If this doesn’t work out for Aaron Boone, he could make it in politics. Or better yet, diplomacy.
Or, if he’d accept the 97 percent pay cut (fair estimation), he could write for one of those websites dedicated to positive team news.
In the meantime, the Yankees’ manager can be counted on to find the kindest way possible to describe every mistake and misplay. While it’s worked well for him — he’s in his seventh year managing the Yankees, the longest tenure in that chair without a championship — sometimes he’s too easy on his troops, which was the case this week.
That’s where we need to step in. A counterbalance is compelled. Reality needs to resurface. Unwashed honesty can be healthy. (Some of that below.)
Boone raised the ire of some fans when he mostly gave a pass to his Gold Glove backup center fielder, Trent Grisham, after Grisham’s obvious nonchalance cost the Yankees a base Thursday in game three of the sweep at the hands of the also-ran Reds. (While fielding a single, the normally outstanding outfielder looked like me picking up The Post when it’s delivered at 6 a.m.) And even the day after, Boone continued to suggest the play didn’t look good because Grisham’s so talented and plays with such ease.
While that’s undeniable — Boone is particularly good at avoiding lies — it was also a shockingly bad play that deserved to be called out as such.
On the biggest score, Boone did talk to Grisham, and he apparently told it to him straight. Anyway, Grisham got the message, which is what counts most.
“I should have made the play,” Grisham told me, flat out.
Boone, whose team was beginning a series at Yankee Stadium against the rival Red Sox, just isn’t going to rip his team or players. Not publicly, he isn’t.
“I try not to be so emotional because we lost some games or won some games,” Boone explained. “I have the conversations I think are necessary.”
Managing a team comes down to a series of calculations, and Boone obviously decided long ago to keep things positive while talking to the press about his players. In fact, this is the overwhelming trend for decades in baseball, and to varying degrees, almost every manager uses the microphone to put a happy (or least better) spin on whatever’s going on.
Expressing happy thoughts isn’t hard for Boone as he’s a naturally a very kind person (except to umpires), and sees the bright side in any situation. Boone isn’t going to go rip city; he just isn’t. That’s what we are here for.
Boone’s way takes some verbal gymnastics, and Boone, a USC grad who can make anything sound hopeful and is better with words than me (no cracks please), will always find the nicest way possible to describe what’s going on. Naturally, Boone shrugged off the social media words of Aaron Judge’s private hitting coach, Richard Schenck, who noted how poorly the team is doing and blamed the organization. (Boone’s nice even to dissenters.)
They obviously have different jobs and, probably, also different personalities. And while I can’t say I know enough to blame the Yankees’ development people for hitting issues of players who’ve come through the system (beyond the great Judge, of course), it’s also refreshing to hear a raw take every once in a while.
Now for some reality. The Yankees are 4-13 over their last 17, and they seem worse. In their last 11 defeats, they haven’t led. Not for an inning or a moment. It doesn’t take a mathematician to know that’s at least 99 innings without a lead. That feels about right for how things are going.
Boone, meantime, used the phrase “rough patch” Friday to chronicle the last few weeks, which have been nothing short of abysmal (not a word he’d use). While I like Boone very much (and I’m not just being diplomatic), it’s time someone selected words that better describe the situation.
Boone also noted how “unfortunate” it is that their starters’ mistakes are being hit. But that’s what major leaguers do with mistakes: They hit them.
The rotation, once easily the best in baseball, is performing poorly lately. Carlos Rodon, Luis Gil and Marcus Stroman regressed from terrific starts.
Let’s face it, almost nothing’s going right beyond 1) Judge, who remains on a Babe Ruth-like pace, 2) Juan Soto, who isn’t that far off that pace, and 3) Gerrit Cole being back.
While Boone talks like a couple of guys are below par in recent days, the reality is that it’s just about everyone but the two MVP candidates. Of the 10 active Yankees with the most plate appearances, only two — Judge and Soto — have an OPS+ above 100. That’s right, the other eight are all below average.
“They’ve lost 13 out of [17] while [Judge] is hitting like an MVP. The Yankees offensive player development is terrible,” Schenck wrote on X, formerly Twitter, in response to the YES Network account.
While he may or may not be right about that second part, it still felt good to hear a raw and real opinion.
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