We have new rumblings about Aaron Boone and his Yankees future. And momentum for his retention seems to be building.
“The word you hear [on Boone]: “It’s up to Hal (Steinbrenner),” according to The Post’s Jon Heyman. “Unofficial word is he’s still under discussion, but Hal likes him (and so does everyone else), so the best guess is that he ultimately stays.”
We now have three recent local insider reports on Boone’s standing as manager. And they run the gamut. Heyman believes Boone will be back, but leaves the door for things to go the other way. SNY’s Andy Martino has Boone all but guaranteed to be back given he has general manager Brian Cashman’s confidence. And NJ.com’s Bob Klapisch has expressed skepticism Boone will survive this disastrous season.
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A common thread: Each report indicates Steinbrenner, and not Cashman, will make the final call on Boone. So even if Cashman wants Boone, Steinbrenner could overrule him if he is sufficiently infuriated. Klapisch has reported he could get there. But no one else has gone there just yet, and understandably so — Steinbrenner has a long track record of deferring to Cashman and refraining from making any difficult decision.
If we had to guess on where this is headed: The Baby Bombers will provide just enough juice for the Yankees to finish with a winning record. Maybe they even overtake the Red Sox for fourth place in the AL East. That will give Cashman and Steinbrenner enough cover to bring Boone back. But they will make a lot of noise about this season being unacceptable and force Boone to manage out his contract (next year is the last on his deal) to give the appearance they actually mean business.
James Kratch can be reached at james.kratch@xlmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @jameskratch.
