DJ LeMahieu confirmed a aspect of himself that not often comes out as his extended droop continued Thursday night time.
Usually calm and picked up, the infielder fired his helmet down the tunnel that connects the Yankees’ dugout and their clubhouse. Clearly disgusted with a third-inning strikeout that noticed him drop to his again knee, LeMahieu then chucked his lumber into the bat rack.
“We’re playing for a lot, man,” Aaron Boone stated of LeMahieu’s unusual outburst after a 10-2 loss to the Mariners. “These guys have a lot of pride and have done it for a long time at a high level. And when you go through some struggles for an extended period, guys are angry. That’s part of it. Am I worried? No, he’s as tough as they come mentally, physically. We got to just continue to work alongside him and try and unlock him.”
LeMahieu, thrust again into the leadoff spot after two days on the bench, went 0-for-4 on Thursday with two strikeouts. He is now hitting .228/.286/.382 with seven house runs, 23 RBI and an 84 wRC+.
He’s additionally placing out 27% of the time, which is roughly double his earlier excessive as a Yankee.
“It’s beyond frustrating,” LeMahieu admitted Friday when requested about his helmet toss, “but that’s not gonna stop me from working and competing and trying to be the best I can for this team.”
Boone, Brian Cashman and hitting coach Dillon Lawson have attributed LeMahieu’s struggles to an issue along with his load. The veteran agreed that that’s a part of the issue, however, opposite to his nickname, he’s by no means been susceptible to considering an excessive amount of about his mechanics.
“That’s one of those things that I’ve really never thought of,” stated LeMahieu, who performed once more Friday in opposition to the Rangers. “I just go up and hit. I don’t really think about that stuff. I’m not a mechanical guy or mechanical hitter.”
Still, LeMahieu and Yankees coaches have been doing deep dives on his lower, and he’s been attempting to make changes with cage work and on-field hitting classes earlier than video games.
“Moving in the right direction, hopefully,” LeMahieu stated. “It’s been a grind. So simply looking for options.
“I haven’t really hit this bad in a while. I don’t know if ever. And it’s coming at a bad time for our team.”
Indeed, the Yankees’ scuffling offense would welcome the return of LeMahieu’s batting champion kind or at the very least a fraction of it.
For what it’s value, Boone nonetheless believes there’s a harmful hitter in there.
“One thing that’s always come pretty easy to him is the ability to wake up and hang out a line drive,” the supervisor stated. “So when that’s not happening at as consistent a level as he’s accustomed to, you gotta start tinkering with some things or exploring things and figuring things out. Again, I think he has a good run in him. We just got to get him there and unlocked.”
“I don’t think, mechanically, he’s all that far off. It’s very subtle.”
DONALDSON’S DAY OFF
Josh Donaldson has additionally posted poor numbers, tallying a .127/.200/.413 slash line, six homers, eight RBI and a 62 wRC+ after going 0-for-3 on Thursday. Afterward, Boone was requested if the third baseman might use just a few days off, just like what LeMahieu obtained.
Boone didn’t dismiss the thought and in the end held Donaldson out of Friday’s lineup.
“Played a bunch in a row and just piecing the puzzle together,” Boone stated when requested to clarify the choice. “Just felt like today was a good day to have him down.”
On Thursday, Boone stated that he felt Donaldson has been “getting his swing off,” however he wished to see him be “more precise at the ball because I do feel like there’s some pitches that he’s in position to impact and kind of going through a stretch of just missing.”
Boone added that the Yankees had confronted three straight right-handed starters who’re particularly powerful on righties.
But Donaldson, a former MVP, has hardly hit since changing into a Yankee final season, and followers have misplaced endurance with the 37-year-old. Many have puzzled if the Yankees will designate Donaldson for task — a la Aaron Hicks — and he heard loud boos all through the Seattle sequence at Yankee Stadium.
That included Thursday, when Donaldson, usually a robust defender, initiated a two-error play within the third inning.
“You feel for anyone going through that when that’s the case, because you know what guys put into it,” Boone stated of the jeers. “You know how much they care. You know that’s not necessarily fun to go through. Everyone handles it a little bit different. But it goes with playing here sometimes. It goes with playing in the big leagues sometimes and the big stage and the pressure cooker. It’s part of it and most guys understand that. So I don’t necessarily love it, but it’s part of the deal.”
MINOR INJURY UPDATES
Boone didn’t have something new on Aaron Judge (proper large toe) on Friday, however Nestor Cortes (rotator cuff pressure) is a couple of week away from getting on a mound.
Willie Calhoun’s quad pressure is between a Grade 1 and a couple of.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com