Whether it is fair or unfair, the New York Yankees have been under a microscope more than any other team in baseball for quite some time now. And it seems as if Yankees manager Aaron Boone is beginning to grow tired with how his team is covered. Especially when it comes to Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe.<\/p>\n
Volpe has been under fire for the majority of the season for his struggles at the plate, hitting just .214 on the season. But after Monday\u2019s game against the the Toronto Blue Jays, it was Volpe\u2019s glove that was the area he was critiqued for after committing a crucial error that brought home a run for the Blue Jays in a 4-1 victory over the Yankees.<\/p>\n
Aaron Boone was asked about Volpe\u2019s inconsistencies in the field this season after what was his 12th error on the season in Monday\u2019s game, which is tied for the fourth most in all of baseball. And ultimately, Boone chalked it up to \u201ca few extra errors\u201d that have changed the narrative around Volpe as a player.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, I mean, we\u2019re talking about a few extra errors,\u201d Boone told reporters after Monday\u2019s game. \u201cI get it, that\u2019s the separator of when he wins a gold glove and when he\u2019s not. He\u2019s still a top shortstop. He hasn\u2019t made a few plays that have generated a lot of noise. He\u2019s still making a lot of rangy plays. He\u2019s still making a lot of plays. He just hasn\u2019t been as consistent as he has in his first two years. That\u2019s 3 or 4 plays we\u2019re talking about. And a couple of games here where he hasn\u2019t completed some plays has changed his overall defensive season.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aaron Boone says \u201ca few plays\u201d have created the negative narrative around Anthony Volpe\u2019s defense this season<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s still a top shortstop.\u201d pic.twitter.com\/VlikpajatS<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Talkin\u2019 Yanks (@TalkinYanks) July 22, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n On Tuesday, Aaron Boone made his weekly appearance on Jomboy Media\u2019s Talkin\u2019 Yanks podcast<\/a> where he debriefs about where the state of the Yankees is from week to week. And naturally, Volpe\u2019s fielding woes were a talking point, as was the topic of whether Boone serves as \u201ctoo big of a shield\u201d for Volpe and should perhaps place more accountability on him.<\/p>\n Despite the advanced metrics suggesting Volpe\u2019s defense truly has taken a drastic downturn this season, which Jomboy and co-host Jake Storiale pointed out to Boone, Boone largely echoed his sentiments from Monday night by declaring that Volpe is still an elite defender.<\/p>\n \u201cHe set a high standard and a high bar,\u201d said Boone, alluding to Volpe\u2019s gold glove award in his rookie season. \u201cHe is still that defender. He\u2019s made three of four more mistakes this year that have led to not being at the level of the first two years.\u201d<\/p>\n Later, the conversation would shift to the Yankees struggles against their AL East opponents this season. And while Boone had several different factors that he believed played a role in this, Jake Storiale insinuated based on Monday\u2019s game that the Blue Jays simply \u201cwanted it more\u201d in that one particular game.<\/p>\n \u201cOkay, Boonie,\u201d said Storiale. \u201cI bring it back to fandom. You are an Eagles fan. If there is an Eagles game and it\u2019s Sunday Night Football and it\u2019s the Cowboys and both teams have a good record, that game has extra juice. That\u2019s sports. So I guess that\u2019s where I see Vladdy Superman flying across home plate yesterday and I am like \u2018They are playing like this matters\u2019. It\u2019s the fan conundrum of, \u2018I know you aren\u2019t going into a game being like we aren\u2019t going to try as hard today.\u2019 But games have extra juice.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, okay\u2026 So, Vladdy diving means they wanted it more last night?\u201d replied Boone. \u201cCome on, be better than that. Understand the pestering, bantering, leading questions that are being asked of our guys. And I don\u2019t want them to just fly off the handle and be emotional. We\u2019ve been pretty good over the years of compartmentalizing and dealing with the everyday grind of the regular season and playing in New York, and you start getting emotional and going down that road, it\u2019s a bad trait.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s beautiful pic.twitter.com\/OR7vChRIIB<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6Mr Bond (@ATKINSnCrewOut) July 22, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Jomboy then brought up the point that Yankees closer Luke Weaver was open and honest about his recent struggles, a trait he would like to see from more Yankees players and perhaps even Boone. And Boone responded by telling Jomboy that \u201ceveryone is different\u201d in how they approach answering media questions.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone\u2019s different. Stop with the reaction of how a guy answers a frickin\u2019 question. Seriously,\u201d Boone said. \u201cWe gotta win. Okay? We are obsessed with it and hell-bent preparation-wise and guys give a rip. Some people will give you colorful answers. Some guys throw their helmet. Does that make you feel good? Some guys are calm. Like, stop it. It doesn\u2019t mean a guy cares more or less because he dives into home plate. It\u2019s you\u2019ve gotta be angry at something because we didn\u2019t win.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite Aaron Boone clearly being quite adamant that the Yankees do have plenty of urgency in each in every game, Jomboy further told the Yankees manager that the urgency he claims that his team has simply hasn\u2019t shown as of late. And Boone simply declared that he simply \u201cdoesn\u2019t care\u201d what Jomboy wants from the team he manages. It\u2019s not the first time he\u2019s grown combative<\/a> with the podcast host.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t care what you want,\u201d said Boone. \u201cThese are answers of pestering, everyday questions. I want our guys in a good like, boom. We are locked in, when it\u2019s s*itty and when it\u2019s really good, and all in between. I want us locked. I want us showing up every day ready to prepare and ready to go. Period. It\u2019s a hard game.\u201d<\/p>\n Credit to Jomboy for asking Aaron Boone the hard questions that Yankees fans want answers for. But, ultimately, the manager does have in a point in a sense, as there are really only so many ways to justify team struggles when the questions on the topic are essentially on a daily basis.<\/p>\n As a former media member himself, Boone knows better than anyone that when things are going bad in New York, the struggles are amplified to an extent that can certainly become overwhelming. But by the sounds of things, it doesn\u2019t sound like Boone is nearly as worried about his team as some Yankee fans are.<\/p>\n \t