Aaron Boone

Yankees News, 7/1: Aaron Boone on the hot seat, Stanton lashes back after 9th inning implosion

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New York Yankees, Aaron Boone

Yankees ace Gerrit Cole might be regretting signing a nine-year contract with the team in the hopes of winning a championship in New York. The Bombers are imploding, having lost five of their last six games, including a 9th inning implosion on Wednesday evening. After a lengthy rain delay, all the Yankees had to do was finish off an easy victory after plastering the Angels with seven runs in the first inning. In fact, they were up 8-4 in the 8th before closer Aroldis Chapman gave up a Grand Slam to Jared Walsh.

Chapman has been a liability lately, seeing his ERA elevate to 3.77. Over his last two games, he has allowed six earned runs, barely sneaking away with a triple play to get himself out of trouble against the Oakland Athletics several games ago. The reality is, the Yankees are in way over their head, despite having the league’s highest payroll. General manager Brian Cashman has already absolved the coaching staff of any liability, so who’s to blame?

After the defeat, slugger Giancarlo Stanton lashed out, expressing the frustration in the club and the desire just string together a few wins:

“We’re all frustrated. We’ve got to pick this shit up. That’s it.”

Skipper Aaron Boone delivered a similar message, indicating that actions speak louder than words:

“Talk is cheap right now. We need to go out and play full games and start hammering some people.”

Unfortunately for Boone, Yankee fans rained down “fire Boone” chants after blowing a late four-run lead.

At this point, it should be a consideration for the Yankees that Boone simply might not be the right coach for this team. He doesn’t seem to have that inspirational spark you want with a star-studded lineup — being considered a non-playoff contending team is simply embarrassing. If you look at any other sport, coaching is ultimately the catalyst behind extracting the most value out of extremely talented players. The Yankees have one of the best batting orders in baseball, and while all the blame can’t be designated to Boone, the coaching staff much take some responsibility for their faults.

The team is preparing to take on the Angels in the final game of the four-game series, and it is a contest they must win. They are now 8.5 games back in the AL East standings, and if they don’t win the majority of their games moving forward, the Yankees will be watching from their couches as the postseason unravels in September.

New York Yankees: Takeaways from Yankees stunning loss to the Angels

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New York Yankees, Aroldis Chapman

The New York Yankees game last night, against the Angels, was filled with three things, tremendous highs, unbelievable lows, and rain delays. First, the rain delays, one for 42 minutes and another for 91 minutes. Before the rain delay, the Yankee fans were jubilant after scoring 7 runs in the first inning against the phenom Shohei Ohtani. However, after the rain delays, the Yankees were left in shambles as they blew a 4 run lead in the ninth. As a result, the Yankees lost the game 11-8. The game ended at 1:12 am today.

Ohtani bombed out in the first.

The Los Angeles Angels put their star pitcher Shohei Ohtani on the mound last night and announced he would also be the DH. However, he never got to hit a single ball because he was out of the game in only 2/3 of an inning. Ohtani may be a great hitter, but he didn’t impress as a pitcher last night as he walked three and allowed a single to Stanton for the first Yankees run. By the time he was removed, only getting one out, he had allowed seven Yankee runs.

New York Yankee starter Domingo German was nothing to celebrate either; he had his third bad game in a row last night, giving up three runs in three innings. German had no command of his pitches. He gave up three hits for three earned runs.

At the top of the first inning, German faced the incredible Shohei Ohtani that was pitching and leading off for the Angels; he is the first pitcher to lead off against the Yankees since 1968. He flew out to Brett Gardner in left-center. Anthony Rendon walked. Jared Walsh flew out to Andujar with the extreme shift on. Phil Gosselin got a two-run homer to center for the Angels’ two-run lead. Fletcher flew out to end the inning. German gave up another run in the second, Taylor Ward walked. Juan Lagares hit a double driving in Ward. After loading the bases bearly getting out of another jam, German was removed from the game.

