Aaron Boone is really playing with fire with Game 1 pitching decision

In a perfect world, the New York Yankees would trot ace Gerrit Cole out onto the mound of Game 1 against the Guardians of the ALCS on Monday night. Unfortunately for manager Aaron Boone, Cole's rest does not line up to give him the nod.

That's why the Yankees skipper was left with an intriguing decision to make on what starting pitcher to go with. Clarke Schmidt's performance down the stretch made him a tempting option. In the end, Boone went with the so-called safe choice and entrusted Carlos Rodon with the chance to get the team's next series off to a great start.

Rodon was the team's No. 2 starter for most of the regular season. The Yankees paid him big money in free agency so they'd have two aces for postseason series' just like these. The lack of postseason history for Schmidt or Luis Gil made both pitchers relative longshots to unseat Rodon in the race to start Game 1.

None of that means that choosing Rodon doesn't come with significant risk for Boone. This is the sort of decision that could define this postseason for the Yankees. There is significant pressure on the veteran manager to end the franchise's lengthy World Series drought.

Aaron Boone is putting a lot at stake starting Carlos Rodon in Game 1

The biggest risk in going with Rodon is the sheer power that the Guardians have from the right side of the plate. Jose Ramirez projects to hit cleanup and absolutely feasts on left-handed pitching. Both David Fry and Lane Thomas will also like their chances of being able to punish New York's enigmatic southpaw.

The other drawback to putting Rodon on the bump in Game 1 is that it leaves Gil accumulating rust in the bullpen. The Yankees haven't used him in a competitive game since September 28th. They will likely need him to step up and be a starter at some point during this series. It would have made a lot of sense to get him on the field in Game 1 to allow him to feed off the emotion that will be present in Yankee Stadium.

Rodon's mercurial nature also makes pitching him in high leverage situations a risk. That's not something the Yankees can afford to avoid though. He's the most talented starter on the roster outside of Cole and that's what won out in Boone's mind. Pitching him in such an important game is a major risk but it's one New York knew they were taking when they paid Rodon in free agency.