Aaron Boone's questionable decision-making continues to plague Yankees

Aaron Boone has experienced considerable success during his eight seasons as the manager of the New York Yankees. Boone's teams are 697-497 under his leadership, the seventh-most wins by any manager in the franchise's storied history, and have reached the postseason seven times. 

Still, despite all the victories, Boone's in-game decisions continue to infuriate Yankees fans. Those decisions may have cost the team a chance to win Game 1 of the wild-card series on Tuesday. 

Aaron Boone's lineup choices

Boone's first misstep actually came before the game started. With the Boston Red Sox sending left-hander Garrett Crochet to the mound, Boone opted to leave two of New York's lefty hitters — Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Ben Rice — out of the lineup. 

Crochet had a stellar first season in Boston, leading the American League in innings pitched (205.1) and strikeouts (255) while posting an 18-5 record and 2.59 ERA (159 ERA+), firmly cementing his name in the AL Cy Young race. He made four starts during the regular season against New York, going 3-0 with a 3.29 ERA over 27.1 IP with 39 strikeouts. 

Chisholm appeared in 130 games for New York this year, slashing .242/.332/.481 (125 OPS+) with 31 home runs and 31 stolen bases. Chisholm started 96 games at second base, but Boone instead opted to go with Amed Rosario against Boston (while hitting him fifth in the lineup). Rosario went 0-for-3 at the plate, failing to hit a ball out of the infield, before Chisholm replaced him defensively in the eighth inning. 

Chisholm would fly out to right field with the bases loaded in the ninth in his only at-bat. 

Rice, meanwhile, enjoyed a breakout year in his first full season in the majors. He hit .255/.337/.499 (131 OPS+) with 28 doubles and 26 home runs while seeing time at designated hitter, first base and catcher. His 56.1% hard-hit rate ranks in the 97th percentile, per Baseball Savant. 

Rice didn't get into the game at all. 

Chisholm went 0-for-2 during the season against Crochet. Rice was 1-for-8 with a double and reached base on a catcher's interference. 

Aaron Boone may have pulled Max Fried too early

While Crochet shut the Yankees' offense down over 7.2 IP, striking out 11 while allowing just a single run on four hits, Max Fried was also effective on the mound. Fried worked 6.1 IP, striking out six, walking three and surrendering four hits without letting a run score. New York was leading 1-0 when Aaron Boone pulled him after 102 pitches. 

Fried left the Yankees in a position to win, but suggested to reporters, including MLB.com's Bryan Hoch, that he might have been able to stay in a bit longer: 

"I want to pitch as long as I possibly can, until the ball gets taken out of my hands," said Fried. "I definitely felt good. I definitely exerted a lot of energy trying to get out of that [sixth inning]. But I definitely had enough in the tank for whatever the team needed." 

New York's bullpen subsequently collapsed after Boone pulled Fried. Luke Weaver lost an 11-pitch battle to center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela, who then scored on a Nate Eaton double to tie the game. Masataka Yoshida would pinch-hit for designated hitter Rob Refsnyder and singled in Eaton to put Boston ahead. The Red Sox would score another run the next inning off of David Bednar. The Yankees couldn't make it close again. 

Aaron Boone needs to get out of his own way

Managers have a huge impact on a game, both during the regular season and the playoffs. Things get magnified in the postseason, though, and every decision is dissected and overanalyzed by both fans and media. 

Given his history with the organization and his longstanding relationship with both general manager Brian Cashman and owner Hal Steinbrenner, Boone's job in New York may be safe, regardless of how his decisions are viewed afterwards.