The biggest loss of Aaron Boone’s tenure

Last night Aaron Boone may have endured the worst loss of his management career. Many are calling for Boone to be fired and replaced by someone more competent. Last night’s loss may only add fire to those desires. No, Boone didn’t lose the game, Aroldis Chapman did, but the Yankees couldn’t hold the lead after scoring seven runs in the first inning. After the freaky first inning, the Yankees returned to the Yankees; they have been most of the season. They did not score another run until the eighth inning when Brett Gardner hit a solo home run. They returned to the team they have been, hitting into double plays and leaving men on base. They were 3 for 12 with runners in scoring position. After Chapman gave up the lead in the ninth, the Yankees went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning.

If there were any bright spots in the game, it was the first time in Yankee history that they had gotten seven runs in the first inning of any game. The other is the two relievers returning from the IL, Justin Wilson and Darren O’Day, who combined two scoreless innings of relief.

Chapman was a total mess in the ninth

Aroldis Chapman took to the mound in the ninth with a four-run lead to work with. Taylor Ward walked. Juan Lagares hit into a force at second. Stassi walked. Rendon also walked the bases loaded. Jered Walsh hit a grand slam against Chapman to tie the game. It was the first Grand Slam given up by Chapman in his career. Here are some disturbing facts: Chapman has allowed eight walks in his last four outings. He gave up the first grand slam of the ninth inning since 1986. It is the first time the Yankees have given up a 4 run lead in the ninth since 2000. Chapman, in his first 18 games, had an ERA of 0.00. In his last 13 games, his ERA is 6.55. If Chapman continues to pitch as he has recently, the Yankees are doomed.

Lucas Luetge was brought on to end the bleeding. Gosselin walked. Fletcher singled to center. Iglesias with men on the corners struck out. Rengifo got a line drive to left, driving in two runs. Ward doubled to left, driving in another run. Lagares struck out to finally end the half. Angels 11 Yankees 8. The New York Yankees are going backward. Just over a week ago, they had climbed to just four games out of first in the AL East; they are now 8 1/2 games behind the East-leading Boston Red Sox.

 

 

Will the New York Yankees be buyers or sellers at the deadline?

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New York Yankees, Brian Cashman

The New York Yankees GM Brian Cashman was blunt yesterday in saying that the team sucked. To be quite honest, it was honestly refreshing to get away from Aaron Boone’s optimism speeches and here someone say it like it is; this team sucks right now.

Now, I will say, I didn’t like how Cashman refused to blame anything on Boone. His inability to get anything out of this roster should be called out along with the rest of the coaches. That said, there are so many problems with the Yankees that it’s hard to pinpoint the blame.

The Yankees did respond yesterday by pummeling the Angels 11-5. The win snapped a four-game losing streak which included a sweep by the Boston Red Sox. Today is the last day of June and the trade deadline is just around the corner.

The Yankees find themselves in an interesting position. Heading into the season, many pegged The Bombers as a threat to win the World Series. However, now, it’s hard to even imagine this fourth-place team making the playoffs.

The team has the pieces to make a huge second-half run, but it’s hard to even imagine at this point with the way they look. With the deadline coming up, the question will shift from ‘Who will the Yankees get?’ to ‘Are they going to buy or sell?’

Will the Yankees buy?

Brian Cashman didn’t rule out the possibility that the Yankees would be sellers when speaking to the media yesterday. I think the GM is keeping all of his options open at this point and the next couple of weeks will really dictate the rest of the season.

If the Yankees decide to buy, they need to look at centerfield and they need to look at starters. We really don’t know what were going to get out of Corey Kluber and Luis Severino the rest of the way.

If both guys come back and pitch to their potential, that’s huge for the Yankees. However, should the bombers bank on that? Absolutely not. If they want to contend, they need to go out and get another starting pitcher they can rely on to pitch behind Gerrit Cole.

Obviously centerfield has been a disaster with Hicks out and the Yankees need someone of quality patrolling the middle. Perhaps someone like a Starling Marte or Joey Gallo could be in the cards. Ketel Marte would be the ideal target, but it’s hard to see that happening.

Hybrid approach?

If the Yankees completely fall apart in the coming weeks, I definitely see a scenario well they decide to sell. However, it won’t be a sell in the traditional sense. Instead, I could see them selling to build towards a WS run in 2022.

