Yankees' latest June swoon may pinpoint problem fans believed all along

The New York Yankees, as we've learned over the last decade or so, are a process-oriented organization. They will quite literally die by their own sword if they have to. The front office has its approach, and there's no deviating from it. That's just the way it is.

That same front office ditched Joe Girardi for Aaron Boone after the 2017 season, and the results have been suboptimal. Is Boone holding the Yankees back? Not necessarily. But one could argue he did on the biggest stage he's encountered thus far in the 2024 World Series.

But is Boone elevating the Yankees to new heights? Absolutely not. He's a player's manager. He's everybody's friend. He goes to bat for the worst player on the roster. It's admirable, but it's also exhausting and unhelpful. And when he does decide to discipline players, it's either far too late or at the most bizarre times. There's no "managing" being done here. It's all reactive.

And when you look at how the Yankees have performed from June-August dating back to 2022, it further proves the organization doesn't care about the same old results over and over again. Yes, the players on the field are responsible for performing, but the manager is responsible for keeping the ship afloat.

Yankees' June Swoon is just the latest entry in an Aaron Boone trend

Back in 2022, the Yankees went a combined 23-31 across July and August, nearly blowing a 15.5-game lead in the division. In 2023, they went 31-45 from June-August, fully collapsing after Aaron Judge's injury. Last year, they went 39-38 from June-August after they built an insane cushion from March-May. This year, they are 10-12 in June and have been one of the worst offensive teams in the league during that stretch (3-9 to close the month after a more standard start).

Is some of this other teams "figuring out" the Yankees? Sure. Is some of it fatigue from the 162-game grind? Absolutely. But it shouldn't be the same exact trend four years running now. The 2018 and 2019 Yankees were wagons. 2020 was a 60-game shortened season. The 2021 Yankees played mediocre baseball all the way through. The 2022-2025 Yankees got off to very good starts only to either give it all back or provide opponents with bulletin board material. Don't worry about the surging Yankees! They'll eventually fold like a lawn chair.

Again, we know how the baseball season works. There are ebbs and flows. There are satisfying highs and devastating lows. But when the trends get repetitive, that provides evidence of a potential problem. Is it motivation? Preparedness? A fresh voice? A willingness to experiment or be more flexible? Holding more players accountable? Not being the worst team in the entire league in extra-inning games?

The Yankees do have roster deficiencies, which falls under Brian Cashman's purview. Fans will never forget the offseason/trade deadline missteps he makes. But it's Boone's job to work with what he's got. And, at the very least, in 2022, 2024 and 2025 he's been given extremely talented rosters with some reasonable gaps to navigate, yet he's hit a wall at the exact same time (he gets a pass for 2023 with Judge's injury). Those mini collapses chip away at the Yankees' championship pedigree and eventually come back to haunt them when it matters most — whether it's focus down the stretch, hitting with RISP in the postseason, or hammering down the fundamentals when every pitch increasingly matters.

This is no longer a coincidence. It's officially a trend. And it's now occurred with three totally different rosters.