Yankees fans can turn their ire on these three figures in New York after a series loss at the hands of the rival Red Sox.
The Yankees and Red Sox had to wait an age to face each other this season but the three-game series delivered plenty of drama to make up for it. It all concluded on Sunday night with an aggregate of 7-7, proving just how tight the battle was.
However, it was a series victory for Boston, who won both Friday's and Sunday's game 3-2 with the latter going to extra innings.
The Yankees pitching staff can mostly sleep soundly knowing their efforts should have been good enough for more than one win. But the rest of the team can't escape the blame game.
Yankees to blame for losing series to Red Sox: Anyone named Anthony
It's not a good time to be named Anthony while wearing the NY pinstripes, and this extends beyond the Red Sox series.
Anthony Volpe is the favored scape goat in the Big Apple at the moment. The youngster looks like the majors might be too much for him. He let the Yankees down as the final out of the series with a man on third. Not that it was much of a surprise for him to strikeout swinging. He's had one hit in the last two series
But Volpe isn't someone the Yankees want to be relying on right now. It's out of necessity. Anthony Rizzo, on the other hand, is someone New York is supposed to lean on and he's been ice cold.
Rizzo had zero hits in the series, extending his slump to 0-for-19 in his last six games. He also got picked off at second base in the sixth.
Yankees to blame for losing series to Red Sox: Anyone not named Aaron Judge
Listen, it's been too bad for New York to nail down individuals to blame. They say you win as a team and lose as a team. The Yankees are definitely taking the second half of that statement to heart with Aaron Judge absent from the lineup.
The Judge hasn't been in session since he hurt his toe while making an incredible catch against on Dodgers' bullpen fence at the beginning of the month. The offense has been in the pits ever since.
New York had three hits on Sunday and scored two runs on a freak bounce off the bag. They didn't score more than three runs in any game this series and they've been averaging less than three runs per game since Judge went out.
Gleyber Torres hit a home run in Saturday's victory and has proven to be one of the few productive bats in the lineup lately. But he committed a costly error in the third game, so even the positive contributors have found ways to turn things negative.
The Yankees needed someone to step up their game with Judge out. The pitchers kept things close. The hitters came up short.
Yankees to blame for losing series to Red Sox: Aaron Boone
The buck always stops at the top and in terms of people who can impact what happens on the baseball diamond on a given night, that's Aaron Boone.
The manager continues to draw fair criticism for his in-game decision-making. For example, on Sunday he pulled Clark Schmidt after just 82 pitches and 5.1 innings of solid work. Turning to the bullpen early put Michael King on the mound in the top of the eight and he allowed the tying run (Gleyber Torres contributed with an error).
Boone also deserves questioning for not bringing the infield in with a one-run lead and a man in scoring position in that inning.
In a tight game, every decision matters and one or two better decisions by Boone might have changed everything.
The Yankees, all of them, will have the chance to make up for this series loss soon enough. They have to take on the Mets in two games on Tuesday and Wednesday then they'll head to Boston for the Fenway edition of the rivalry series.
