The Boston Unplug

 It wasn't even a massacre.

I didn't have high hopes with the Yankees limping their way into Fenway Park this past weekend, and as it turned out, I was overly optimistic. But it you think those three games happened the way they happened because Alex Cora is a genius and the Red Sox are a powerhouse, I invite you to look at the standings. They're still in last place, three games over .500.

No, the Red Sox didn't massacre the Yankees this weekend. If anything, they were the hand that pulled the plug on the Yankees' life support. This team has been less than stellar for at least three years now, evidenced by the fact that they've trotted out the same team (give or take) for three years and gotten pretty much the same results.

There will be a time in the season when these guys look invincible. It will NOT happen while Aaron Judge nurses his toe (an injury that came as a result of a game-saving catch). But it'll happen, if it hasn't already. And the rest of the time this will be a mediocre team, losing games because they score a run or two in the first inning and then take the rest of the game off.

I'm not suggesting this is about motivation. I don't think any major league player goes out on the field with the intention of doing just okay. Those screaming that Judge or Rizzo should "fire up" the team, or that Aaron Boone is too nice, are missing the point. The sadder truth is that these Yankees ARE playing up to their ability and these have been the results. 

This team might make the playoffs as a wild card. They might even survive the first round if they're in any kind of shape in October. But they're not a "championship-caliber team" as Hal Steinbrenner likes to say. They haven't won a championship or been in a World Series in 14 years. Don't expect that to change in 2023.

Radical changes need to be made and some money needs to be sacrificed. The jettison of Aaron Hicks was actually a good sign: They ate the salary and got rid of a player who wasn't helping. They need to do the same with Josh Donaldson, who is poison in the clubhouse and a crater in the lineup. Yeah, he's hit a few home runs. But he's done nothing else.

There needs to be a real impact bat in the middle of that lineup. The idea that we're waiting out Giancarlo Stanton's next whole week of being a monster is ridiculous. The rest of the time he plays - when he plays - isn't worth it. 

DJ LeMahieu and Anthony Rizzo suddenly look old and tired. The pitching is being held together with Scotch Tape. Changes need to be made and the trade deadline is still more than a month away.

This isn't a massacre. It's euthanasia.