Someone alert #YankeesTwitter, because we’re about to have a serious talk about manager Aaron Boone. And no, we aren’t asking that he be fired.
But we will criticize the Yankees manager for lacking basic common sense. Bullpen management has kinda/sorta always been his greatest weakness, but what happened in Monday’s 3-2 loss to the Cleveland Guardians takes the cake. Take a deep breath as we channel Alexander himself and re-live this terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad decision-making.
Domingo German shut down Cleveland all night and kicked off the ninth inning with striking out Myles Straw. Steven Kwan answered with a single to center, Boone went to closer Clay Holmes, who in turn gave up the tying runs.
To add insult to injury, Wandy Peralta later walked in the go-ahead run.
German, meanwhile, had allowed just two hits in 8 1/3 innings and had thrown just 88 pitches. At an absolute minimum, he deserved a chance against the fairly light-hitting Amed Rosario.
But how did Boone rationalize pulling his starter? Simple home run concerns since German has already allowed seven this year:
Aaron Boone mentioned Domingo Germán’s struggles with the home run ball as a reason why he took him out in the ninth.
He also said that Germán was sharp in final few innings.
“That’s a difficult one. We’ve got to turn the page and get ready for tomorrow.”
— Max Goodman (@MaxTGoodman) May 2, 2023
To pick what’s more infuriating is a tough task. Boone’s awful decision, or his Jimmy Stewart-esque “Aw, shucks” nonchalance about it? The Yankees were two outs away from what might have been their best win of the season, and Boone panicked after Kwan, one of baseball’s better contact hitters, hit a single.
I’ve defended Boone. I’ve also been highly critical of him, especially during rough stretches like this one. Moreover, I get it. Holmes was an All-Star last year and should be trusted to get two quick outs to finish a game. The calendar also literally just turned to May and being 15-15 and last in the division right now isn’t a requiem for the season.
But what I’ve never been in Boone’s five-plus years on the job is straight livid with the man. Anyone who watched that game saw it. There was no slowing down German. He had full command of the strike zone and was hitting all of his spots.
And Boone took him out anyway, even though Holmes has struggled to start the year.
Again, Boone does not deserve to be fired for Monday’s mishaps. He’s already up against the wall with Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton both injured, plus too many pitchers to name. None of these struggles are his fault, nor is the Yankees’ lack of depth. That’s all on general manager Brian Cashman and the front office.
However, Boone does deserve harsh criticism when the situation allows it, and Monday’s loss was one of those nights. Was there a risk that Rosario or Jose Ramirez would have hit a game-tying or go-ahead home run? Of course. That’s baseball and the risk/reward is part of what makes the game great. Boone probably would have been criticized then, too, for leaving German in too long.
Except on Monday, and not to sound like a broken record, German was that good. And Boone took away his moment in a panic move we’d expect more from his predecessor, Joe Girardi. And during a time when his team needs him to show some stones and rally them to really earn some wins.
Lucky for the Yankees, there’s nowhere to go for them but upwards. The pitching staff is also competitive enough to keep the team in the race; case in point, German’s recent almost-gem.
But the team can’t rally behind the pitching if the manager clearly doesn’t trust the best-performing arms to finish the job. In which case, why is Boone a manager at all? Are the 442 career wins just a fluke, a mirage, maybe both?
If anything, this loss should be Boone’s wakeup call. He has a team, some might even say a good one, that he must trust to win games with or without their best hitters.
That means that sometimes, the best thing Boone can do as a manager is simple: Nothing. Let’s hope he remembers that lesson and helps spark a turnaround soon.
Follow ESNY on Twitter @elitesportsny
