Yankees: David Ortiz believing New York has chemistry issues is a tough look

Most New York Yankees fans are aware of what’s wrong with this team. On top of it being somewhat poorly constructed, the leadership isn’t all that great, the front office is stubborn, and the right personalities aren’t steering the ship in the clubhouse.

Many would argue there aren’t any personalities doing much of anything. Who is this team’s vocal leader? We’re really unsure, especially since media members still aren’t allowed in locker rooms.

Nonetheless, us, as fans, don’t see anybody standing out to take said role by the horns. At this point, it’d be evident, don’t you think? Somebody would have emerged over the last two years.

What’s even more concerning is that this isn’t only obvious among fans who are glued to the television for all 162 games. One of the Yankees’ most hated rivals feels this is a paramount issue affecting the identity of the Bombers.

That would be Boston Red Sox legend David Ortiz, who spoke with the New York Post and answered a few questions pertaining to the Yankees.

Whether you love Ortiz or hate him, you can’t deny that someone of his stature understands what might be wrong with a “contending” roster with so many accomplished players.

When asked, “What do the Yankees need to be champions? What kind of players do they need?,” here’s how Ortiz responded:

"They don’t need more players. They need new chemistry. They got the talent. But the chemistry comes from the talent. If you have no chemistry you can have the best talent and you’re not going to win."

Would you disagree? You’ve seen how this team operates in postgame press conferences. You’ve seen how they respond to criticism/when their backs are against the wall. You caught wind of the Gerrit Cole/Brett Gardner rumor that may have affected the locker room balance.

It’s really not a farfetched theory for why this team has massively disappointed for two straight seasons now. We admittedly complain a lot about how this lineup largely relies on the home run ball, but that doesn’t affect the way this team executes the basic fundamentals of the game and how individual players associate with one another and the media.

Unfortunately, we can assume all we want, but we likely won’t have any concrete answers until some sort of tell-all book comes out 20 years from now detailing everything we believed was happening the last few seasons.

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