Yankees' early playoff exit highlights major flaw that went overlooked amid anger

Under Aaron Boone, the New York Yankees do not emphatically respond to adversity, trash talk, or disrespect. Instead, they take their helping of it and swallow it begrudgingly, like an infant in a height chair getting their first taste of broccoli. Actually, the infant might put up a better protest.

For the eighth year in a row, Yankees fans were reminded of that unfortunate reality when the Toronto Blue Jays dispatched them from the postseason. There is no love lost between these two sides, but there was a high-profile spat about a month before they faced off in the ALDS.

Blue Jays play-by-play broadcaster Buck Martinez took a random shot at the Yankees during a September game in which the two teams weren't even playing. He went on to say the Yankees "just aren't a very good baseball team" despite the fact they were jockeying for first place in the AL East with the Jays.

Look, we'll be the first to call out the Yankees' flaws. And they have many (just like most teams in MLB). But on what planet did Martinez think he was in a position to declare something like this? The Yankees made the World Series in 2024 while the Jays finished dead last in the division. Until this year, the Blue Jays hadn't sniffed the ALDS since 2016. Over that same span, they finished fourth or worse five times in the AL East. Talk about not a very good team!

The Yankees had one last chance to respond to this assertion. Boone tried to use it as further motivation. But they embarrassed their fans yet again with how emphatically they were handled in the 2025 ALDS. And now we have to listen to ... this guy?

Yankees' failure to respond to trash talk on full display vs Blue Jays in ALDS

WHO is Mike Wilner? Why is this man on my social media feed trying to tell ME about the team I watch play 162+ games per year? These are the consequences for getting embarrassed after having the opportunity to prove the doubters wrong, Yankees. This is it. Random man finally getting his soapbox moment to cry about the Yankees after getting abused by them for decades.

Wilner continued, making little sense, claiming that "people simply believe that because the Yankees are the Yankees, they have earned this level of respect and deference." Partially, Mike, that is true! They are the most historic franchise in existence! We're sorry that plays a role, but it certainly does.

However, in the modern era, what has given you this impression? Yankees fans have been battered and abused ever since 2009. And it's only gotten worse under Boone. The only difference, we suppose, is that the Jays have served as a punching bag for the Yankees with the exception of 2015 and 2016 ... simply because Toronto, again, isn't good. They have six playoff appearances since 1994. The Yankees have six playoff appearances since 2019.

If you want to be mad at anybody, Mike, take your anger out on Las Vegas, who decided the Yankees were the favorites in this ALDS matchup! And God forbid a fanbase thinks their team is going to win against an evenly-matched division rival. Next time we'll head into the series bowing down, claiming we aren't worthy.

Wilner finished by calling the Yankees the "Evil Empire" despite building his entire argument around the belief that the Yankees shouldn't be considered anything. They shouldn't think they are going to win; they shouldn't demand respect; they shouldn't be considered "good" just because they won 94 games ... but they are the Evil Empire. Got it.

For as annoying as Wilner sounded (and probably is), it's not his fault. It's the Yankees who gave him a platform to rant about nothing because they couldn't get the job done. It's their fault that their stars decided to shrivel in the spotlight once again. It's their fault they let a fifth-place team storm back in 2025 to capture the division and rebuild their roster to be the antithesis of theirs.

And this will continue to happen as long as Boone is manager and Brian Cashman is in charge of identifying personnel that lacks a killer instinct.