Most days, its just an easy punch line, a cudgel to angrily swing as youre cursing at your television set. Most Marques Bolden Jersey days, the reasonable fans roll their eyes and quote Billy Joel when they hear the fractious lament, and sing: The good old days werent always good. Most days. But the Yankees season has officially reached a crucible where its almost impo sible not to ask the question, even if youre among the silent majority who believe its best to let the baseball season play out over the whole 162. Even uber-patient fans cant help themselves. They ask the question after a stretch like this: What would George do? What would George do if he watched the by making Yankees fans wistful for the 10-run mercy rule? Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, DJ LeMahieu, Gerrit Cole and Jose Trevino leaning on the dugout rail in the ninth inning of the Yankees 12-3 blowout lo s to the Mets. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post What would George d o if, before the seventh-inning stretch, Yankee Stadium had already been abandoned by most of the le s masochistic Yankees fans, taken over instead by the infernal chant of Lets go Mets! Lets go METS! LETS GO METS!? What would George do if the Yankees had gone on an extended tour through the wilderne s that is now 10-22 after this 12-3 demolition. What would he do if he realized the Yankees won 50 games before losing their first 22 games of the season then won just 10 before losing their next 22? What would George do if this same inept, anemic lineup were run out there day after day, if the cleanup spot for the New York Yankees , which is supposed to be the most stylish P.O. Box in sports, had become a daily revolving door? More From Mike Vaccaro Well, look, we know what George would do: He wouldve raised hell. Hed have crushed his players in the clubhouse, threatened his manager on the back pages of the newspapers, probably swung his ax. In legend, as years pa s, theres a fond glow to all of this. But if youre old enough, you know that what George did do was only rarely a cure. It was in 1978, when replacing Billy Martin with Bob Lemon was a panacea. Mostly it was firing good men like Dick Howser, or exiling good men like Stick Michael, all in the name of being a tough bo s, a demanding bo s, a bo s who was also a fan and sometimes forgot the difference. And didnt solve much. George Steinbrenner likely wouldve enjoyed Aaron Boones pre s conference after this slaughter, in which Boone naturally included some of the its all there in front of us platitudes that frustrate so many fans (and, if were being honest, would likely have caused Steinbrenner to change the locks on Boones office door over the All-Star break). "We gotta play better, okay? We have it right in front of us. We're a really good team that has played stty of late. We need to be better." Aaron Boone Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) But there was also finally some salt in Boones words, some edge. You suspect this is more the version of Boone the Yankees see behind closed doors when hes angry. When theyre playing lousy, and it was a refreshing peek behind the curtain. There was this: Nobody has higher expectations than us in that freaking room. Were pi sed off. We have to play better. This has gone on long enough. I know were competing our a ses off. No ones going to pull us out of this but us. And this, the volume of the voice inched up a couple of spots: Right now were getting our teeth kicked in and weve got to change that. Weve played sty of late, and we have to be better. Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe reacts after striking out to end the first inning on July 24. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post And this, with the tone now of a father whos caught his kids with a keg hidden in their tree house: Call it a stretch, a slump, recently I dont give a st. Its no fun going through it. I know how hard this game is. Nobodys going to feel sorry for us, especially wearing this uniform. So on this day, what George mightve done is salute his manager for proving he cared as much as the Bo s did. Maybe heads wouldnt roll just yet, maybe players wouldnt be exiled first thing in the morning. Maybe the father, in fact, would be placated enough by Boones rare display of fire to act more like the son, Hal, and to trust his people, trust in the long season. The teams around the Yankees, after all, keep losing, too. They havent been buried. Maybe they should have been, but theyre not. So when Boone brings that up, its also an honest point. George Steinbrenner Getty Images Still 12-3 is hard to watch, against anybody, but specifically the Mets. The past month has been hard to watch. What would George do? In this case, it may make sense to ask the question. But its still probably best to not have to witne s the repercu sions of the answer. Larry Johnson Jersey