Now that the Yankees have pulled out of the Boone Swoon, some of the pressure is off their manager.
But all is not well, starting with Saturday night’s ugly loss to the lowly Athletics, who one-hit the Yankees over 11 innings, stunned them with a two-run pinch-hit home run in the 10th inning and eventually were gifted a win on DJ LeMahieu’s throwing error on what should have been a routine double play.
Oh, and while the Yankees were having one-hit and scored their only runs on a crazy wild pitch? Giancarlo Stanton, being rested by Boone, never even got near a bat rack.
Meanwhile, Boone is struggling with a wounded bullpen — from the you-can’t-make-this-up portion of Boone’s diary: Aroldis Chapman, after being tattooed all season is out with an infection of an actual tattoo — and despite Aaron Judge’s remarkable season, the Yankees look ripe for an early postseason exit.
And if that happens, the fans’ and media’s howling will grow louder, and the questions will come:
– Will general manager Brian Cashman — who just gave Boone a vote of confidence — fire his guy?
– Will owner Hal Stenbrenner, who avoids controversy like Josh Donaldson’s bat avoids curve balls, demand new dugout leadership, or will he allow a few sacrificial coaching staff lambs to suffice?
– And would losing Judge in free agency make it easier to hit a reset button from top to bottom?
Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe has Boone on his managerial endangered species list with Joey Cora of the Red Sox, Don Mattingly of the Marlins and Tony LaRussa of the White Sox, among others:
Could Aaron Boone win 100-plus games in the regular season and get fired? If the Yankees lose in the Division Series, maybe Hal Steinbrenner decides to clean house.
The Yankees haven’t won a pennant since 2009, their longest drought since 1982-95. They went through 10 managers during that period and that’s only counting Billy Martin once.
MORE MLB:
– Since leaving Yankees, this pitcher has never been the same (and now his season is over)
– Mets release one-time fan favorite
– Ex-Yankees slugger called up from minors and immediately bats cleanup
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