The Yankees‘ struggles this season have hit a new low, and now the losers of four of their last 15 officially have manager Aaron Boone “very concerned.”
Speaking to reporters over Zoom after Sunday’s 7-0 loss to the Phillies in Philadelphia, Boone showed his first sign of dejection.
“Very concerned,” Boone said about the state of the team and their seat 8.5 games back in the AL East standings. “Obviously a couple tough losses…but not able to amount much against [Aaron] Nola, who took a lead and was on the attack and dictating counts right away. But we’ve got to find a way to get better.
Boone has been notably positive throughout all of the Yankees’ struggles this season, but with the team now just one game above .500 and fourth in the division, things have shifted.
“We’re going to find out,” Boone said as to whether or not this type of play is who the team is. “We’re going to find out what kind of character we’re made of. We’re clearly in the midst of incredibly tough times, we’ve faced it throughout this season, and we’re going to find out what we’re made of and if we’re the team we think we are. …We need to step it up, period.”
The Yankees can jump back into third in the division later this week when they face the Toronto Blue Jays, who are currently 1.0 games ahead of them.
The AL East leading Tampa Bay Rays are 8.5 games ahead of the Yanks, while the Boston Red Sox are 5.5 ahead.