Boone responded to the criticism from the Yankees legends: "It's inevitable."

Despite Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez having last worn the Yankees pinstripes as teammates almost ten years ago, their voices remain influential in the Yankees clubhouse.

Before Saturday night's classic race between the Braves and the Reds on FOX, the two retired stars offered sharp critiques of their former team. Previously, the Yankees had lost 2-0 to the Marlins at LoanDepot Park, which included a blunder: Jazz Chisholm Jr. was doubled off on a pop-up to second base.

“They made too many mistakes,” Jeter said. “You can't make that many mistakes against a strong team. It simply doesn't work. They had base-running errors today—you saw Trent Grisham get tagged out at home. You can't keep going like this. You have to fix these issues.”

Rodriguez echoed similar sentiments, suggesting that the current Yankees culture lacks "accountability."

“If any one of us made a mistake, we would be benched,” Rodriguez said. “I see mistake after mistake, yet there are no consequences.”

These comments caught the attention of manager Aaron Boone, who acknowledged that the team needs to perform better.

Just in late May, the Yankees had a seven-game lead in the American League East. However, following Saturday's loss, they fell to third place with a record of 60 wins and 51 losses, trailing the Blue Jays (65 wins, 47 losses) and the Red Sox (61 wins, 51 losses).

“Listen, we are the Yankees,” Boone said. “When we lose, if it's due to mistakes, that criticism is fair. Ultimately, we have all the components to be a very good team. Whether we can capitalize on those advantages depends on me and all of us.”

Boone countered Rodriguez's claim about the team's lack of discipline, stating that internal accountability does exist, even if outsiders don't always see it.

“I somewhat disagree with the notion of accountability, but the reality is, we focus on doing our best every day,” Boone said. “We have to do that. But I understand that when things don’t happen, or we don’t achieve the record I believe we should have—of course, there are criticisms.”

In the end, performance on the field is what matters most.

“No excuses. You have to play better,” Jeter said. “If you don’t perform well, you won’t go far.”

Rodriguez also pointed fingers at the starting rotation, stating that even if the Yankees bring in relievers David Bednar, Camilo Doval, and Jake Bird before the trade deadline, they need better performances from the starters.

For instance, the wild 13-12 loss to their opponents on Friday night was due to Carlos Rodón failing to complete five innings with the team leading 6-0. Rodón later called the early exit "unacceptable."

“I don't care if you bring back the 1998 bullpen with Mariano [Rivera], Mike Stanton, and Jeff Nelson,” Rodriguez said. “If your pitchers only go 3.1 innings or 4.1 innings, it's not going to work.”

Boone insisted that the Yankees have enough talent to contend for the playoffs—but time is running out.

“We have the components to be a truly good team,” Boone said. “We need to start showing it at a more consistent level.”