He wondered what his new teammates were thinking when he walked into the Yankees' locker room for the first time.
"I'm sure everyone in here was like, 'We just traded for this guy in a boot?'" said Bader, who despite dealing with a foot injury was acquired from the St. Louis Cards at the deadline. Do you think you're serious?
The Yankees are feeling a sense of uneasiness. The Yankees are still in first place in the American League East, but dark clouds are gathering over the Bronx.
It was hard to find a smiling person in the locker room a month and a half ago. At a record-breaking pace, Judge was hitting moon shots. They were the best relief duo. Matt was trying to get his name back in the record books. The Yankees Stadium bleachers were being hit with lasers. The All-Star campaigns were starting to take off. New York's hot start made it the third-fastest team in franchise history to win 50 games in a season, recalibrating expectations for the Yankees to win a World Series.
Then those expectations fell apart. The Yankees are worse off than the Cubs and the A's over the past two months. The Astros have the best record in the American League going into the stretch run.
Good vibes have disappeared in six weeks. And the man knows it.
Cole said after the Yankees' loss that they needed a spark.
They hope to find one the next two nights. Josh Donaldson's walk-off grand slam may have set off a fire. They'll need it as the team begins a crucial four-game series against the BlueJays on Thursday followed by the Subway Series against the Mets.
The team's sudden inability to score runs has caused some players to press at the plate, causing players to focus more on details in the locker room.
"You can get in your way a little bit," said the Yankees manager, who had his share of struggles as a player. It can wear you down and cause other problems. I'm going to be ready to leave when I get to that place a few times. A bit of a rock bottom freed me up.
There are seven teams that could challenge the Yankees.
There is a man namedBuster Olney.
The Yankees' production has fallen off this month after they were the top offense in baseball. The team is ranked 24th in runs scored in August with a.220/.299/.368 line.
The pitching staff has been struggling recently. Prior to July 1, the Yankees had the highest staffERA in the country. They're 19th at 4.03 with the starter's and theReliever'sFIP rising from 3.05 to 4.37 and 2.51 to 3.51, respectively.
The Yankees had the best record in baseball and had a 13-game lead in the division. The team had a cushion.
"We had that lead and we were able to play some things kind of conservative with injuries and what not," said Holmes, who landed on the IL this week after blowing four of his past five save attempts We're not playing well. There will be a time when that sense of importance will return. Maybe that is what Cole is talking about.
The Yankees have made roster changes over the past few weeks. On deadline day, the team traded Joey Gallo to the Dodgers, as well as left-handed pitcher Jordan Montgomery to the Cards for outfielder Harrison Bader. They added outfielder Andrew Benintendi from the Royals and outfielder Frank Montas from the A's. In an effort to shake things up, the Yankees called up some young energy from the minor leagues, bringing in outfielder Estevan Florial from Triple-A ahead of Wednesday night's win.
He wants to create an environment where things feel normal.
"You try and get them acclimatized and comfortable as possible in the surroundings," he said. They're not expected to be the revelation that turns us around. We want that spark but they're here because they've earned their way here.
The environment has changed. Michael King was away from the team for three weeks after having surgery on his elbow. When the team was cruising at a historic pace in the early part of the season, the recent roster turnover contributed to a different atmosphere.
It makes a difference in the locker room. King decided to rehabilitate with the team to help rebuild team chemistry after getting used to it. "We add three new faces to the team at the trade deadline, we lose guys and then there's turnover that makes the whole locker room different." We have to keep moving.
The team is trying to reset the tone in the locker room by having players like Judge and LeMahieu.
They know not to overreact to things like this. We need to keep going and giving it our best. Everyone is pulling their weight. It all becomes worse if you over stress.
Rekindling his team's spark is the only thing that makes him happy.
"Points," he added. We just need to get on the board.
The son of a RedSox player is playing for a baseball team. There is a person named Joon Lee.
The judge is positive.
There are a lot of great ballplayers here that have a good track record. It's about how we come back out the next day after a stretch like this.
As the team tries to dig itself out of this slump that, amazingly, hasn't yet affected its playoff outlook in a more disastrous way, Boone has been looking for hope. When he faced the biggest struggles of his playing career, he was in the depths of 2002. The ups and downs shaped the steadiness of the man who hopes to get the Yankees out of their rut.
It's a great life lesson. I think it's 161." Life is a lot like that. The highs and lows are difficult to deal with. Good people are able to find their way.
There are signs that things won't go wrong. It felt like a breath of fresh air when the Yankees made a miracle extra-innings comeback on Wednesday.
Donaldson said there was a release of some joy.
The moment showed that the team can bounce back, and that maybe this team will find its way again.
"We know that it's a confident group at the core." We have to focus and get through it.
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