Long-time readers will know I’m a big baseball fan. I think it’s a great sport, and I find a lot of inspiration from it.

And not always good inspiration.

My favorite team, the New York Yankees, entered June in 1st place, leading by 5.5 games. That’s a pretty healthy lead.

But injuries started creeping in, players got shuffled around, and now they’re in 2nd place, behind the Blue Jays a little more than halfway through the season.

What’s most interesting is that it wasn’t their offense that failed them.

They consistently scored five or more runs per game (20/38 games, starting from June 1), which should typically be enough to win.

So why did they have a record of 18 wins and 19 losses? The issues ran deeper.

The issues ran deeper.

How Bad Defense Led to More Losses

There were a couple of key problems:

1. Lack of depth in the bullpen
2. Poor defense

But the defense—or lack of it—was more damaging than people realized.

An error isn’t just a stat. An error means more time on the field. It means the pitcher throws more pitches.

And all of that adds up to fatigue. Even when the Yankees scored plenty of runs, they lost games because of that extra wear and tear.

The bullpen—which was already thin—got overworked. The players’ mentality suffered. And a string of losses followed.

Fixing the Defense

Eventually, they made the defensive changes needed. That’s great, but it was too late. They already lost first place. These moves should have happened in mid-June, not early July.

Once they did fix the defense, things turned around. They started dominating games again—winning 11–0 and 10–3 instead of losing 7–5 or 8–6. Their bullpen wasn’t worn out.

The pitchers weren’t on the mound as long. The mental game improved.

How’s Your Business’ Defense?

Bad defense doesn’t just hurt baseball teams—it also hurts your business.

Even if your “offense” is strong, meaning:

• Clients are coming in
• People are buying your product
• Your marketing is clicking

…it won’t matter if your “defense” is falling apart.

The defense is what protects your time and your health. It’s the stuff that allows you to finish strong instead of burning out and falling apart late in the game.

If you’re not protecting your time, if you’re not automating routine tasks, or delegating properly, you’ve got bad defense.

You might look successful on paper, but behind the scenes, it’s chaos.

And just like the Yankees, even if you’re “scoring runs,” you’re still going to lose if you can’t sustain the pace.

Focus on Business Defense as much as Offense

Good systems matter. Protect your time and put structures in place before things fall apart—because winning early doesn’t mean much if you can’t finish strong.

Strong offense might win individual games, but great defense and smart systems are what win championships.