After sweeping the Chicago White Sox in easy fashion over the weekend, things got tougher for the New York Yankees who had to welcome the Seattle Mariners to town. The Mariners aren't a team without faults, but their starting rotation is as good or better than the Yankees. Winning that series would not be easy, and the Yankees have figured that out the hard way.
New York lost the opener in crushing fashion as the usually dominant Clay Holmes blew a three-run lead. They were shutout by Bryan Woo through six innings of Tuesday's game and were looking to comeback from a 4-0 deficit against Seattle's bullpen.
Gleyber Torres hit a three-run homer to cut the lead down to one in the bottom of the seventh, and then Aaron Boone Aaron Boone'd. In hindsight, he regrets the mistake that he made, but he still gets no sympathy from Yankees fans.
Yankees fans don't give Aaron Boone a break even when he admits his mistakes
Aaron Boone was asked about the decision to bring in Clayton Andrews after Gleyber Torres' 3-run homer cut the deficit to 1
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) May 22, 2024
"I liked the lane for him. The case there is to bring in there [Caleb Ferguson], which in hindsight I probably should've done" pic.twitter.com/YQEqm3EoO6
The Yankees had the momentum and looked poised to try and steal a game they had a slim chance of winning. Rather than turn to veteran left-hander Caleb Ferguson, Boone turned to Clayton Andrews, a pitcher that the Yankees had just been called up the day prior.
Andrews made four appearances for the Milwaukee Brewers last season and struggled mightily, allowing 11 runs (10 earned) in 3.1 innings of work. Boone chose to throw him into a close game in which the Yankees had momentum. Andrews would proceed to allow a home run on the first pitch he threw and hit a batter as well. He faced the minimum of three batters before Boone pulled him.
The decision to go with Andrews did not age well at all, and Yankees fans made sure to point their frustration in Boone's direction.
Boone brings in a pitcher on the night of his debut
— Ricky Briones (@ezequielbrione2) May 22, 2024
The reliever was nervous and gave up the Home Run, you can see it on his face
A manager must put his players in a position to succeed
Guy will never know how to manage a bullpen. His first option is to use the guy called up always before they send him back down
— Scott Langenfeld (@Scott0909Scott) May 22, 2024
Newsflash you should never search to put in a reliever with 6.6 ERA in AAA in a major league game. Is it little league where every player has to make an appearance? A loser cop out excuse cause he didn’t get another guy up in time smh
— Michael McGrath (@xMikeMcGrath) May 22, 2024
Now, since the Yankees didn't score again, it's hard to place the blame squarely in Boone's direction, but Yankees fans seem to be doing just that. It's hard to fully blame them though, as the decision to go with Andrews gave Seattle the momentum right after New York had taken it away. It's not all Boone's fault, but he's not exactly blameless either.
Even with this latest hiccup, it's pretty crazy to see Yankees fans so animated against their manager. I mean, the Yankees still have the best record in the AL entering play on Wednesday despite back-to-back losses, and that's been without key players like Gerrit Cole and DJ LeMahieu. Boone has certainly helped more than he's hurt even after last night, yet he gets all of the blame thrown his way when the team likely would've lost either way. Thus is the life for a New York manager.