What could that entail? Well, trading Gleyber Torres or Clint Frazier could very well be in the cards. Also trading away some relievers could be in the cards as well. Now, you might ask how trading Gleyber Torres could help in 2022?

Well, I think it’s obvious at this point that Gleyber Torres is not a shortstop. If a team in contention needs a really solid second base option Torres could be the guy. With his potential, the Yankees could still get a good haul for him and they’d be in a position to sign one of the star free agent shortstops in the offseason to replace him.

The situation in The Bronx is extremely fluid at the moment. I still believe that this team has the pieces to make a run, but were at the point where I have to see it to believe it will actually happen. There’s a lot of pressure on Brian Cashman and I’ll be very curious to see the strategy unfold over the next month.

What should the Yankees do at the deadline? Buy to try and win this year or sell to build towards next year?

Yankees’ manager Aaron Boone: ‘Talk is cheap, we’ve got to go out and do it’

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New York Yankees, Aaron Boone

The New York Yankees fell to 40-38, dangerously close to .500 in a very competitive division, after losing the series opener against the Los Angeles Angels in Yankee Stadium. It’s the fourth consecutive defeat for a team that is quickly losing ground in the AL East.

The Yankees hit two home runs, one each by Giancarlo Stanton and Gio Urshela, and they still couldn’t come away with the win. The Shohei Ohtani-led offense of the Angeles was too much for Mike King and the relievers last night.

“We just haven’t showed up every night,” Stanton told MLB.com. “We’ll have spurts of it. But this game, these seasons, this uniform isn’t about spurts. It’s about showing up every night, so we’ve got to pick it up.”

The Yankees are now in fourth place

The fourth-place Yankees are now 7 1/2 games behind the division-leading Boston Red Sox and fell behind the pesky Toronto Blue Jays. The Tampa Bay Rays are also above them in the East.

“Talk is cheap,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “We’ve got to go and do it. As disappointing and as frustrating as it is to not grab this first one, especially coming off the weekend we had [in Boston], we’ve got to go play and try and dig ourselves out of this.”

The Yankees finished over 100 victories in each of Boone’s first two full seasons at the helm. They are not only dangerously close to fall off that pace entirely, but they could miss the playoffs if there isn’t a reaction soon.

Stanton still believes the Yankees can meet the huge expectations people have in them.

“Absolutely. We have in the past,” he said. “We’ve shown plenty that we’re capable of doing it. It doesn’t really matter, anything that I say right now. We’ve got to go do it. Words aren’t going to do anything.”

Yankees News, 6.29: Aaron Boone displays fear as season ‘on the line’, Angels player vomits on mound

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New York Yankees, Aaron Boone

The New York Yankees are tumbling after enjoying a winning streak that saw them emerge victorious in seven of nine games last week. However, they are currently on a 4-game losing streak after being swept by the Boston Red Sox and dropping the first game of a four-game series against a sub .500 Los Angeles Angels team.

The Yankees are now 40-38 on the season and sit 7.5 games back from first place after being within reaching distance prior to the weekend. In Game 1 against the Angels, the Yankees recorded six hits and struck out nine times. The offense once again has emerged as a liability, despite putting two runs on the board in the first two innings. It took until the sixth inning for Giancarlo Stanton to launch a solo shot to left field, but they were blanked for the remainder of the contest.

Skipper Aaron Boone continues to toss optimistic narratives into the media, but the reality is, his team is not performing despite having the largest payroll in baseball. Some believe that Boone’s time as manager could be coming to an end, whether it be his in-game changes or lack of motivation for his players.

“The good news is we are still in complete control of the script,” manager Aaron Boone said Monday. “But I don’t think there’s any question moving forward that night in and night out, our season’s on the line. Win or lose tonight, we have to come with that same mindset the next day and the next day. Hopefully we find that consistency that I know is in there.”

While the Yankees still have control of their destiny, losing four consecutive games doesn’t exactly scream efficiency and playoff hopes. The Bombers will feature Jameson Taillon on Tuesday evening in an attempt to end this 4-game skid. In Taillon’s last performance, he allowed just one run over 6.1 innings in an 8-1 victory over Kansas City. Hopefully, he can string together another impressive performance, as the Yankees desperately need a victory to change the momentum.
Another interesting storyline, angels starter Dylan Bundy vomited behind the mound due to the excessive heat at Yankee Stadium. On a hot and humid day, Bundy must have been dehydrated. He was pulled immediately after the incident.

