Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez criticized Yankees' mistakes. Aaron Boone says that's fair

New York Times

3 days ago

MIAMI — Two of the most important players in modern New York Yankees history, Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez, offered pointed critiques on the current state of their former club.
While on Fox's broadcast of MLB's Speedway Classic on Saturday, Jeter and Rodriguez were discussing whether the Yankees are built to win a World Series. This was on the heels of the Yankees getting shut out by the Miami Marlins and Jazz Chisholm Jr. making an egregious base-running blunder where he was doubled up at first base on a popup to the second baseman.
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'They make way too many mistakes, way too many mistakes,' Jeter said. 'You can't get away making that number of mistakes against great teams. It just doesn't happen. You can't continue to do it. You have to clean it up. It's that simple. There's no excuses. If you don't play better, you're not going to go very far.'
Boston Red Sox legend David Ortiz chimed in and said he believes the Yankees' focus is 'not there.' He added he thinks the Yankees are one of the best teams in the sport, but the optics of making simple mistakes like Chisholm's reminded him of Game 5 of the World Series, when the Yankees played sloppily in the fifth inning. That's when Rodriguez interrupted Ortiz.
'You have to say enough with this 'best team in the league' (narrative),' Rodriguez said. 'I don't think they are, because we're now in August. The numbers say they're not the best team. The talent, they do have. You can't outrun mistakes day in and day out, both physically and mentally. Where's the accountability? If any one of us made a mistake, we would be sitting our butt right on the bench. I see mistake and mistake, and there's no consequence.'
"They make way too many mistakes… You can't continue to do it, you have to clean it up." @derekjeter gives his thoughts on the recent struggles of the Yankees. pic.twitter.com/hj7hVNNPZ7
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) August 2, 2025
Yankees manager Aaron Boone was asked about Jeter's and Rodriguez's comments before Sunday's game against the Marlins. A day after Chisholm said he wouldn't change a thing about how he handled his mistake, Boone said he didn't have an issue with his second baseman's comment because his out on the basepath was 'born out of some thoughtfulness.'
The Yankees are 25-29 since June 1, good for the 21st-best record in that span. Boone understands that when his club is playing as poorly as it has over the past two months, the noise will get loud.
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'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 the pieces to be a really good team. That's on me and all of us to get the most out of that. I would disagree a little bit with (Rodriguez's) accountability factor, but the reality is we're focused every day on being the best we can be, and that's how we have to do it. I understand when it doesn't happen and we don't have the record I think we should have, or certainly people think we should have, that comes with the territory. It's on us to change that, though.'
Boone would not publicly discuss what exactly he disagreed with regarding Rodriguez's comment about the team's accountability. Behind the scenes, Boone does yell at the players and is forceful in upholding their standards. It can come across as a lack of accountability because players are rarely publicly benched or admonished, like first-base coach Travis Chapman was in the dugout.
Boone frequently discusses how he doesn't want his players to play tight because they already deal with immense pressure playing for an organization like the Yankees. The media attention is bigger in New York than anywhere else. Every mistake is hyper-analyzed. Ideally, the Yankees would be even more aggressive on the bases than they are, but some in the organization have expressed fear of making a mistake and being the target for outrage.
The Yankees rank 25th in Statcast's base running above average metric, but the club believes that is not why they're in third place in the American League East. Their biggest issue since June 1 has been the performance of the bullpen. With new additions at the trade deadline, there's optimism they can now play to their potential, even with a poor first impression from David Bednar, Jake Bird and Camilo Doval.
'The reality is, I think we should be better than what our record is, and that starts with me,' Boone said. 'We got to own that. The only way we can change that thought is by playing a more consistent brand of baseball and (winning) baseball games. That's the only way to do it. All I know is we're going to continue to work our tails off to prepare every day to be the best we can be.
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'I want to acknowledge that we have higher expectations than what we've done so far, and I think we're capable of more than we've done. I want to make sure we own that. There's reasons for every single mistake. There's not necessarily a great answer for every single mistake.'
(Photo of Aaron Boone: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)