Yankees must move on despite being swept at Fenway Park | Lucas

Last weekend proved the darkest time of the season so far for the New York Yankees. After grabbing a 4-0 lead on the Red Sox at Fenway Park last Thursday, Aaron Boone pulled his starter C.C. Sabathia after three innings of 77-pitch, two-run baseball. The left-hander was in trouble, but had escaped a bases loaded jam in the third…

Last weekend proved the darkest time of the season so far for the New York Yankees.

After grabbing a 4-0 lead on the Red Sox at Fenway Park last Thursday, Aaron Boone pulled his starter C.C. Sabathia after three innings of 77-pitch, two-run baseball. The left-hander was in trouble, but had escaped a bases loaded jam in the third while allowing only one run. The typically reliable Jonathan Holder imploded by allowing eight runs in the fourth inning without recording an out. The Red Sox complemented their stunning 15-7 victory with masterful pitching performances from Rick Porcello on Friday and former Yankee Nathan Eovaldi on Saturday. The Yankees overcame a Mookie Betts home run on Sunday and Masahiro Tanaka’s spectacular outing helped them take a 4-1 lead to the ninth inning, in the hopes of leaving Boston alive. Yet, a very well rested Aroldis Chapman surrendered three runs in the ninth, including the game-tying run with two outs on Miguel Andujar’s error. Red Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi put the Bombers out of their misery with a walk-off RBI single in the 10th inning. The Yankees left Boston trailing by 9 ½ games in the American League East. Now, Yankees fans, media, and the organization itself are all asking, “Where do we go from here?”

To move forward, the public must look back — 40 years to be exact — to another Yankees team wrought with tension and media scrutiny. The 1978 Yankees were fresh off the franchise’s 21st World Series Championship, yet still faced the intense pressure to succeed from owner George Steinbrenner. Their low point came when the Kansas City Royals swept them in the Bronx, and controversial manager Billy Martin suspended future Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson five games for ignoring an order to bunt. Near the end of the suspension, Martin criticized both Jackson and Steinbrenner, the latter of which he mentioned for having made illegal campaign contributions. Naturally, Martin resigned, possibly due to said comments, and former Indians star pitcher Bob Lemon, whom Steinbrenner idolized as a boy in Ohio, took over as manager. On July 19, in the midst of Jackson’s suspension, the Yankees trailed the Carl Yastrzemski and Jim Rice-led Red Sox by 14 games in the American League East. By September 10, they would be in a tie for the division lead. Everyone knows how that story ended: Bucky Dent homered at Fenway Park in a one-game playoff and the Yankees again cruised past the Royals and Dodgers en route to another World Series title. Now, the Yankees must use the rear-view mirror as a guide for their stretch run this year.

In the wake of the latest Red Sox series, Aaron Boone has faced criticism that has seemingly been bubbling since the Yankees hired him. People have said he is not hard enough on his players (or at least not as demanding as Joe Girardi was), which shows in some of Gary Sanchez’s and even Miguel Andujar’s play. For what it is worth, Boone has done a good job. He has kept his team near the top of the league’s standings, even though arguably his two best hitters sit on the disabled list. Unless something historically bad happens, unlike Billy Martin in 1978, Aaron Boone will retain his job at the end of the year.

People have seen the Yankees in a positive light this year because of their youth, but they need a veteran mindset in order to go deep into the postseason. Despite only gaining a half game on the Red Sox in that time, the Yankees bounced back by sweeping one of baseball’s cellar dwellers, the White Sox, in Chicago. Over the next three and a half weeks, the Yankees face eight of baseball’s worst teams: the Rangers, Mets, Rays, Blue Jays, Marlins, Orioles, the White Sox again, and Tigers, only one of which entered yesterday with a .500 record. The 1978 Red Sox cooled down enough to blow a 14-game lead in six weeks. The 2018 Red Sox have been the best team in baseball, but the law of averages says they too are bound to slow down eventually. The White Sox series can be the spark that sets the Yankees off running, and these next three and a half weeks are the time to pounce. Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez will return down the stretch. If Aaron Boone can keep his team motivated, the summer heat may last longer than expected.