Aaron Boone put the Yankees behind the 8-Ball before & during their Game 1 Loss

 

Let me share with you the text exchange between my dad and me from last night during Game 1 of the Wild Card Series between the Yankees and the Red Sox following the end of the top of the 6th inning and through the Red Sox taking the lead for good in the top of the 7th inning with timestamps.

Me: “Do you stick with Fried for the bottom of the lineup?” 7:50pm

Dad: “Yes.” 7:51pm

Me: “Me too.” 7:51pm

Dad: “This is the playoffs, keep him in.” 7:53pm

Me: “I agree, but dumb analytics disagree with us.” 7:53pm

Dad: “Analytics at its best.” 8:04pm

Me: “So stupid.” 8:05pm

I show these texts from last night as a way to give evidence that I’m not second guessing or Monday Morning Quarterbacking the decision by New York Yankee Manager Aaron Boone to take Max Fried, the Yankees Ace, out of the game following six and a third shutout innings on 102 pitches. I thought in real time it was the wrong decision. That’s because it was the wrong decision. And not solely on the shoulders of Luke Weaver, who faced three batters, walked one, gave up two hits, and the lead after Fried was taken out. It was the wrong decision because it allowed the entire Boston dugout to exhale and thank their lucky stars that the guy who had sliced them up like a Thanksgiving turkey was headed to the showers where he can no longer have an impact on the outcome of the game. It was the wrong decision because you hand the game to a bullpen that all season has been the Achillies heel. It was the wrong decision because Garrett Crochet, the Red Sox ace, was matching Fried zero for zero after his only blemish, a second inning Anthony Volpe solo home run. Oh, and it was the wrong decision because the guy who you went out in the offseason and gave an eight-year $218 Million contract to was absolutely dealing! “I’ve been plenty clear with him [Boone] throughout the year with whatever they need me to do, I’m more than willing to do… I definitely had more in the tank for whatever the team needed.” That’s how Max Fried responded when ask if he could go deeper into the game.

“I felt like he was working pretty hard, and I was gonna have the sixth be end, but once we finish with the double play, I wanted him to go out and get Duran and then felt like we were lined up.”  Those were the words from Aaron Boone postgame on the decision to take Fried out of the game. Those comments to me go further than just explaining a head scratching pitching change in Game 1 of the postseason, it highlights the entire outlook of the Yankees organizational gameplan against Boston last night, and their inability to make any adjustments to try to beat the opponent across from them. The Yankees had a plan—stuck to it—and lost. Now they face elimination.

The key advantage that Red Sox Manager Alex Cora had over Aaron Boone last night with Garrett Crochet on the mound was that Ben Rice would be on the bench. Rice in the last month of the regular season had a slash-line that looked like this: .316 average, .349 on-base, and a .932 slugging with four home runs, 14 RBIs, seven doubles, four walks, and eight strike outs in 22 games. Cora and the Red Sox knew that and utilized his pitching staff to put the pressure on Boone to get creative if the Yankee manager wanted his second hottest hitter to enter the game. Boone played right into the Red Sox hands. He did so even before the team took the field.

Conventional analytical wisdom tells you that if a lefty is on the mound, you stack your lineup with right-handed hitters. But there is something called small sample size and that is the acceptation to the rule in this case. Jazz Chisholm and Jose Caballero both have a handful of at-bats against Garrett Crochet. Caballero before last night had eight career plate appearances and is 0-7 with a walk and five strike outs. Jazz Chisholm has five career plate appearances and is 0-4 with a walk and three strike outs. In other words, a wash when it comes to sample size. “We gotta do what we gotta do to win right” is what Chisholm said postgame after coming into the game as a pinch hitter in the 9th inning. He made those comments with his back to the media and fumbling through his locker. Clearly Chisholm who had a career year wasn’t happy with his reward of a Game 1 benching.

Why not start Chisholm at second and put Amed Rosario, who in 10 career plate appearances is 6-9 with a double, a home run, three RBIs, a walk, and a strike out, at third base. Starting with Caballero on the bench allows for way more chess moves later in the game than having Ben Rice pinch hit in a big spot. Caballero could be a pinch running threat for Wells, Goldschmidt, or Stanton in a late game situation that if it’s Wells, you can catch Rice and move Caballero to third, Goldschmidt, Rice could play first and Caballero third base, and Stanton’s spot could be turned into Rice the next time through. Caballero is also Anthony Volpe insurance because until last night, the Yankee shortstop wasn’t necessarily lighting the world on fire. But Boone played right into Cora’s hands. But it almost didn’t matter how bad of a managerial job Aaron Boone did last night.

Despite the spot the Yankee skipper put his team in, they had a chance in the bottom of the 9th against old friend Aroldis Chapman. Bases loaded nobody out and they didn’t score. That’s not on Aaron Boone. That’s on the guys standing in the box. You cannot pass up that opportunity when Chapman is on the ropes given his playoff history. And yet they did. Now their backs are against the wall.  

Last night in the Bronx one manager managed the game like a playoff game—the other manager managed the game like an intense divisional matchup in the middle of July. The fans, the media, and Yankee players are letting Aaron Boone hear it and if he doesn’t change, he might be packing up his things for good tonight.