Yankees are risking ultimate punishment if their lies and gaslighting continue

The reality of the situation is that the New York Yankees have lost the room. In this day and age, there's never been more access to information and video footage, and there's never been more connectivity among the fanbase. The proof that the fans have in front of them, and the conversations they are able to push forward hadn't been possible to this degree ever.

The many forms of media have enabled pressure-packed, full-court presses on any hot button issue. This goes far beyond sports, impacting society massively in politics, business, international affairs, etc.

In the case of the Yankees, they are as high-profile as it gets in terms of the most important things that don't really matter in the grand scheme of the world. Baseball is ... a game. Sports and entertainment are a luxury provided through the means of an advanced society (well, yeah, for the most part).

The most important aspect of sports are the fans. The people. Without ticket/merch sales and advertising deals (that are only as valuable as how many eyes they can get in front of), sports franchises are nothing. Might as well play the game in the schoolyard and forget the results three days later.

The Yankees will probably never feel the effects of a truly declining fanbase that impacts their viability. They are an international brand and one of the most recognizable entities in the world, residing in arguably the greatest city in the world.

But they are perilously toeing the line with alienating their most ardent and knowledgable supporters. And if that happens? Then what? You've essentially become a lifeless corporation operating for the sole sake of profit, turning something that was once fun, engaging and community-based into a hedge fund. America, right?

The Yankees' baffling behavior has been going on for quite some time, but now that the national media has caught on they are running out of chances. If they keep lying to and gaslighting the folks who pay attention the most, they risk losing the heartbeat of the franchise.

Yankees risk losing diehard fans if Aaron Boone, Brian Cashman continue lying to them

Historically, the Yankees have had one of the most rabid, loyal, and far-reaching fanbases. In part, their fame has been made possible by the unwavering support they get year in and year out. Yes, the success dating back to the 1920s contributed to that, but it's also helped breed an extremely knowledgable sect of fans. Nobody's saying the Yankees are exclusive to this characteristic, but they are certainly among the leading examples.

So the more that management tries to deceive, the less engaged that group wants to be. If Aaron Boone tells nightly viewers that Anthony Volpe is "elite" despite mounting evidence to the contrary, fans will believe less and less in the product. The more stubborn Brian Cashman gets with his repetitive and ineffective roster construction, the less likely fans are willing to go to war for their team. The omnipresence of sloppy, devoid-of-fundamentals and unwatchable baseball will only exacerbate disdain and eventually lead to apathy.

If the players keep saying everything is "fine" and they just "have to get through the rough patch" despite the same trends occurring annually, fans will inevitably turn on the actual subjects they root for. In the end, no fan roots for the general manager or the owner. In some instances, the manager gets fan-backing. But the behind-the-curtains execs who can evade and hide from criticism (look at John Henry!)? Almost never, unless they're jovial, influential and/or engaging, and very few are.

The current Yankees might be leading the AL Wild Card picture at the moment, but three less talented teams are four or more games ahead of them, and four others are within striking distance. No rational fan thinks the Yankees should be 80-20 right now, but a 56-46 mark with a losing record on the road and self-inflicted wounds occurring every other day is not acceptable. And it's even more unacceptable when the Yankees are telling fans that isn't the reality.

Boone's constant deflecting and unwavering defense of his players has resulted in him actually not being an effective manager. The "players' manager" label has gone too far. It's gotten to the point where YES Network employees are asking him boilerplate questions about what happens in games and he's been visibly irritable and combative.

Cashman berating reporters and demanding credit for when his vision comes to fruition looks more and more obnoxious by the day, especially since his vision is crumbling before our very eyes. Hal Steinbrenner's infrequent State of the Union addresses that are nothing but box checkers are ringing more and more hollow, if they weren't already empty to begin with.

We are witnessing a war between the extremes right now. We have unruly, knee-jerk fans losing their gourd over every minor occurrence, and we have the organization refuting statistics and real events that have transpired. Meanwhile, everybody in the middle (the strongest group) is gradually becoming more and more disengaged. Maybe it's not at an alarming rate, but it's chipping away.

And there are only so many more seasons like this they'll be able to take. Until there's at least honesty surrounding the poor play, it will keep trending in this direction, but the Yankees can't have it both ways.