After winning nine of 11 entering a crucial series with the Red Sox, the Yanks have now lost four in a row following a 5-3 defeat at the hands of the Angels on Monday night, and manager Aaron Boone was left answering the same flurry of questions that he has since late April: when is his team going to show the collective firepower that everyone expected to see heading into the season?
“We need to put things together,” Boone said. “At times this year it’s been the pitching carrying us through our wins, at times the offense has got it rolling a little bit and we struggled on the bump. I think a lot of teams that have those up and down scenarios, that’s kind of the case. One week you’re swinging the bats at a high level but the pitching is struggling, and vice versa. We gotta find a way to put it all together, and we gotta do it with the people in that room.”
But belief and confidence only go so far, as Boone and the Yankees have stuck by their assurance that the Bombers will play to their potential with each frustrating loss. But April has quickly turned to June, and with July just days away, an early hole is quickly turning into one that can be too deep to climb out of.
The Yanks have no choice but to try and start over once again before losing the season entirely.
“We gotta go do it,” Boone said. “We can throw out all the sayings, but talk is cheap. We gotta go do it. As frustrated as we are tonight…especially coming off the weekend we had, we gotta go out there tomorrow and try to dig ourselves out of this.”
The Yanks’ most recent skid has put them 7.5 games back of first place, sliding to fourth place in the division after showing promise just last week. The team has been looking for a statement win or streak to point to as the origin of a drastic turnaround and return to form, but so far, there have been nothing but false glimmers of hope. That has to change in a hurry before the lights are out in the Bronx during the playoffs for the first time in five years.
“We understand where we are and the importance of these,” Boone said. “It’s gonna be challenging, but the history of the game is littered with teams that have overcome far bigger deficits than us. But again, talk is cheap. We’ve gotta go perform. We have to perform at a high level if we’re to be the club we expect to be.”
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