Inside The Pinstripes

Yankees Hope Awful August Can Serve As Wake-Up Call

New York went 10-18 in August, their worst performance in a single month since September of 1991.

Max Goodman

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ANAHEIM — After back-to-back walks from Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton to begin the top of the ninth inning on Wednesday night, with the Yankees down one run at Angel Stadium, New York was in prime position to finish their West Coast road trip—and the month of August—on a high note.

Instead, the Yankees remained dormant on offense. Josh Donaldson and Gleyber Torres both struck out swinging before pinch-hitter Oswaldo Cabrera bounced harmlessly to second base, unceremoniously ending the threat and the game with one swing.

Factoring in Wednesday's 3-2 loss in Anaheim, the Yankees went 10-18 (.357) in the month of August. New York hasn't lost that many games, or produced that low of a winning percentage, in a single month since September of 1991.

The optics of August are even worse than those numbers suggest. After making a slew of impactful acquisitions ahead of the trade deadline, New York rattled off 14 losses in their next 17 games. Then, after a quick winning streak and flashes of life, the Yankees began to spiral once again. New York went 3-4 against the lowly Athletics and Angels on this West Coast trip, limping into September while beginning to hear footsteps in the standings for the first time in months. 

Like shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who sat patiently at his locker after the final out, awaiting questions about his costly error in a three-run sixth inning, the Yankees are holding themselves accountable.

"Brutal. I think all of us in here are not happy about last month," Kiner-Falefa said. "It's a long season and hopefully we can rebound from it. Maybe it might be a good wake-up call for us. Try to look at the positives out of it, but we're not happy about the last month. We're just happy to turn the page."

Now would be a good time to wake up. New York holds a six-game lead in their division. That's still a sizable margin, but it used to be as high as 15.5 games. With six of their next 10 games coning against the Rays—a foe that's looming in second place in the AL East—that lead could be gone by the end of next weekend.

"We'll have to shower this one off," starter Gerrit Cole said after the loss. "A new month coming up and plenty of games left."

Cole went on to say that this team doesn't have time to dwell on their record over the last several weeks (and months). He said their focus is on the next game, keeping in mind that they're in a tremendous position to make it into the postseason and do some damage when they get there.

Manager Aaron Boone added that the first step in righting the ship is getting healthy and bringing the best of certain key contributors that haven't held up their part of the bargain lately. 

"We're a little banged up within the lineup and obviously missing some key pieces that we need to get back," Boone explained. "That said, we have all the pieces right now to be able to go out and win baseball games and that's what we've got to take care of. The unfortunate part of the last several weeks for us, has been we've been losing those close games and that's what we've got to find a way to punch through. I think a big part of that is just getting a few guys going from a performance standpoint, from a health standpoint."

Injuries are obstacles, though, not excuses. Boone and the Yankees understand that. 

"We've got to play better than we have lately, simple as that," the skipper said. "We've got to start racking up some wins. Whether the calendar has an eight or a nine or a 10 on it, you gotta get a little better"

New York's record in August won't make a difference if they can finish strong and make noise in the playoffs. Until this team proves that it can put that type of production in the rearview mirror, questions about what this team is truly capable of will continue to flow. 

"It all comes down to how we answer and if we can go [to Tampa] and answer them and keep our lead, it's all we can do," Kiner-Falefa said. "So at this point, we've just gotta play better, flip the page. Hopefully this next month, we can take momentum into the postseason and hold onto our lead."

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Yankees for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. Goodman has been on the Yankees beat for three seasons. He is also the publisher of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Jets site, Jets Country. Before starting Inside The Pinstripes, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. At school, Goodman was an anchor and reporter with NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. While at Northwestern, Goodman interned with MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman. You can connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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