Aaron Boone responds to Luis Severino's jab that Yankees only have 'two good hitters'

The New York Yankees have become the punching bag of MLB as of late. Sure, the Chicago White Sox are arguably the worst team in the majors, but the Yankees' season spiraled out of control since mid-June. Despite being the first team to reach 50 wins, the Yankees went on an eight-series losing streak, and lost their spot in first place in the AL East.

The Yankees looked to put the horrendous end to the first half of the season behind them, using their return from the All-Star break to write a new story, so to speak. They got off to a good start, defeating the rival Tampa Bay Rays 6-1 behind a stellar performance from starting pitcher Gerrit Cole. But what was really in the spotlight were former Yankee Luis Severino's comments.

Severino, now with the cross-town Mets, revealed on Friday that his ex-Yankees teammates were teasing him in their group chat, claiming he was "afraid" to face them in the Subway Series. Severino then revealed he told them the Yankees "have two good hitters." That was, of course, in reference to Aaron Judge and Juan Soto. This was in a joking tone from Severino, but his words did carry to the Yankees postgame press conference.

One reporter asked manager Aaron Boone about Severino's comments. Boone said that the team is in the top of the league in runs scored, but said "hopefully we can answer him."

"Lets see where the dust settles when we're all said and done," said Boone. "Add it all up, we've taken our lumps at times, but I think we're at the top of the league probably in runs scored. I saw the way Sevy said it...hopefully we can answer him."

Aaron Boone defends Yankees lineup after Luis Severino jokes team only has 'two good hitters'

Boone isn't exaggerating with made of statistics. The Yankees, as of this writing, have scored 494 runs this year as a team. That's the most of any team in the major leagues. That can be attributed to their stellar start to the season.

In June, Yankees scored 152 runs in 27 games, which was the third-most in the majors. Still good numbers, despite the slump they entered after the midway point of the month. But in July, the Yankees scored 57 runs in 13 games, tied for 18th-most in the majors. So, there is a significant drop.

Judge has been on fire this season, leading all of MLB in home runs (34), RBI (85), on-base percentage (.433), slugging percentage (.679), and OPS (1.112). With these numbers, Judge is the runaway favorite to win the AL MVP this season.

Soto, meanwhile, is easily the Yankees second-best hitter on the team, as evidenced by his .295/.426/.558 slashline, 23 home runs, 66 RBI, and 75 runs.

The issue is, the rest of the Yankees lineup leaves a lot to be desired. Alex Verdugo entered a slump in June. Gleyber Torres isn't putting up the numbers like he's had in the past. D.J. LeMahieu struggles to get extra-base hits and has a propensity to ground into double plays. Anthony Volpe entered a worrisome slump after a strong start to his sophomore season.

There is promise, with rookie Ben Rice and backup catcher Austin Wells really coming into their own and providing the Yankees with an offensive boost as of late.

With the trade deadline arriving on July 30, the Yankees have a chance to improve their batting lineup. Yes, the total number of runs scored overall have been solid with this current Yankees roster. But with the team slumping, they need to make some improvements to help them make a deep run to the World Series for the first time in 2009.

But for now, Boone is going to show that his assessment of the team is correct.