Brutal Anthony Volpe burn shows how far Yankees' shortstop has fallen

There's nothing like playing in New York for the Yankees. Rival fans can't wait to see you fall. Home fans turn up the heat while they're seeing you fall. Sometimes, even theoretically impartial media sources roast you when you've done nothing wrong, and also done nothing well. You've just ... done nothing? And yet you're still getting roasted?

Anthony Volpe has borne the brunt of it this season, and it's everyone's fault. The screaming hordes waiting to jump down their throat. The people for whom Jazz Chisholm Jr. struggling in the Home Run Derby was the best moment of their pathetic little lives. It's definitely on them. The Yankees organization, of course, also deserves blame, as a group of high-ranking leaders that continue to insist nothing is wrong with Volpe, even as every local outlet begs for realism.

Volpe himself? Of course. His inability to adjust and tendency to lose one element of his game (defense, run production, a keen eye) every time he tries to refocus have been glaring. Aaron Boone insisted this weekend that his newly benched (for two games) shortstop is "mentally very tough and totally wired to handle all the things that go with being a big leaguer in this city," but he doesn't appear to be. He just slips further.

In recent weeks following his post-All-Star home run binge, Volpe has officially crossed the nexus from lost cause to punchline. He's not just the only qualified hitter with a sub-.700 OPS and average under .210, as Tyler Kepner so helpfully pointed out this weekend. He's the guy who fans, haters, and supposedly impartial media outlets turn to for a scoff, even when things are going relatively well for the Yankees.

Exhibit A: What the f*** is this, posted immediately after the Yankees won handily, Volpe didn't start, and entered to register a clean putout in the ninth?

The Score burns Anthony Volpe for no reason after Yankees' win over Red Sox

It just goes to show you, yet again, that if you're a struggling young Yankee, no one outside the locker room is on your side. Hating you is a cottage industry. It's pathetic, but the organization saw fit to show their support for Volpe by endlessly shielding him from criticism. They've spent all season claiming that, like the evil young boy (also named Anthony) from The Twilight Zone who sent people to the cornfield, everything Volpe's done has been good. It was good that you threw to an occupied second base, Anthony. Very good.

Of course, that has done him no good at all. Try shielding him from criticism when it's coming from all sides, including people who made the one dribbler he handled the central focus of the Yankees' 7-2 win, all for a couple of cheap giggles and retweets.

It may be too late now for a full mental reset, but at least the Yankees acknowledged the issue on Sunday (while gibberish like this permeated the social media space).