Aaron Boone and the Process Remains Flawed
We learned that two days can summarize a body of work. It served as a confirmation of what we have known since 2018. Aaron Boone is the face of failure. The face of a system that claims there is a process, but will not tell you what it is. The process has ruined countless prospects from Clint Frazier to Jasson Dominguez at the price of their favored ones. It has taken established players and reduced them to talents who second-guess themselves. It has ultimately shown that no matter who puts on the uniform, the hidden faces who make decisions by the numbers or whatever random thoughts they come up with, reflect a flawed process.
Aaron Boone will never out-manage another MLB manager between the lines. He has, in eight seasons, failed to train a team effectively in fundamentals. The reasons expressed for the many failures reflect the weather conditions they faced in the previous two games. It was wet, a mess, and a case in point of why Aaron Boone should not be managing this team. It is exposed for all to see that without that protective blanket called Juan Soto, Yankee management does not have a clue what they are doing. It's in their methods and in their responses to a press corps that continues to refuse to press them.
The irony is that Clay Holmes has nothing to do with it. He is gone. The problem is an army of keyboard amateurs who should have been flushed down the toilet with him. However, they keep rising back into the bowel, leaving a stain. The final game against the Tampa Bay Rays was part one of this decisive arc. In a game that looked like a lost cause, an opportunity appeared in the eighth. The bases were loaded with New York trailing seven to three, and the Yankees had one of their three best hitters, Ben Rice, on the bench. They chose to let rookie J.C. Escarra, who was substituting for Austin Wells, who was given a rest day, bat instead, and he proceeded to hit into a double play. Rice was brought in later, and with a base open, they refused to challenge the hot hand. Boone's response was odd when Rice was not chosen. “Not with no outs, I wanted to stay away from Anthony,” Boone explained, “I'm choosing between Escarra and Vivas there, and you just gotta take the guy that's more experienced.”
Escarra and Vivas are the same in experience. Vivas drove in a run one batter later. Rice’s bat was wasted with a strategic walk, even though he could have caught it. Wells still ended up playing anyway, and Escarra moved to third. The moment passed. The explanation made no sense. The original intent was not realized. Everything he tried to justify was soon contradicted in one way or another. We won't even get into the short-lived leadoff experiment with catcher Wells at the top of the order.
Last night completed the recent arc in the opening game of the series against the San Diego Padres. We saw a high pop-up between the pitcher Carlos Rodon, third baseman Oswald Peraza, and first baseman Paul Goldschmidt that no one took command of. We also got to see Aaron Judge thrown out at the plate when third base coach Luis Rojas signaled Judge to try to score on a ball that was mishandled a few inches from second. Those were the appetizers. The main meal saw the Yankees blow a 3-0 lead, and this time it was pitching mismanagement. In the seventh with two outs, Fernando Cruz, the untouchable, got the final out with two men on. He was shelved for the rest of the game, having thrown only two pitches.
Then came the eighth, and the Airbender, Devin Williams, entered against the heart of the Padre’s order. Williams had looked better in low-leverage situations since having the closer role torn away from him after a horrid April. It was an uneven inning. He struck out Martin Maldonado and walked former Yankee Tyler Wade. He gave up a single to Brandon Lockridge but struck out Fernando Tatis Jr. Then came a third walk to Luis Arraez. The moment of truth was in front of Devin’s face. It was right there. Boone chose not to see the result. He did not trust Devin in a high-leverage situation. He brought in his closer, Luke Weaver. It blew up in his face. Weaver, who had been practically perfect all season, gave up four runs. The damage was done. In the ninth, he closed out the ninth with middle relief lefty specialist Tim Hill. Boone managed to mentally screw with three of his top relievers, men he will have to trust in late-season games and in October. In particular, Devin Williams does not have a shred of confidence left after not even having the opportunity to try to finish his work.
The numbers do not lie. The Yankees going into tonight are 19-16. They are fortunate to be in a very average American League where mediocrity reigns, and the Yankees are barely above that. The process must take into account the results. Otherwise, the impression is that the Yankees are not serious about winning, and the lack of professional baseball choices made by baseball men will continue to haunt this team and drag them to a place they visited only two seasons ago. They must start to rely on their prospects. They must find out now who they can depend on so that, as the deadline approaches, they can make better decisions. They need direction, not a process. The process is flawed. It has been proven by the numbers that the Yankees are average. This is not the word you use for World Series-caliber teams. The door continues to close ever closer to shut. It's time to screw the process and start using baseball instincts. It starts with the eyes.
