Yankees can no longer afford Aaron Boone's senseless mistakes

After a brutal stretch at the end of the first half, it appeared as if the New York Yankees had finally figured it out. They swept the Nationals before the All-Star break, and then led Friday's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers 1-0 through six innings. Gerrit Cole had mowed down a lethal Los Angeles Dodgers lineup through six frames, looking as good as he has all year. Boone seemed to have a quick hook on his veteran starter, appearing ready to pull him after he walked Mookie Betts to lead off the seventh inning. Cole talked him out of it, and the next batter, Max Muncy, flipped the game by launching a two-run homer. The Yankees lost by that 2-1 final score.

To his credit, Boone admitted his mistake after Friday's game, saying he should've taken Cole out of the game after he walked Betts to begin the seventh inning. As relieving as it might be to see someone take accountability, Boone making this mistake to begin with is something the Yankees can ill afford.

Aaron Boone's shortcomings are prevalent during recent Yankees skid

Boone has caught a lot of flak from the Yankees fanbase throughout his near decade-long tenure with the club, some fair, some not. Boone is certainly a better manager than most give him credit for, but he's also had the good fortune of managing some very strong Yankees rosters. Their roster is not nearly as strong right now, thanks to injuries to Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Max Fried and Carlos Rodon, and his shortcomings are a lot easier to spot now.

Managers need to be willing to make the uncomfortable decisions, even if they aren't what the star players want. Of course, Cole wants to work his way through the seventh inning, especially considering how well he had pitched through the first six! However, with Cole approaching 100 pitches, left-handed slugger Max Muncy due up after Cole issued a leadoff walk, and left-handed reliever Brent Headrick warming up in the bullpen, Boone had it right. He should have pulled Cole!

This isn't the first time Boone's long leash has come back to bite him during this stretch. Remember when, in the same game, he refused to pinch-hit Paul Goldschmidt for Oswaldo Cabrera in a huge spot and refused to pull Camilo Doval, who was unraveling?

With the injuries the Yankees are dealing with, Boone does not have the luxury of managing a loaded roster, and that makes the mistakes he makes more magnified. Obviously, Boone isn't the only person to blame for how the team has played with Judge and others out, but clearly, he's made his share of mistakes that have been tough for the team to overcome.

Yankees have to do a better job overcoming Aaron Boone's deficiencies

Boone hasn't always put his team in the best position to succeed, but the Yankees didn't help themselves either. Sure, the decision to leave Cole in to face Muncy stung in hindsight, but Cole also could've struck him out had Austin Wells chosen to challenge an 0-2 ball call that appeared to clip the corner.

Even beyond that at-bat, other issues can be pointed out. Trent Grisham was thrown out at the plate on what could've been a game-tying double in the bottom of the eighth inning. The Yankees managed to score only one run on the night as a whole. It's hard to win scoring only one run. There's a good chance that the Yankees would've lost the game had they pulled Cole given the lackluster showing from their lineup.

So, while yes, the Yankees can ill afford more of these Aaron Boone blunders, they also need to figure out a way to get out of their own way. They should've won this game even with Boone's mistake.

More MLB news and analysis:

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow