Aaron Boone on Yankees' Slump: 'It Sucks, It's Heavy ... It Eats at You'

The star-laden New York Yankees are just 21-21 and have lost 15 of their last 20 games. They trail the Tampa Bay Rays (28-15) by 6.5 games and the Toronto Blue Jays (24-18) by three games in the AL East with 18 games left to play.

Manager Aaron Boone told reporters Wednesday the losing is taking a toll.

"When you're getting punched in the mouth and you're going through a tough stretch, it sucks, it's heavy, you know?" Boone said. "I go home at night and hurt and don't sleep as well as I should, and those kind of things—it eats at you. If it didn't, then you probably shouldn't necessarily be here."

Expensive offseason addition Gerrit Cole said he didn't expect the Yankees to be a .500 team:

If the season ended today, the Yankees would still be the final wild-card team in the American League. And they have eight games remaining against the Blue Jays, giving them a chance to push past Toronto to earn one of the two guaranteed playoff berths out of the AL East.

But there is real cause for concern in New York. A team with a payroll over $250 million shouldn't be this mediocre.