New York Yankees Lose Eight Straight, Worst Skid Since 1995

Posted on: August 22, 2023, 08:37h. 

Last updated on: August 22, 2023, 09:45h.

Pauly McGuire Read More
Expertise: Sports Betting, Sports.

The New York Yankees have lost eight games in a row, which is the longest losing streak since the 1995 season. The Bronx Bombers are also on the cusp of posting their first losing season in over 30 years.

Aaron Boone Yankees
New York Yankees manager Aaron Boon is ejected after arguing balls and strikes with a home plate umpire, Chris Guccione, during a game at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. (Image: Getty)

The Yankees sunk to 60-64 this season during their recent skid. They occupy last place in the American League East and trail the first-place Baltimore Orioles by 17 games. They’re now 9.5 games back in the American League wild-card race.

The Yankees are 24-39 since Aaron Judge, last year’s AL MVP, injured his toe after he collided with the outfield wall at Dodger Stadium in early June.

The Yankees were plagued with their inability to score runs all season. Their starting pitching has been disastrous aside from ace Gerrit Cole (10-4, 3.03 ERA, 1.07 WHIP). Less than a month after Domingo German tossed a perfect game, he entered a rehab facility for alcohol abuse.

The Yankees have a multitude of problems, but some of them could have been fixed with aggressive trades at the trade deadline in late July. However, general manager Brian Cashman stood pat while other contenders made bold moves in an obvious attempt to improve their World Series chances.

Other rivals bolstered their rosters with huge trades. The Toronto Blue Jays strengthened their bullpen with Jordan Hicks. The defending champion Houston Astros brought back former Cy Young winner Justin Verlander, and the Texas Rangers added Max Scherzer in a fire-sale trade with the New York Mets.

Out Bombed: Red Sox Sweep Yankees

During their eight-game losing streak, the Yankees were swept by the Atlanta Braves and by the Boston Red Sox.

The Yankees were outscored 20-9 during the three-game series against the Red Sox over the weekend. The Bronx Bombers failed to live up to their moniker and saw their team batting average slip to .230, which is the second lowest in the MLB.

They’ve kicked our ass,” said manager Aaron Boone.

The Yankees hosted a rare team meeting after losing six games in a row, but they failed to end the skid, which is now eight games and counting. It’s the longest losing streak since the Yankees dropped eight straight in August 1995 under Buck Showalter. The Yankees are on pace to finish this season with their first losing campaign since 1992 when they were 76-86.

“We’ve got to figure out a way to play better,” said infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa.

Manager Aaron Boone isn’t one to give up so easily, and he thinks that the Yankees can turn around their season.

“We’ve got to be unbelievable the rest of the way,” added Boone.

The Yankees host the Washington Nationals in a three-game series starting on Tuesday in hopes of ending their losing streak. Struggling lefty starter Carlos Rodon returns to the mound after spending the last two weeks on the IL with a hamstring injury.  Starting this weekend, the Yankees hit the road for a 10-game road trip against the Tampa Bay Rays, Detroit Tigers, and Astros.

Will the Yankees Fire Brian Cashman?

Cashman has been the general manager of the Yankees for 25 years. Only one team that Cashman assembled won a World Series in 2009. For some unknown reason, the Yankees treat their general manager position as a lifetime appointment.

If mercurial owner George “The Boss” Steinbrenner was still alive, Cashman would have been fired sometime in the last decade. Steinbrenner loved to fire front office staff and managers. In his first 23 years as the owner of the Yankees, he switched managers no less than 20 times.

Steinbrenner’s son, Hal, runs the Yankees these days. While the elder Steinbrenner lived and died by every win and loss, the Yankees scion takes a more relaxed approach than his father.

Hal Steinbrenner seems more concerned with running the franchise as a profitable business, and less concerned about the Yankees as a baseball team that has won just one championship in the last 23 years.

Even though the Yankees only won the World Series once this century, Forbes estimates the Yankees are worth more than $7.1 billion.

There was speculation that Hal Steinbrenner would fire Cashman last offseason, but he stood by his long-time general manager. Even with the current status of the Yankees, Steinbrenner hasn’t changed his mind and firmly believes in Cashman.

The Final Days of Aaron Boone

Boone cemented his legacy with the Yankees during a short, one-season stint as their third basemen. Boone hit a walk-off home run in extra innings against the Red Sox in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS that will forever be burned in the minds of fans.

Twenty years later, Boone’s days as a manager are slowly coming to an end. He was brought in to replace Joe Girardi as the manager in 2018. He won two AL East titles, but hasn’t produced a single trip to the World Series or won a championship. The Houston Astros knocked the Yankees out of the ALCS twice under Boone, including an embarrassing sweep last October.

Boone garners significant attention for his arguments with home plate umpires. In the era of instant video playback, Boone gets even more incensed when an umpire makes a mistake. The first time Boone exploded on an umpire occurred in 2019 during the infamous “f–king savages” outburst. That hilarious incident garnered him national attention and demonstrated his dedication to sticking up for his players.

However, Boone chastising umpires has become a tired act and his antics have become easy click-bait on social media. Some fans and former players think Boone constantly riding the umpires hurts the Yankees in the long run.

All signs suggest the Yankees will retain Cashman, but fire Boone. Someone has to be held accountable for the Yankees’ downfall, even though Cashman is the one who assembled a team filled with overpaid veterans and a pitching staff that’s constantly injured.

The only way Boone can save his job would be a miraculous turnaround in the final 38 games.

Moon Shots on the Futures Market

With the playoffs out of reach, this is a chance to see the team’s future stars and showcase minor league prospects such as infielder Oswald Peraza, outfielder Everson Pereira, and catcher Austin Wells.

The Yankees called Peraza and Pereira up to the big leagues on Monday, and they also promoted Jasson “The Martian” Dominguez from Double-A to their Triple-A affiliate in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

FanGraphs estimates the Yankees have a 0.5% chance of making the playoffs. If you think the Yankees have a shot at a postseason berth, then there’s a bridge in Brooklyn I’d like to sell you.

The Yankees are +3000 odds to qualify for the playoffs, according to a prop bet by DraftKings. They are -20000 odds to miss the playoffs.

Before the season began, the Yankees were second co-favorites to win the 2023 World Series at +750 odds. The Yankees are now an astronomical long shot to win the World Series at +40000 odds. They’re also a long shot to win the AL pennant at +25000 odds.