The New York Yankees finally saved face! Thankfully, they stole a win on Sunday night from Boston, but no one is fooled, really. Because the cracks are too obvious, the energy is down, and the excuses feel like deja vu at this point. If fans are saying, “This is not a good baseball team right now,” they are not too far from the truth. And no matter what Boone or Aaron Judge tries to do to downplay what is happening.

And now, the clash is happening within the team too. Like Judge has been a DH for 12 straight games, and when Boone was asked if the captain would be back to his role, he was not positive. Speaking on WFAN, the manager said, “I don’t think we’ll see him throw as usual the rest of the season.” But Judge disagreed, saying, “I don’t know why he said that. He hasn’t seen me throw for the past two weeks. I’m pretty confident I’ll get back to that.” Ouch! Now, Judge is not someone who speaks out openly—but he did.

However, even after that protest, don’t expect Aaron Judge to highlight everything. After the Sox beat the Yankees 12-1, Judge’s post-game tone was calm, maybe too calm. “There’s nothing we can do about the 100 games we’ve played. We have to focus on what we can do now. That’s all we can do.” And this nonchalant reply didn’t sit well with everyone.

The lack of urgency didn’t go unnoticed by others. On the Locked on Yankees podcast, hosts just ripped Judge’s comments, “You should be embarrassed with the way you’re losing to your biggest rival in your division…Aaron Judge isn’t a good captain…” You can’t let a team like the Red Sox come in, who lost three in a row after you’ve won five in a row, and do this to you in your home stadium.” And well, for a franchise that’s built on that heritage, this one must sting hard.

Plus, even Boone clapped back at what the judge said, “It’s a shame. It feels really bad… have to get over that. We can sit here and think about it. We have to play better.. have to play better against these quality opponents in our division.” Well, the real kicker is that the Yankees are beating the weaker clubs. They are not able to beat strong ones like Boston, so how will they stack up among the best in the postseason? Even if they make it, they can’t go far with this gameplay. And things have gotten so bad, even their rivals are not afraid of them anymore.

And fans don’t want to hear about Stanton’s hot streak or Chisholm’s potential fireworks. They watched their team lose three of four to the archrivals, looking lifeless in the process. Sunday’s win was at most a band-aid.

Yankees finally get past Red Sox as Devin Williams finds redemption

If the nickname Roman Empire is going to stick, then maybe Devin Williams needs to do a lot more. He needs to steady the New York Yankees’ bullpen mess. Williams came into Sunday with a 5.00 ERA and two demotions from the closer role, so not the dominant force fans were promised. But then, he surprised everyone.

See, the Yanks were in deep need of a win this weekend. Because dropping all four games to the Red Sox at their home stadium would have marked their first such sweep since 1939. An 86-year drought that Boston would have loved to joke about. Plus, with Dustin May lined up against Carlos Rodon, the pitching matchup did look lopsided, right? And Saturday’s 12-1 looked like it was the end for the Yanks winning even one.

But then came Sunday, and then something changed. Trent Grisham launched two homers. Chisholm Jr. blasted his own, and Luke Weaver bridged the gap. Then suddenly, the Yankees had a three-run lead heading into the eighth, after which Williams got the call. And make no mistake, the Boston Red Sox were not sending out scrubs.

Alex Bregman is healthy, Anthony is up from the minors, and Story has been on fire. But Williams just blew them in order, and nothing mattered. They got their first win over their archrivals—a relief after eight straight losses. Yes, for sure, Grisham and Jazz got the bigger spotlight, but Williams honestly was the turning point.