Yankees' incompetence summed up in 3 spot-on ways during finale loss to Nationals

We're still waiting for the real New York Yankees to please stand up. Are they the 50-22 team that jumped out of the gate and ferociously announced themselves as the team to beat in 2024? Or are they the low-energy, devoid of life 28-34 team we've watched for the better part of three months now? The cracks all started showing on June 7 against the Dodgers.

Just when they convince fans they're going to snap out of whatever this is, they plunge right back into the depths. They suffered their new worst loss of the season last Tuesday against the Cleveland Guardians, only to win the next two and take the series. They won their third in a row against the Rockies, but were then embarrassed on Old-Timers' Day in front of a sold out crowd. Their Sunday win got them another series under their belt. Then their Monday triumph against the Nationals was one of the more exciting ones of 2024.

And then came Tuesday and Wednesday. The Yankees were their all-too-common hapless selves in the 4-2 and 5-2 losses. They lost to Patrick Corbin, the worst statistical full-time starter in MLB, on Tuesday. Carlos Rodón had a chance to stop that nonsense in its tracks, but he had his own battles with PitchCom.

Mind you, both Rodón and Nationals starter MacKenzie Gore (another lefty!) had technical issues with the pitch relay system, but only one of the two was fully rattled by it.

Any guesses as to who it might've been?

Yankees' incompetence summed up in 3 spot-on ways during finale loss to Nationals

Rodón's first-inning woes came back to kill him yet again. He now owns a 7.67 ERA in the first inning, surrendering nine home runs on the year. The left-hander gave up two in the first, two in the second, and another in the fourth. He finished the day by giving up five earned runs on eight hits and two walks in just 5 2/3 innings. The Nationals ranked 22nd in MLB in OPS.

But you know what? Sometimes starters don't have it. Though it was particularly annoying to see Rodón completely off-kilter because of PitchCom, for the sake of argument, let's just say he had a bad day at the office. It happens.

And when it does happen, it cannot coincide with a 1-for-13 showing with runners in scoring position against a left-handed pitcher with even split stats and a 4.50 ERA. It just can't. And this isn't a one-off situation; it's an alarming trend.

The Yankees went 1-for-26 with RISP this series, unable to effectively hit Mitchell Parker, Patrick Corbin and Mackenzie Gore (we'll get to that in a moment). Baseball is indeed a game of ups and downs, but New York continues to fumble the bag in high-pressure moments, opting to kick themselves rather than build off of any momentum.

As for the biggest concern of all, the Yankees' inability to hit left-handed pitching — regardless of the numbers — could be the most obvious playoff death knell ever. The Yanks rank 25th in MLB with a .233 average against lefties and 18th with a .392 slugging (tied with the Colorado Rockies).

The only other contenders struggling that badly against southpaws are the Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres. All of the Phillies, Orioles, Braves, Twins, Dodgers, D-Backs, Royals, Astros and Guardians are in the top half of the league.

As long as Aaron Boone continues to bench players for the sake of righty-lefty matchups, and as long as DJ LeMahieu continues to get undeserved run as a full-time starter (among other questionable managerial decisions), it's hard to envision this team catching fire in October. The last time they showed any semblance of dominance was May.

September arrives this weekend. How are we supposed to be confident about a stretch run that's going to feature the Yankees mostly welcoming injured players and non-contributors back into action as roster reinforcements?