Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake didn't hold back on fans' Devin Williams wrath

Former New York Yankees closer Devin Williams emerged from the bullpen as the Yankees rallied on Monday night in Baltimore. When Williams began to get hot, his team faced a 4-1 deficit. By the time he was called upon, it was only a one-run game. Williams' task, in the micro, was clear: hold them right here.

In the macro, his job was more expansive: Get right. Be yourself.

Williams succeeded, and his work appeared far more effortless than it had at any other time during the season's first month. He sailed through the inning, which started with a strikeout on his trademark changeup below the zone, 1-2-3. As the score crept closer, Aaron Boone held firm, and the decision paid off. The game also, notably, occurred on the road.

Will Williams be able to continue his positive progression the next time he appears at Yankee Stadium? Odds are, in order to put his best foot forward in the Bronx, he'll need to move back another few notches in terms of leverage.

When asked about the Yankees' swift decision to remove Williams from his closer duties this week, pitching coach Matt Blake didn't hold back. The pitcher is responsible for his own struggles, but the firestorm that fans began to create by chanting for Luke Weaver midway through his most recent blown save certainly fed the fire.

Matt Blake doles out Devin Williams blame that no Yankees fan wants to hear

“It definitely doesn’t help,” Blake told The Athletic, regarding fans' collective negative energy. “I think we’ve seen that over the years, whether it’s Clay (Holmes), (Aroldis Chapman), or whoever. Those things don’t help the situation get better. That’s the unfortunate part of how excited our fan base is when we’re winning, but the other side is it can be very polarizing."

For a fan base that spent nearly two decades with Mariano Rivera, it can be tough to tolerate anything less than sustained perfection, creating an impossible environment for a newcomer to join (especially a newcomer who came at a high trade cost). Taking the ball in the ninth inning in New York successfully is one of the plainest challenges and harshest spotlights in all of professional sports.

Fans need to be somewhat understanding of that reality. However, it doesn't feel like reciprocal strong-headedness is too much to ask for. Now, the ball is back in Williams' court. How will he respond? Only he can make the noise dissipate.