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The Yankees have lost seven of their last nine games, now standing at 10-9. Despite a split series with the Angels, their performance raises concerns about the team's direction and management under Aaron Boone.
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NEW YORK â Another day, another reason to wonder whatâs happened to the Yankees.
Actually, there are countless red flags that have cropped up since that wondrous 7-1 start. Maybe we just got suckered.
The Yankees, losers of seven of nine, are now 10-9. Itâs impossible to watch Aaron Booneâs press conferences without thinking heâs as lost as the rest of us. The Yankees split their four-game series with the Angels, but they wouldâve been swept had it not been for Angels closer Jordan Romanoâs two blown saves.
In fact, pair Romanoâs failures with Mark Leiter Jr.âs hanging splitter to Amed Rosario last week, and the Yankees would be looking at a 10-game losing streak. So excuse us for dismissing Booneâs insistence that âweâre doing a lot of things wellâ as nonsense.
Heâs wrong, of course. The Yankeesâ offense is currently three players deep (Aaron Judge, Ben Rice, Giancarlo Stanton.) On some days, itâs only one or two.
The bullpen has been consistently awful, allowing 14 runs in 18 innings against the Angels. And even the starting rotation has shown cracks.
Thursdayâs 11-4 loss to the Angels was notable for several reasons. Mike Trout is at the top of the list. (More on him later.) But the fact that , the Yankeesâ interim ace, couldnât prevail against the Angels on their bullpen day represents one of those numerous red flags.
The New York Yankees currently have a record of 10-9.
The Yankees' manager is Aaron Boone, who appears to be struggling to provide clear direction amid the team's poor performance.
The Yankees have lost seven of their last nine games and narrowly avoided being swept by the Angels due to blown saves by their opponents.
The Yankees split their four-game series with the Angels, winning two games but facing significant challenges throughout.

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Fried, who is supposed to be the Yankeesâ last line of defense as long as Gerrit Cole remains on the injured list, lasted 5 1/3 innings. He gave up five earned runs on three hits, three walks and three strikeouts. He was caught without a backup plan âon one of those days when you have to grind through and figure out how to get it done,â he said.
Although not entirely his fault, the Yankees have lost three of Friedâs five starts this season. As the rotationâs pillar, it was Friedâs responsibility to deliver a shutdown performance after the Yankeesâ lucky 11-10 win on Wednesday night.
But the momentum evaporated in the first inning when former Yankee Oswald Peraza slugged a two-run home run over the left field wall. That was the omen. The door was opened not just to the Yankeesâ defeat, but to Troutâs historic performance.
The 11-time All-Star went deep off Angel Chivilli in the seventh inning to become the first visiting player to homer on four straight days in any of the three editions of Yankee Stadium. Trout hit five home runs against the Yankees, even outdoing Judgeâs own hot streak.
Judge went 5-for-17 against the Angels with four home runs. But even before Trout was done stomping on the Yankees, Judge was already in awe.
â(Trout) is the greatest, heâs the greatest of all-time,â the Captain said. âHeâs been fun to watch his whole career.â
Trout accepted Judgeâs praise, but naturally refused to gloat. He instead talked about being locked in all week in the Bronx.
âI felt really good coming into the series out of (Cincinnati),â Trout said. âThere were some balls that were caught that I wish had fallen in, but my at-bats felt great. They felt better as each game went on.â
The head-to-head display between Trout and Judge was a treasure even for the ticket buyers whoâve been seething at Boone lately. The fans murmured in amazement every time Trout cleared the wall. But the distraction was only temporary.
By the time the Yankees slogged off the field, most of the hardcores had already voted with their feet. The ballpark felt mostly empty.
The Yankees are as lifeless today as they were for those long stretches in 2025. Theyâre bound to go on a winning streak sooner or later, but we now know the team that boasted MLBâs best record out of the gate also has a soft underbelly.
Problem No. 1: Boone has virtually no weapons against left-handed pitching. The qualifier exists because of Judge, who remains unstoppable when locked in. But the Yankees are hitting just .160 with six home runs against lefties in 197 plate appearances â and Judge has four of those homers.
Problem No. 2: Boone is inflexible with his platoon system. There was no excuse for sitting Rice and Cody Bellinger in favor of Paul Goldschmidt and Randal Grichuk on Tuesday against left-hander Reid Detmers. None.
I get it that Goldschmidt was signed for a reason. He has to play at least occasionally. But was it really necessary for Rice to sit, even if it meant lefty-on-lefty at-bats? Boone needed to make a one-game exception for Rice, one of the Yankeesâ best hitters.
As for Grichuk, Iâm waiting for general manager Brian Cashman to cut his losses and move on.
Problem No. 3: The Yankees are already sleepwalking.
One scout I spoke to on Monday said, âThereâs something missing with that team right now. Theyâre just not the Yankees.â
Even without specifics, this assessment couldnât be more accurate. The returns of Cole and Carlos Rodon will help. Ryan Weathers and Will Warren will head to the bullpen and give it legitimacy. Perhaps Anthony Volpe will be an upgrade over Jose Caballero.
The good news is that itâs April. Itâs the month for over-reaction. May has a chance to be better.
But the Yankees donât deserve any slack in the meantime. Troutâs home runs were only the tip of the iceberg.
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