Aaron Boone refuses to dole out blame, accountability even after Yankees choke job

With the New York Yankees falling on Friday night in the first game of the club's second series this season against the rival Boston Red Sox, that's now 14 losses in their last 18 games. This was, without question, the most painful of those baker's dozen-plus-one and also featured some of the most embarrassing moments of effort and performance. You wouldn't know that talking to Aaron Boone, though.

The majority of the attention regarding the Yankees choking will fall on the ninth and 10th innings and, to be fair, a lot of it should. They were one strike away from a win while up two runs at home before Masataka Yoshida smashed the game-tying two-run blast well into the right-field bleachers. Boone's team still had the chance to win in extras but came up fruitless while Ceddanne Rafaela belted a go-ahead two-run shot of his own.

However, despite New York having the lead up until that collapse, there were several moments that drew the ire of fans and the media alike. And rather than demand more from his players, Boone simply deflected -- as he almost always does -- and threw blame and accountability to the wayside for the Yankees.

Aaron Boone in same pattern of no accountability that dooms Yankees

Starting in reverse, Boone wouldn't say anything negative about his late-game relievers. Clay Holmes gave up the homer to Yoshida after a long at-bat when he left a sinker over the middle of the plate, despite the fact that, as Chris Kirschner of The Athletic ($) noted, his slider is the better put-away pitch. But Boone actually complimented Holmes' stuff and just said it was one mistake, not pushing on the bigger issue.

“I thought Clay’s stuff was really good,” Boone said. “They made him work even when he was retiring hitters and spoiling (pitches). Then finally that middle-down right in Yoshida’s hot spot there and he didn’t miss it. Credit to him for not missing it. I think the amount of foul balls and not being able to finish a guy hurt us tonight.”

Boone didn't necessarily speak on Tommy Kahnle, who gave Boston the lead in the 10th inning, but it was a similar issue. The changeup artist starting Rafaela's at-bat with two fastballs, the second of which was deposited over the fence in dead-center, probably should've been something to address. The same of which is true of the bottom of the 10th inning when both Aaron Judge and Alex Verdugo -- more emphasis on the latter -- had largely underwhelming at-bats that resulted in pop-outs.

Going back earlier in the game, though, there were more concerning issues of effort and low baseball IQ. The Yankees saw the bottom of the third inning end when Ben Rice hit a groundball to first base with one out and runners on first and third. Romy Gonzalez tagged first base as DJ LeMahieu took off for second and Anthony Volpe took off for home. It should've been a run to break a then-0-0 tie but both players made infuriating blunders.

Volpe leisurely jogged down the third-base line toward home while LeMahieu didn't get caught in a rundown to allow the Yankees shortstop to score. He was tagged out at second before Volpe crossed the plate, ending the inning.

And again, Boone failed to provide any demands for accountability. He (and Volpe) both used the excuse that the shortstop thought it was a foul ball. But how does that excuse the lack of hustle still? In that situation, in a rivalry game, it should be an all-out effort, especially if there's confusion. Instead, they got nothing for a nothing effort.

Perhaps the most infuriating issue with Boone is his inconsistency when it comes to playing the blame game or calling out the Yankees. He benched Gleyber Torres earlier in the season for lack of hustle but didn't do the same for Trent Grisham's deplorable exploits in centerfield on the Fourth of July. He likely won't do the same for Volpe and LeMahieu -- the latter almost got out on first to complete another double play after a Red Sox bobble because he wasn't hustling up the line -- after Friday night.

It's been likely clockwork that Yankees fans will call for Boone's job at some point in the season. When New York was riding high early in the year, those calls were silent. As things start to crumble, however, they're returning and Boone isn't doing a damn thing to help his case to stay.