The New York Yankees are still in first place, but Yankees fans are beginning to wonder how much longer their time at the top is going to last. Having blown a save against the Toronto Blue Jays, New York sits at 15-11, having lost three of their last four games. Devin Williams came into the contest four for four on his save opportunities, with this being his first blown save of the season.
One wouldn’t expect he had been four for four when looking at his stats. Williams has an 11.25 ERA, which is by far the worst of his career. Not only is it a career high, but that also marks the 5th worst start in franchise history for a player’s first 10 games with the Yankees. Their 4-2 loss to the Blue Jays was their second loss of the season when leading in the ninth inning or later, which is the most in the American League.
Aaron Boone Believes in Devin Williams
At this point in time, Aaron Boone still has all the faith in the world when it comes to the Yankees’ newest closer. Just a month into the season, he failed to comment on a closer change, as this recent blown save was still processing. Boone knows that Williams has struggled: “We want to do everything we can to get him right because we know how good he is and how valuable he’s going to be for us.”
Devin Williams has shown up consistently during the regular season, with an off game every now and again. So far this season, his numbers are down across the board, and Yankees fans are looking elsewhere for answers. Boone mentioned, “We’re all human doing this,” adding, “Obviously he’s great at this, and I believe that’ll win the day in the end.”
With a guy like Luke Weaver having not given up a run in 13 innings of work this season, it’s no wonder why Yankees fans want change. They know they have another high-leverage reliever in their bullpen that can be used for more than just a setup role. Fans on Twitter pointed out Boone’s ability to yell at an umpire, but he’s failing to hold his own players accountable.
ADYanks said, “The frustrating thing is the Yankees’ view goes from ‘there is no problem’ to ‘closer change’ in one game. If they just didn’t pretend he wasn’t struggling prior, the fan reaction would be less intense.”
The fan reaction is certainly weighing on Devin Williams, as fans chanted “We Want Weaver” after his recent blown save. Boone doesn’t believe that the crowd noise has any impact on players, as they’ve seen it all on their way to playing in a big league stadium.