 

 

New York Yankees Analysis: Gerrit Cole’s problems continue, what lies ahead?

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New York Yankees, Aaron Boone, Gerrit Cole

Suppose the New York Yankees have any chance of advancing to the postseason; they must rely on ace Gerrit Cole to lead the way. With Cole’s performance in his last two outings, that future remains in question. What started out as a season with mostly excellent starting pitching and a baseball-leading bullpen. The season looked bright for the New York Yankees, with most industry insiders saying that the Yankees were the team to beat. Much has changed since then, the starting pitchers and even those in the bullpen have struggled at times, and the Yankee hitters that were supposed to represent one of the strongest lineups in baseball have dramatically faltered.

The Yankees now find themselves almost have way through the season in fourth place in the AL East, behind the Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, and Toronto Blue Jays, teams they must beat to win the East prize. However, the Yankees are now six games off of the pace that would put them in the first place. The Yankees have been too inconsistent all season, sometimes taking a step forward then falling two steps back. Their one constant this season has been Yankee ace Gerrit Cole, but now even that is in question.

It has been an unsettling month for Gerrit Cole.  He allowed nine homers during June, the second-most he has ever allowed during a month. The most were in August of last season when he allowed 10 long balls. After Cole struck out 14.8 batters per nine innings during the March/April period, that figure dropped to 9.6 in May and 9.3 in June. Also, in June, Cole’s ERA has risen from 1.48 to 2.66. Although his record is 8-4, the New York Yankees have lost 8 of his 16 starts, and that is not the result the Yankees want to see from their ace.

Yesterday was just another example of Cole’s decline.  After Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez put the Yankees down 1-2-3 at the top of the first inning, Cole’s nightmare began. His first pitch to Red Sox leadoff hitter Kike Hernandez deposited a bomb into the green monster stands. But, unfortunately, the worst was yet to come. Cole allowed two more runners, then Rafael Devers came to the plate and hit a three-run blast into the right-center field bleachers. Just like that, the New York Yankees were behind by four runs in just minutes before the Yankees got their first hit.

After the game catcher, Kyle Higashioka stated that he thought Cole didn’t have good control of his secondary pitches. Cole, after the game, said he had trouble keeping his fastball down. The bottom line is that two misplaced down the middle of the zone pitches cost the Yankees big-time. Although Cole’s poor pitching yesterday was in the spotlight, his involvement in the “sticky ball” situation remained in the minds of Yankee fans. Cole has been the poster boy for the supposed use of sticky substances to improve grip and spin rate. Coles’s spin rate was down yesterday from what it was before MLB’s crackdown on the use of any sticky substance.

The Yankee ace ended up pitching only five innings, his shortest outing since a game against the Texas Rangers on May 17th. He gave up 6 runs, just one less than his five outings in April. It is the first time in his career he gave up a leadoff home run, the first time he allowed two home runs and allowed four runs in his first inning. Although his loss was a worry yesterday, what may be more concerning is that Yankee fans are now wondering what they can expect from Cole in the future. If the Yankees hope to catch the three teams ahead of them in the East. After the game, Cole commented on his pitching.

“Couldn’t get the breaking ball down,” Cole said after the game, speaking to his lack of command. “Couldn’t get the fastball where I wanted to. Tried to make a good pitch to Devers and absolutely pulled it into the wrong part of the zone. The first pitch of the game to Kiki Hernandez was poorly located as well.”

A pitcher with Cole’s resume could be excused for a bad month, but with the spotlight on Cole and his reduced spin rate during the crackdown for the use of any sticky substance by MLB, it only adds to the tension Cole faces to pitch well. The underlying metrics of his decline and spin rate will be a moot point if he consistently wins games, but he continues his June performance into July and beyond, it will be concerning. Additionally, to be completely fair to Cole, he has gotten less than three runs of support from the Yankee hitters in his losses, another area of concern for the team.

