The New York Yankees fans will well remember those glorious years, where back-to-back championship wins were the norm. Where other teams were talking openly about being intimidated to be in the Bronx. But here they are now—a place where teams want to come and play the Bronx Bombers—because they are that easy to win against. Ask skipper Alex Cora; he just talked about how he loves coming to Yankee Stadium!

That is just adding insult to New York, given that the Boston series was already a huge embarrassment. Because NY came with an edge, they had a five-game winning streak—and logic says they will keep the momentum, right? But errors, miscues, and bad baseball were the truth for the Yankees. Sure, they won the last game of the series, but when your archrivals beat you 12-1 in a game, it doesn’t really fly under the radar, does it?

Now, even Aaron Judge, who usually is calm and composed, broke character and brought the accountability factor—something Boone and Cashman have been unable to do. The judge said, “Coaches can’t fix that, fans can’t fix that, and the media can’t fix that. It’s the players in this room. We’ve got to step up.” He’s not wrong. The Yankees as a whole are playing bad baseball. And yet, time and again, the front office has been masking the way the players have been playing. Ask Boone how he defends, Volpe! But while Judge points out to the locker room, there is a lot more going on, and the media’s role can’t be ignored.

Clint Frazier, on his podcast, recently called out the New York Post for twisting his words and making a clickbait title. “The Yankees won’t win the World Series because they are dumbasses [__]—Clint Frazier.” The Yankee veteran explained that the context was missing and just the sizzle was left. He had mentioned, too, that the Yankees could win if they didn’t make those mistakes. Frazier then went out to point out how the media spins everything for clicks. And if they can do so to a retired player, then imagine what they would do to Judge or the clubhouse.

Honestly, it is no surprise that players like Judge have been so “vanilla” until now about the Yankees’ run this season. As far as Judge goes, he is hitting just .197 in the second half, and even the solid defenders are booting balls under the harsh spotlight in baseball now. Fans are simply restless, and every mistake hence is making a huge headline. For now, given Judge himself is forced to break his stoic self to inject urgency, it’s a reflection of how things have gotten bad at the clubhouse. He even had to hold a player-only meeting. Only one might argue, why hold it in the middle of the most happening series and not before it?

Still, Judge is not only just to be judged; Cashman and Boone have much to carry.

Even Aaron Judge can’t save the Yankees from Cashman and Boone’s mess!

Aaron Judge might be trying his best to pull the ropes, hold players accountable, and maybe inject that zeal into the roster. But here is the thing—this isn’t just about the players. The front office has been a mess for a while, and the lion’s share of it hence goes to Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone. It’s something, though, that Hal Steinbrenner has always turned a blind eye towards.

Let’s start with Brian Cashman, the one whom fans call the “architect” of this mess. And honestly, it’s hard to argue, because for years he has been playing the contract gymnastics to get around Steinbrenner’s imaginary payroll line. On paper it looks clever, but in reality it leaves the team paying $43.7 million for nothing. They paid off Aaron Hicks, DJ LeMahieu, and Marcus Stroman—two of them are gone, and one is simply irrelevant. Hicks, in fact, has not worked the pinstripes even since 2023, but he is still cashing those checks.

That is why even after a rather bloated payroll, the Yankees have spent half of the season without even a real third baseman. Plus, Cashman’s moves to fix the roster have been questionable. From the Devin Williams trade to the half-hearted bullpen patchwork at the trade deadline. None of them worked, and it looks like he is trying to fix problems he created in the first place. Then you also have Boone!

Boone simply doesn’t want to hold his players accountable. Volpe looks lost as a shortstop, but instead of making a switch to Jose Caballero, Boone makes excuses. Though Caballero feels like a better defensive option, Boone defends Volpe’s miscues as “good plays” that have gone wrong. By now, the Yankee fans are asking if Volpe has something on the skipper. Not just this, Boone has made several errors, like his infamous Nestor Cortes call in last year’s World Series.

So while Judge is right that players need to play better, maybe the GM needs to help build a contending team. And the manager needs to put players in a position to succeed. What do you think?