Former Yankee, rival scouts believe Aaron Boone is waking up to Yankees' reality

If you needed more evidence that Aaron Boone's hot-seat status might be more legitimate these days than in the past, look no further than his postgame quotes after Yankees losses. Or ... actually ... if the Yankees lose, do not watch Boone's postgame. It's not going to make you feel any better. Just trust us. What are you doing to yourself?

Whether you tune in or not, it's become clear lately that Boone has put a pause on public declarations of greatness and unflinchingly upbeat takes. That doesn't mean he's soured on the talent in the room. But it does seem to indicate that he's realized what's been perceived by an aggrieved fan base as lip service isn't doing him any favors.

Brendan Kuty of The Athletic talked to league personnel and one former Yankee who played under Boone about the recent tone shift, and their consensus is basically ... can you blame him? Everyone is watching the same game here.

"He can't just ignore everything," Boone's former player noted, while evaluators exasperatedly wondered whether he'd officially run out of platitudes and was forced to return to the drawing board.

"What else is he going to do?" said one source.

Scouts think Aaron Boone is waking up to Yankees' reality

If you're looking for the breaking point or line in the sand, it might've been Boone's testy exchange with Jomboy and Jake two weeks back, where the diehard fans/hosts wondered why they weren't seeing as much fire from the Yankees as they were from the rival Blue Jays. "I don't care what you want," Boone spat back, defending his players and assuring the general public that what was going on behind closed doors matched the fire they were yearning for.

The more on-field sloppiness and hang-dog Devin Williams blown saves, though, the harder it is to sell to the general public that some form of life-altering energy is present, but imperceptible. Boone has admitted the losing is weighing on his players lately — and it's clearly weighing on him, too.

It's difficult to assign specific blame for a generalized vibe, but Boone is clearly aware that, as long as the summer swoons continue, the dots will be connected back to him. That's true whether he's blameless, entirely responsible, or somewhere in between. That's the circle of firings — and he might be yearning for a break these days.