About Last Night: The Yankees Were Stung by the Rays 4-2

About Last Night: The Yankees Were Stung by the Rays 4-2

By Tim Kabel

July 29, 2025

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The Yankees have been a sub .500 team since May 30th. Well, since the All-Star break, they are a .400 team. The Yankees lost two out of three games to the Phillies over the weekend and opened the four-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays with a loss. It was an uninspired game that is yet another example of the seemingly endless Boone-Swoon that has afflicted this team.

Quick Stats – 

·       Tampa Bay won for only the 8th time in 26 games.

·       The Yankees have lost of 8 of 12 games since their five-game winning streak from July 6-11.

·       After seeing 33 pitches in the first inning, the Yankees only managed three base runners for the rest of the game.

·       After the Yankees tied the score, Drew Rasmussen retired 12 batters in a row and 13 of his final 14 batters.

·       On July 28^th, 1995, the Yankees acquired David Cone from the Toronto Blue Jays for minor league pitchers Marty Janzen, Jason Jarvis, and Mike Gordon.

·       Yesterday, Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg passed away after a long battle with cancer. May he Rest in Peace.

The Big Story – 

The Yankees started the season 35-20. They are 22-28 since then. They have been below .500 almost as long as they were above .500 at the beginning of the season. Even if the Yankees were to win the next five games, they would still be below .500 in their second 55 games as opposed to being above .500 in their first 55 games. Does anyone believe they will win their next five games in a row? I don't. The Yankees will then have 52 games left in the season. Basically, they have been a mediocre team for one third of the season. The Yankees have been a losing team for a third of the season. I guess the last third of the year will be the most important one.

Unless things change drastically, the Yankees run the very real risk of finishing the season at or below .500. Would that finally be enough to make Hal Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman replace Aaron Boone? I and many others think they should have done it a while ago, or at the very least, right now. However, there he sits in the dugout, making dubious decisions repeatedly. For example, everyone has noted that Jasson Dominguez has improved greatly as a right-handed hitter as the season has progressed. Yet, despite the fact that he had two of the Yankees hits last night, Boone pinch hit for him with Amed Rosario, another right-handed hitter. Although Rosario did get a hit, that's not the point. Even the announcers questioned the move.

Buckle up, it's going to be a long, frustrating summer as the Yankees stagger toward the end of the season.

Player of the Game – 

Jasson Dominguez had two hits and made an excellent running catch.

Notable Performance – 

Brent Headrick pitched 1.2 innings of scoreless relief with 3 strikeouts.

Better To Forget-

Anthony Volpe was 0-3 with 2 strikeouts. He is now batting .213. 

My Take – 

I have long written that Aaron Boone is an awful manager and that there are many components of his poor managerial skill set. Well, he has finally crossed the Rubicon as far as being a terrible manager of the New York Yankees. He has reached the point of no return.

Last Tuesday, in a game the Yankees won against the Blue Jays, Aaron Judge visibly winced after throwing the ball. He clenched and unclenched his hand. The next day, he was the designated hitter. Aaron Boone claimed that was already planned and had nothing to do with the pain that Aaron Judge exhibited in the game on Tuesday night. 

On Friday, Aaron Judge played the outfield. He could not throw without pain. He stated in a subsequent interview that he could only throw the ball 60 feet. Aaron Boone was aware of this and still allowed his best player, and the best player in the Major Leagues, to play the outfield when he clearly could not throw. That put Judge at tremendous risk. In theory, he could have ended his season. He possibly could have ended his career. If you don't believe me, ask Dizzy Dean.

Aaron Judge clearly wanted to play. Aaron Boone is the manager. Regardless of how great a player Aaron Judge is, he is not the manager. He is a player. It is up to the manager to tell the players unpleasant truths. Is up to the manager to not allow a player to put himself in harm's way because he wants to be out there for the team. Aaron Judge is a selfless player. He will do anything for the team. That is why you have a manager; to protect Judge from himself when he is trying to sacrifice his body for the team.

I honestly believe that when Aaron Judge does return, he quite possibly might have to be the designated hitter for the rest of the season. This nonsense about having Giancarlo Stanton play the outfield had better be just a bunch of talk. After all, the Yankees removed the monuments from the playing field over 50 years ago. They don't need to put a new one out there.

Back to my main point. The fact that Aaron Boone was not able to do his job and keep Aaron judge out of the outfield in a game in which he clearly could not throw is reprehensible. That in and of itself should be enough to have him fired. Boone shouldn't do that to any player let alone the franchise player. Aaron Boone thinks up reasons to pull Jasson Dominguez out of the lineup. Yet, Boone let his two-time MVP and the best player in baseball risk serious and permanent injury because he couldn't stand up to him and tell him, “No, you need to be the DH or take a day off”.

There are myriad reasons why Aaron Boone should no longer be the manager of the New York Yankees. What he did with Aaron Judge last week is the latest and worst example of his abysmal managerial skills. He needs to go, and he needs to go now.

Next Up-

The Yankees will play the second game of the four-game series against the Rays tonight at 7:05 PM at Yankee Stadium. The Rays will use Joe Boyle, (1-0, 1.42 ERA). The Yankees will send Max Fried, (11-4, 2.62 ERA) to the mound. Let's hope the Yankees lance Boyle.