In the middle of a visitors’ clubhouse in Texas, a big man stood out as the New York Yankees went through a 22-30 stretch in their last 52 games. As the holder of baseball’s once-richest contract, a 13-year, $325 million deal, gave a five-minute speech that broke the team’s complacency, every player sat still at their lockers. The silence stayed after he was done. Nobody said anything. This wasn’t a coach’s tactical analysis or a manager’s strategic pep talk. It was something much stronger from a man who has hit 453 home runs and rarely speaks his mind.

That voice in August was Giancarlo Stanton’s. He is a $325 million slugger who rarely makes waves in public. After a terrible walk-off loss to Texas on August 4th, Stanton yelled at his teammates with a level of anger that no one had ever seen before.“A wake-up call,” Captain Aaron Judge called it. Infielder José Caballero admitted it was “the first time I really had a one-player meeting,” while third baseman Ryan McMahon acknowledged, “We kind of needed somebody to get in our a–es like that.”

In October, the Yankees are in a situation that is very similar to the one they were in before. New York is down 2-0 in their Division Series after Toronto beat them 13-7 on Sunday. The Blue Jays have scored 22 runs to the Yankees’ 1 in the first two games, which means the Yankees need to win one more game to stay in the series. The smell of losing filled their clubhouse, and the players tried to wash away the shame by taking showers.

Stanton’s message reached more people than just those in that Texas clubhouse. The Yankees finished with a record of 34-15, which was the best in the majors during that time. “Knew we were so much better than that,” Stanton reflected during their Wild Card celebration. “I can say I felt pretty bad about it for a while afterward. I meant no harm with it.” Judge emphasized the impact: “A coach can say it or a front office person can say it, but hearing it from one of your guys that’s out there battling with you every day…it’s a good little reality check.”

But as the Yankees get closer to being out of the playoffs, a harsh truth comes to light. Aaron Judge will be 34 years old next April. His best years are slowly slipping away without a championship. He has already changed his game because of the flexor strain in his right elbow. He missed games from July 27 to August 5 and couldn’t patrol right field until September 5.

Runners are openly challenging him on the bases, which is putting his hurt arm to the test. Even though he could win his third MVP award in four years, Judge has only had one extra-base hit this postseason. In two games, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has had more exciting moments than Judge has had in his entire playoff career. Another early exit would mean another season lost with their captain at his best. This raises the urgent question: How many chances do they have left before Father Time and injuries catch up?

Toronto’s dominance exposes the Yankees’ vulnerability

When you look at how thoroughly Toronto took them apart, it’s easier to see how bad New York’s crisis is. The Yankees lost 13-7 on Sunday, but it wasn’t just another loss. It was a systematic breakdown that left them with a 2-0 series deficit and a combined scoring disadvantage of 23-8 over two games.

Trey Yesavage’s performance was a perfect example of how things were going wrong for the New York Yankees. The rookie pitched a no-hitter through the sixth inning and struck out 11 batters, breaking the Blue Jays’ postseason record. It looked like the Yankees’ hitters were completely outmatched and couldn’t figure out how to hit him. Toronto’s offense added to that great pitching by hitting five home runs, the biggest of which was Guerrero’s grand slam, which sent Rogers Centre into a frenzy.

Game 3 will take place at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday at 8:08 p.m., but the challenge is still very hard. New York fought hard to stay in the Wild Card series against Boston, but that seems like a lifetime ago now. Toronto got the AL’s top seed over New York even though both teams finished the regular season with 94 wins and 68 losses. Toronto won their head-to-head matchups 8-5.

The Blue Jays have kept that dominance going into October. Stanton’s fiery speech in August turned things around once before, but words alone won’t save the Yankees this time. They need to do well on the field, find quick fixes, and maybe even get a break or two to keep their hopes of winning the championship alive for another season.