Recently, the Yankees have been extremely forthcoming about the team being flat-out bad.
Seemingly, every Aaron Boone press conference and soundbite includes some mention of frustration or the need to unlock the team. Players are self aware about the fact that they need to start winning games yesterday, today, and tomorrow, rather than framing it as something that will happen in the faraway future. General manager Brian Cashman, who expected to be lording over an American League powerhouse, said “we’ve been everything but”.
The sense of agita is obvious, and the feelings of those in the Yankees organization mirror those of fans who have spent all season pulling their hair out. These feelings have permeated to Bridgewater, N.J., where a rehabbing Luke Voit spoke about the Yankees’ offensive sinkhole at first base. He has a strained oblique that’s held him out of the Yankees lineup for more than three weeks.
“Our first-base position has been the worst in baseball,” Voit said during his media availability with the Double-A Somerset Patriots. “That’s on me, obviously, not being able to be there. It’s frustrating not being able to partake and see what’s going on in the locker room. I gotta do some damage when I get back out there.”
During the same session, Voit mentioned that it’s still fairly early in the season, and said that he should be back “just in time, in the thick of it, right before the All-Star Break.” Boone reinforced that message prior to Wednesday’s game, implying that the barrel-chested first baseman could be back even sooner.
“I know he’s in a really good place physically,” Boone said. “Hopefully this week can simply be about getting some at-bats so he’s ready to hit the ground running when he gets with— us, whether that be at the end of the week or after the off day (on Monday the 21st).”