The New York Yankees dropped the first game of the Subway series with the Mets at Citi Field on Tuesday. Despite Aaron Judge’s grand slam, Gerrit Cole’s horrendous 6-run start doomed the Yanks to a 9-7 final scoreline. While Cole’s shortcomings were highlighted, the non-performing veterans were also not left off the hooks.
Fans and critics came hard on DJ LeMahieu and Gleyber Torres, who have yet to come through with the bat and the glove on the field. Recently, DJ went hitless against the Mets, and despite massive backlash from the crisis, manager Aaron Boone has come out in defence of the veteran third baseman.
Aaron Boone Calls For Patience As DJ LeMahieu’s Struggles Perpetuate
New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone recently came to the defence of DJ LeMahieu amid the veteran infielder’s prolonged hitting slump. The veteran third baseman made his season debut in the final week of May after recovering from a foot injury that led to a prolonged absence. However, DJ has looked off-colour since return. He is slashing .185/.280/.185 with an abysmal .465 OPS. On Tuesday, DJ’s lacklustre and as many as 4 hitless at-bats led to the Yanks’ 9-7 loss. However, despite the concerning slump and calls for his demotion, team manager Aaron Boone urged fans to come down soft on LeMahieu. “We’ve just got to be patient and hope that he continues to work through and eventually clicks through,” Boone said.
However, it’s been over three weeks since DJ LeMahieu’s return, and he has yet to provide an extra-base hit for his team. If this isn’t alarming, than I don’t know what is. Nonetheless, if Aaron Boone thinks it’s not that serious, the Yankees must be having the same feeling as well. But the team perhaps needs to consider the message they want to send to someone like Oswaldo Cabrera or even Oswald Peraza, who are stripped of their well-deserved chances in the major league just because of a non-performing veteran with a storied past. Moreover, while the team sits comfortably at the top of AL-East right now, the postseason qualification is still not guaranteed. Until and unless the offence fails to show consistency, the Yanks cannot take long-term success in the season for granted.
‘No Excuses’ Gleyber Torres Takes Blame For Yankees Offensive Struggles
Besides Gerrit Cole and DJ LeMahieu, Gleyber Torres was a key culprit of Yankees 9-7 loss to Mets on Tuesday. He went hitless in four at-bats and also messed up a couple of routine plays at second base which left the fans as well as manager Aaron Boone furious. Following the backlash, Torres accepted his mistakes.
“It’s not easy. I know that I can do better. No excuses,” Gleyber Torres said. He added that everything about his offence this year has been disappointing. He sees a lot of areas to improve and reaffirmed that he is working hard behind the scenes to get locked in. However, time is running out for Torres, who is, in fact, about to hit free agency in 2025.
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