The Yankees lost Game 4, so brace yourself for the Aaron Boone hot takes
Aaron Boone guided the Yankees to 100 wins in the regular season, but a rough postseason could have his job in serious jeopardy.
Managing the New York Yankees is a terrific privilege, but it can also be an enormous burden. Aaron Boone is finding that out the hard way in his rookie campaign. He piloted his team to a pretty successful regular season, but a one-sided loss to the Red Sox in Game 4 could put his job in jeopardy.
For the record, it would likely take something pretty catastrophic to force Brian Cashman into making a move. He hand-picked Boone out of the announcer’s booth to take over for Joe Girardi last season. That was not a move Cashman made lightly.
He clearly sees something special in Boone. While he hasn’t been perfect this season, he did still guide the Yankees to the Playoffs. Winning 100 games wasn’t enough to win the AL East, but it was still a solid return given the deficiencies on Boone’s roster. It’s certainly not the sort of regular season performance that gets a manager fired.
That doesn’t mean all of Boone’s decisions this season have been above reproach. He’s made more than his share of in-game mistakes. His inability to see Luis Severino’s struggles in Game 3 likely allowed the game to become a blowout when it didn’t necessarily have to get out of hand. Boone has made quite a few mistakes like this on the season that have irritated quite a few Yankee fans.
On the other hand, he’s gotten quite a few decisions right as well. Sticking with Gary Sanchez despite his horrible regular season likely won Game 2 for his team. For that matter, starting Severino in the Wild Card Game wasn’t the most popular choice, but it also allowed the Yankees to make it this far. We’re not going to try to keep score of good versus bad decisions here. Suffice it to say he’s made his share of both in 2018. That’s par for the course for a first-year manager.
Absent a catastrophe on Tuesday night, Boone’s job should be safe. The same can’t be said for pitching coach Larry Rothschild. His pitching staff hasn’t been a disaster this season, but it’s hard to argue that anyone’s gotten better under Rothshild’s tutelage. His inability to correct Severino’s second-half swoon may ultimately be his undoing. It’s also worth noting that Cashman was forced to acquire two starters at the deadline just to keep Rothshild’s rotation afloat.
CC Sabathia is pitching for his Yankees future. dark. Next
The thing you should understand here is that a loss in Game 4 will absolutely bring changes to the Yankees in the offseason. Boone probably isn’t going to be among them, but this organization doesn’t stand pat. Expect to see change on the roster and the coaching staff if the team can’t get by Boston. Losing a postseason series to the Red Sox will never be acceptable to the Yankees.