Jasson Dominguez has mature response to costly mistake, but Yankees concerns remain

Us Yankees fans are very tough on the team when they play the Red Sox. It feels like Boston just has New York's number, no matter the circumstance, with how everything's transpired since 2004. But really, it hasn't been that bad. The Bombers are 66-51 against the Sox since 2018 (a tad inflated by their 9-1 mark against the Sox during a lost 2020 season where Boston was clearly tanking).

But it's moments like Jasson Dominguez's lack of attention on Saturday night that stand out to diminish the influence of the overall record. We've talked enough about Friday night's choke/umpire fiasco. This is an entirely different issue.

Whatever mental edge the Red Sox already have, the Yankees keep empowering them with inexcusable gaffes. With runners on first and second and two outs in the top of the seventh (the Red Sox were leading 4-2), Dominguez was caught sleeping on the bases. He thought Trent Grisham's swing and miss on strike two was actually strike three, so he thought the inning was over and was hanging out in between second and third base. The Red Sox picked him off, the inning ended, and Grisham didn't finish his at-bat with a runner in scoring position.

The Yankees ended up losing 4-3 after putting some pressure on in the ninth inning, but Dominguez's avoidable mental lapse is now magnified as a crucial missed opportunity.

The bottom line is that the Red Sox can't be handed a single advantage in any game against the Yankees because it will end up being the difference. But the Yankees keep giving them up.

Jasson Dominguez has mature response to costly mistake, but Yankees concerns remain

Credit to Dominguez's response. That's a young kid admitting to his dreadful mistake in front of the media. It's not an easy thing to do and it has to feel terrible. He knew this let his team down badly.

But this isn't just about Dominguez. On Friday night Anthony Volpe took it upon himself to steal third base in extras with no outs. He was ruled out after replay review. Why was that on his mind at all? Why put the team at risk to lose the ghost runner?

The 2018 ALDS. The 2021 Wild Card Game. Gerrit Cole not being able to handle Rafael Devers (and the embarrassing intentional walk situation last year). Clay Holmes' 25 blown saves vs the Sox from 2022-2024, including the horrific Masataka Yoshida home run last year. Any moment involving Alex Verdugo, who was then awful in his lone year for the Yankees in their first World Series run since 2009. Alex Cora running managerial circles around Aaron Boone. Dillon Lawson babbling about the Yankees' offensive struggles at Fenway in between a doubleheader for 15 minutes only to become the first coach fired midseason under Brian Cashman a few weeks later (and then being hired by the Red Sox!). Hunter Dobbins talking trash to the Yankees and then beating them down in his first two career starts against them. Aaron Judge's overall deflated offensive numbers against the Yankees' most hated rival. We can go on and on, this is just the spark notes version.

You see what we're getting at, though. The Red Sox are not afraid of the Yankees. They always "come to play" against the Yankees, no matter how good or bad they are. And the Aaron Boone Yankees continue to roll out the red carpet for them in crucial moments. It needs to stop.

At least Sunday is Max Fried Stopper Day, though. Let's get a win and get out of this place.