Nearly a decade after Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez last played together for the New York Yankees, both former players have offered direct criticism of the team’s recent performance. The remarks came during FOX’s pregame coverage before Saturday night’s Speedway Classic between the Braves and Reds, following the Yankees’ 2-0 loss to the Marlins at loanDepot park.
“They make way too many mistakes,” Jeter said. “And you can’t get away with making that number of mistakes against great teams. It just doesn’t happen. They had baserunning mistakes today – you saw [Trent Grisham] getting thrown out at home plate. You can’t continue to do it. You have to clean it up.”
Rodriguez added his perspective, focusing on what he described as a lack of accountability in the current roster.
“If any one of us made a mistake, we would be sitting our butt right on the bench,” Rodriguez said. “I see mistake after mistake, and there’s no consequences.”
The comments were noticed by Yankees manager Aaron Boone, who responded by acknowledging room for improvement while defending his team’s culture.
“Look, we’re the Yankees,” Boone said. “When we lose games, if it’s in and around a mistake, that criticism is fair game. At the end of the day, we have all the pieces to be a really good team. That’s on me and all of us to get the most out of that.”
Boone disagreed with Rodriguez’s view regarding discipline within the club.
“I would disagree a little bit with the accountability factor, but the reality is, we’re focused every day on being the best we can be,” Boone said. “That’s how we have to do it. But I understand when it doesn’t happen, or we don’t have the record that I think we should have, or certainly people think we should have – that comes with the territory.”
After holding a seven-game lead in late May in their division standings, New York has fallen into third place in the American League East with a 60-51 record following Saturday’s loss—now trailing both Toronto (65-47) and Boston (61-51).
“There are no excuses. You have to play better,” Jeter said. “If you don’t play better, you are not going to go very far.”
Rodriguez also pointed out concerns about pitching depth despite recent acquisitions at this season’s Trade Deadline.
“I don’t care if you bring back their ’98 bullpen with Mariano [Rivera], Mike Stanton and Jeff Nelson,” Rodriguez said. “If your pitchers are going 3 1/3, 4 1/3, it’s not going to work.”
On Friday night prior to these remarks, starting pitcher Carlos Rodón could not finish five innings after being given an early six-run lead; he later described his outing as “unacceptable.” Boone maintains confidence in his roster but says results must follow soon.
“We have the pieces to be a really good club,” Boone said. “We’ve got to start showing it on a more consistent level.”