The bottom line in all of this is that Gerrit Cole is now in the hot seat, needing to perform. He is joined by manager Aaron Boone who, if his seat isn’t hot, will begin to feel the heat if he can’t turn this underperforming team around in time to run for the postseason. Unfortunately, his uninspiring after-game platitudes aren’t cutting it.

Yankees News, 6/28: Gerrit Cole explains his awful performance against Boston, Aaron Boone on hot seat?

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Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees

Entering the season, the Boston Red Sox weren’t assumed to be an elite team this year, but having swept the New York Yankees for the second time this season, it seems as if expectations have polarized. Boston overcame the Yankees 9-2 on Sunday as they pulled ahead in the AL East standings. The Yankees now sit 6.5 games back from the Red Sox in first place and six games behind the Tampa Bay Rays.

After pulling within 3.5 games of first, the Yankees now sit near the bottom of the division, only ahead of the Baltimore Orioles, who’re 23 games back and showcasing another embarrassing season.

However, starting pitcher Gerrit Cole struggled considerably in the outing, watching his ERA bubble to 2.66. Over 5.0 innings, he allowed eight hits and five earned runs, striking out just six batters while giving up three HRs. In the first three innings, Cole allowed six runs before Aaron Judge hit a two-run blast to drive in DJ LeMahieu. Unfortunately, there was no way Boston was walking out of Fenway without sweeping the Yankees in front of their home fans.

“Yeah, you hit the nail on the head right there, I couldn’t get the breaking ball down, couldn’t get the fastball where we wanted to,” Cole said. “I tried to make a good pitch to Devers and absolutely pulled it into the wrong part of the zone.

“The first pitch of the game was poorly located, as well, and he put a good swing on it, so a bit of credit to Kiké there. … As the game went on, I think things started to progress a little better, but at that point, much of the damage had been done.”

At this point in the season, it seems field manager Aaron Boone could be on the hot seat. When you have the highest payroll in baseball and can’t string together a few wins and produce consistency, it suggests a possible management change. Some are already curating rumors of different managerial candidates that could fit the bill if Boone is fired after the season. There’s no doubt the clock is ticking, and the Yankees could be looking for a different style of manager come 2022.

Of course, an option like Buck Showalter might be of preference, given his experienced career. Even third base coach Phil Nevin could be an alternative when considering his experience with the club.

However, Boone still has a bit of time to right the ship, but if things continue to tumble and the Yankees can’t drag themselves out of the basement, there’s a good chance Boone could find himself looking for work in a few months.

Cashman confident in Yankees and Boone: ‘We made this bed, and we’re going to sleep in it’

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New York Yankees, Aaron Boone, Brian Cashman

The New York Yankees have lost seven of their last ten games, and had been losing ground in the competition with AL East foes before last night’s win against the Toronto Blue Jays. The bad streak, and their 33-32 record (now 34-32) prompted a media appearance from general manager Brian Cashman.

The executive didn’t hide his frustration about the team’s sluggish recent performance, but remains confident that manager Aaron Boone and his coaching staff are the right men for the job.

“Losing invites the scrutiny on us all,” Cashman said, as published by MLB.com. “I’d best answer that as we’re in this together. We made this bed, and we’re going to sleep in it, and we’re going to make sure that we find a way to fix this together.”

The Yankees boss explained that during his tenure as GM, he has never made an in-season managerial or coaching change, and he doesn’t intend to change that now.

“It is frustrating to watch. I get it,” Cashman said. “And it’s frustrating to watch because we’re better than this. It’s not because Aaron Boone doesn’t know what he’s doing. It’s not because any of the coaching staff aren’t doing the job to the best of their abilities. We are dealing with it; I promise you that.”

The Yankees’ cold streak

Entering Tuesday’s game, the Yankees had dropped 11 of 15 games. Boone admitted he felt pressure to change the course of the season.

“It’s been a hard year,” Boone said. “We got off to a very difficult start the first couple of weeks of the season, then righted the ship for a week. These last couple of weeks have been tough. I wear that. I feel that. I’m invested in this job.”

The Yankees are hoping that Wednesday’s narrow victory over the Jays is the start of a hot streak that helps them recover some of the lost ground in the division.

