Last Tuesday, the Yankees doubled down on Brian Cashman’s decision from the winter of 2017.
That’s when Cashman decided to hire Aaron Boone to replace Joe Girardi as the team’s manager.
Girardi had a very successful run as the team skipper. He won a World Series, and his final season at the helm he guided a young team to just a win short of an American League pennant.
The Yankees were wrong to make a managerial change at that time, but the logic from the front office was pretty simple. The Yankees wanted a manager who would abide by the front office’s wishes at all times.
They wanted a positive PR man and a nice guy with the media.
Aaron Boone has provided all three of those elements in his four years at the helm, but there’s a major element missing on the Boone resume: postseason success.
In the four years Aaron Boone has managed the New York Yankees, they’ve only won one division title and haven’t sniffed a pennant or a World Series title.
Fair or unfair, the team has regressed under his guidance. To add insult to injury, two of Aaron Boone’s four postseason defeats came at the hands of the Boston Red Sox.
The stark comparison between Boone’s leadership and that of Red Sox manager Alex Cora was one of the many reasons I suggested the team make a managerial change in the offseason.
Yes, I’m aware front offices want to call the shots. However, there is something to be said for a difference-making manager.
The Red Sox win, the Yankees do not.
Aaron Boone’s contract was up, but the team decided that it would be business as usual.
Even with the Yankees dismissing four of Boone’s coaches, the team extended the skipper for another three seasons.
Is it a move I agree with? Absolutely not, but it doesn’t make it impossible for future success. The Yankees braintrust is back for 2022, but their way of doing business needs to change.
The roster as currently constructed is not of championship caliber, and that was pretty obvious watching the team this year. Massive changes are in order for the offseason. Or at least they should be.
My sense is most Yankees fans did not support the decision to bring back Aaron Boone, but I cannot imagine the frustration if the organization thinks the same cast of characters is good enough for an encore.
If the Yankees want to validate their decision to stand by their manager, it can’t be status quo up and down this roster in 2022.
Listen to “New York, New York” every Sunday, Wednesday & Friday on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.
