The New York Yankees have a big decision to make this off-season at the manager position. Aaron Boone and his contract are up with the Bombers, and after being knocked out of the postseason in the Wild Card game against the Boston Red Sox, the front office has to do some serious thinking of the future of the team.
Boone made his fair share of mistakes this past season, tipping his hand too often and making odd moves with little justification. For example, in the Wild Card game, Boone pulled relief pitcher of Clay Holmes, despite him pitching two near-flawless innings and tossing just 16 pitches.
Boone has come across as a poor in-game manager who lacks the discipline to either punish players for performing badly or rewarding them for a good play.
Boone has already indicated he’s not worried about the Yankees’ decision on a possible extension but did state his preference to stay with the club for the foreseeable future. The Yankees don’t like to turn over managers too frequently, but this scenario is interesting, given the fact they have been unable to come close to World Series with Boone at the helm.
Bryan Hoch of the MLB Network believes the Yankees will retain Boone as their skipper.
At the end of the day, the Yankees are spending far too much money on incredible players to lose in the WC against a Boston team they just rebuilt their core over the past two seasons.
The farm system seems to be coming up short, and players aren’t reaching their potential, which can boil down to coaching at times. The starting pitching rotation struggled with injury, which is out of Boone’s hands, as general manager Brian Cashman has found himself strapped for cash after dealing multiple gargantuan contracts that have hurt the Yankees’ financial flexibility.
Ultimately, the team is going to have to spend even more money this off-season to solve the shortstop position and acquire more starting pitchers. The Steinbrenner‘s must be sick at the idea of continuous spending to try and solve flaws that should be filled with young talent from the minor-league teams. Just looking over at the Tampa Bay Rays, you can see a team that trusts their young talent and gives them the appropriate reps to continue developing. Yankees have always been a team that fills holes through free agency, but that strategy can no longer cover up the massive issues on the roster.
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