Aaron Boone has company on Yankees hot seat after awful Little League Classic loss

Most New York Yankees fans have wanted Aaron Boone fired for years now, and for good reason. It's not only his fault that the team has not gotten over the hump in October, but this is his seventh season in the dugout, and it feels as if nothing has changed. The Yankees are a talented bunch that as of this writing, appears poised to fall short in October. Their loss on Sunday in Williamsport only emphasized that.

Marcus Stroman delivered his first quality start in nearly two months, holding the Detroit Tigers scoreless through six innings. He even outpitched AL Cy Young favorite Tarik Skubal in the process. Luke Weaver and Tommy Kahnle kept them off the board in the seventh and eighth, and New York held onto their skinny 1-0 lead heading into the ninth.

Instead of trying something new, Boone stuck with his struggling closer Clay Holmes who inevitably allowed the Tigers to tie the game at one. New York would lose the game in extra innings. Holmes' blown save was his tenth of the year which leads the majors. Even with that, Boone won't budge and is sticking with Holmes in closing situations.

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Aaron Boone should have company on Yankees hot seat

For the first two and a half months of the season, an argument could be made that Holmes was one of the best closers in baseball. He had allowed a total of four earned runs in his first 30 appearances and 29.1 innings pitched, with all four of those earned runs coming in one outing. Since then, though, the right-hander has not had nearly the same success, pitching to a 5.23 ERA in his last 21 appearances and blowing exactly half of his 14 save opportunities.

To an extent, Boone is right in his assessment of Holmes. He has had some tough breaks. In those last 21 appearances, he boasts a 2.82 FIP and has a .382 BAbip. Whether hard contact is made or not, hitters seem to be finding grass. With that being said, though, something has to change. Holmes in the ninth simply isn't working.

Boone notes that the Yankees have several "really good options." If that's true, why not use them? Try them out! If all fails, go back to Holmes!

The Yankees used Jake Cousins, a reliever with a 2.10 ERA, in a save situation just last week when Holmes was not available, and he pitched a hitless ninth to lock down a win. Tommy Kahnle has a 1.74 ERA this season and has been nothing but solid in parts of six seasons with the Yankees. Is he not deserving of an opportunity? Even Luke Weaver has been mostly solid late in games for New York this season, unexpectedly.

This isn't what Holmes will want in his walk year, but the Yankees have to try something else late in games. This formula has not worked for months. If they do truly have other options, let Holmes work out his issues in a lower-leverage role and turn to one of the others. Sticking with a struggling reliever when by his own admission he doesn't have to, will only make Boone's seat hotter.