Aaron Boone is testing Yankees fans' patience with inexplicable lineup decisions

The Yankees are going for the sweep in Cleveland on Wednesday afternoon, and instead of focusing on their 40 wins, fans are rightfully enraged and confused with Aaron Boone's lineup construction over the last week or so.

Spencer Jones went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer in the team's win on Tuesday night, and he's on the bench today. Yes, left-hander Parker Messick is pitching for the Guardians, but playing the matchups aren't going to get you anywhere when you're down your two best power hitters and starting catcher. The best guys need to be on the field. Jones also needs at-bats vs lefties to gain the experience! He has all of five at the major league level.

And, surprise surprise, Anthony Volpe is getting his seventh start over the last nine games despite hitting .097 with a .248 OPS over the last two weeks. He is legitimately doing NOTHING, and the defense has once again been unimpressive in moments where the Yankees need to make a play.

Ryan McMahon is also on the bench despite hitting .318 with a .614 slugging percentage over his last 44 at-bats. Against left-handed starting pitchers this year, he's hitting .259 with an .801 OPS. Why is he not playing?

Jose Caballero gets a pity start in right field, where, quite frankly, he's not needed. The Yankees have Jones and Cody Bellinger who can handle those duties, with Jones needing as much run as possible before Jasson Dominguez is welcomed back.

We talked about it last night. Aaron Judge is injured and will be out until August most likely. That means everything needed to tighten up. Defense, fundamentals, discipline, lineup decisions, bullpen management, roster moves, etc. Based on what we've seen over the last week, Boone is not up for the task in regard to putting this team in the best position to win.

Perhaps fans can subscribe to the theory that the Yankees are just letting Volpe dig his own grave before he's inevitably optioned back to Triple-A. But it wasn't until he needed major shoulder surgery that the team decided to play it more cautious with him. He was optioned to Triple-A after his rehab assignment concluded because Caballero was playing well. Then he was recalled when injuries took hold on the active roster, and he arbitrarily began to take reps away from Caballero, who was performing better. We'll believe Volpe being held accountable for his performance when we see it.

Volpe had a solid week upon his promotion, but he's now back to unplayable. And for whatever reason, he's getting more reps against right-handed pitchers than Caballero despite Boone saying otherwise when the roster questions began taking hold.

"Playing the matchups" is certainly a way to go about managing, but Messick is one of the best pitchers in MLB. Why would Boone think Volpe has an advantage over a left-hander who owns a 2.40 ERA in 13 starts this season? And why wouldn't McMahon get a chance to keep proving he can perform against left-handed starters?

Don't let a sweep against one of the league's worst offense fool you into thinking the Yankees are built for the long haul if these are the decisions that will reign supreme.

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