 

Yankees’ Aaron Boone loses it after being asked if team is ‘getting used to losing’

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New York Yankees, Aaron Boone

The New York Yankees are preparing to take on the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday evening, a powerful offensive team who can easily give the Bombers issues.

With the Yankees taking their talents, or lack thereof, to Buffalo, they will look to correct some of their current struggles, ranging from starting pitching to a lack of offensive production on a daily basis. Toronto is coming off a defeat against the Boston Red Sox but posted 18 runs two games ago thanks to an absolute slugfest from the middle of their batting order.

The Yankees, on the other hand, are coming off a two-game series sweep to the Philadelphia Phillies, losing their last game 7-0. Domingo German was plastered for seven runs over 4.1 innings, giving up 10 hits. The team desperately needs to get back on track, and simply talking about it doesn’t suffice.

Manager Aaron Boone has taken a brunt of the criticism as of late, and it would be unfair to leave general manager Brian Cashman out of the equation as well. Clearly, this team has fundamental issues, including a lack of left-handed batters, contact hitting, and extremely poor base running.

After the loss to Philadelphia, a reporter asked Boone if he felt the team was getting used to losing, in which he shot back a fiery answer.

“I know them too well and I don’t think there’s any getting used to freakin’ losing. Hell no,” he said. “Get the hell out of here with that.”

It is nice to see Boone showing some sort of emotion, as the Yankees seem to be dull and demoralized without any sense of motivation. Consider this, the last time Philadelphia swept the Yankees in a series was in 1997, just a cherry on top of the mountain of issues.

Unfortunately, injuries have taken their toll on the roster, as Aaron Judge missed Sunday’s game with back spasms. Boone wouldn’t even allow him to feature in a pinch-hitting role, not that it mattered as they were blown out 7-0.

The Yankees will feature Jordan Montgomery on the mound against Toronto in game one of a three-game series. Monty currently has a 3.99 ERA this season, allowing 60 hits and seven homers over 65.1 innings. Toronto will host Hyun Jin Ryu, who has a 3.34 ERA and has given up nine homers.

Yankees News, 6/14: Is Brian Cashman or Aaron Boone on the hot-seat?

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New York Yankees, Aaron Boone, Brian Cashman

The New York Yankees fell to the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday by a score of 7-0. The Yankees have given themselves a small cushion above the .500 mark in the AL East this year but have lost seven of their last nine games, including a three-game losing streak where nothing seems to be going right.

Against Philadelphia in their most recent defeat, the Yankees recorded four hits and struck out 11 times, allowing 12 hits to their opposition. DJ LeMahieu accounted for 50% of the team’s hits, as Domingo German gave up 10 hits and seven runs in 4.1 innings. The starting pitching seems to be falling apart at the seams as the Yankees have tumbled to 8.5 games back in the AL East standings, falling behind the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday.

This begs the question, should Brian Cashman or Aaron Boone be on the hot seat?

Ultimately, when you have the highest payroll in baseball, your team should be a bit more successful than just one game over .500. Ultimately, the squad has struggled considerably to get going on offense, and the starting pitching has been inconsistent. Injuries continue to take their toll, which seems to be a year-old adage for a team spending over $200 million on their current roster.

Of course, there is the narrative that Boone simply doesn’t know how to use the assets Cashman has provided him with, but at some point, somebody needs to take the fall for harmonious losing.

Ranging from poor managerial decisions in-game to a lack of functional, healthy players, there are excuses for everyone, but the analytics department might play a factor too. Ever since changing the Yankees’ makeup to fit a homerun-centric approach, the team has experienced injuries at an astronomical rate. In addition, the starting pitchers have also gone down like flies, as Luis Severino suffered a groin injury during a rehab assignment in Brooklyn two days ago. It could just be bad luck for a team that hasn’t made a World Series appearance in over a decade. However — fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me!

At some point, Cashman or Boone will have to take the fall for the team’s issues, it is just a matter of when and what sparks the change. Interestingly, I wonder why Steinbrenner has remained quiet, despite the issues. The Yankees will need to finish the rest of the season strong if they want to land home-field advantage, let alone earn a Wild Card game.