The Yankees’ defense put on a genuinely baffling display during Game 2 of the ALDS against the Rays. Credit to Tampa Bay, whose speed on the base paths and ability to make contact at the plate make every play that much more difficult for opposing defenses, but the sheer volume of errors and defensive miscues committed by New York was unacceptable.
Every Yankees fan remembers the ill-fated fifth inning in Game 5 of the 2024 World Series against the Dodgers, when the team committed two costly defensive errors and Gerrit Cole failed to cover first base on a grounder to the right side of the infield, leading to a five-run blow-up inning. Heading into that World Series matchup, the Dodgers had done their scouting on New York. They quickly realized how fundamentally poor the Yankees’ defense was, and L.A. exposed that on baseball’s biggest stage. Nearly two full years removed from that putrid defensive performance, it doesn’t appear Aaron Boone has inspired any significant improvements on that side of the ball, and the Rays didn’t hesitate to exploit that glaring weakness yet again.
