The New Yankee Manager

 2-0 Greg Bird fly ball to George Springer ends Game Seven of the ALCS, a bitter ending with mixed emotions ends Joe Girardi’s stint with the ballclub, and now a month-long search for a new manager in the Bronx has come to an end. Aaron Boone.

That’s right the hero from the 2003 ALCS who sent the Yankees to the 2003 World Series on a walk-off solo homer is now the new manager of the New York Yankees. Boone, who has recently been one of the color commentators on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball for the past two seasons. Boone seemed like the mainstay candidate throughout all the names being thrown around.

Other than the 2003 walk-off heroics Boone hasn’t been linked much to the Yankee organization. But, he does fit the mold that Yankee General Manager Brian Cashman has wanted throughout this process. Boone is a fantastic person, he will report to upper management, and he is a new-aged manager who will use sabermetrics to win ball games. Boone did see the way the World Series was played first hand in the broadcast booth; calling games with Dan Shulman on ESPN Radio.

Whether Boone was your pick for the next Bombers manager or not that is the decision that will be made. The timing of this decision also is interesting to me… why wait so long? Aaron Boone was the first person linked to this job, stayed on the list throughout the first round of interviews, and ultimately being the final result, so why drag out through a month? Have people speculate Alex Rodriguez, or Don Mattingly, or even Derek Jeter. Putting ex-Yankees David Cone and John Flaherty out on a limb asking for an interview and not shooting down those rumors right away.

I don’t like second guessing Brian Cashman because he has won five championships in the Bronx, but waiting as long as he did, I cannot help but think he was second guessing his decision. Why even interview Carlos Beltran? If Boone was a clear choice after his interview why not get your guy?

Waiting this long and going through another interview just raises a giant red flag for me. What could Cashman have wanted from Carlos Beltran to beat out Boone for the job? I get that Boone is a great person and will be ready for the job, but why not just go with Aaron Boone at the beginning of the week? It can’t be a sheer numbers thing because if that exists Cashman shouldn’t have gotten the extension that he just got. This is a job that will be one of the best because of the roster that the Yankees have and the farm system that will be coming up for years to come. Not to mention it’s the NEW YORK YANKEES. Brian Cashman can get anyone in the world that he wants for this job because it’s the Yankees and New York. There is something to this job that’s just the matter of fact in sports. Aaron Boone seemed heads and shoulders above everyone else interviewed because he got the job, but he isn’t perfect.

Boone is similar to Joe Girardi because both of them came out of the broadcast booth the year before they took the job. They take Boone over Chris Woodward and Carlos Beltran who both where associated with the two teams that were in the World Series. I’m sorry but that matters; it does there is no way looking around it. Boone must have been blown Brian Cashman and the Yankees out of the water so much that he will be in the Manager of the Year conversation next year.

I’m not complaining because the guys that I thought were better candidates didn’t get the job. I know what this team is right now and I know the window that is open right now—that might close at any time. The Yankees will need to win a World Series in the next two years to really cash in on the surplus of talent that is on this roster. If Boone doesn’t get it done within two years he might be gone. There is no solid numbers on what Boone’s deal with the Yankees as far as years and salary.

Because of the confusion around Joe Girardi not returning Aaron Boone must do well right away because a lot of people think Girardi got jobbed by the Yankees. And, because the aforementioned roster and farm system that Boone will be getting. Boone is walking into a gold mine with a TON of pressure. It is run or sink time for Aaron Boone and the New York Yankees. These Yankee fans can smell the World Series and want the joy that comes with winning a World Series. While this job had to do with sabermetrics, management check-ins, and better the clubhouse moral—it’s ultimately about winning and if Boone doesn’t win with this roster, he will be walking off the field like Tim Wakefield in the 2003 ALCS.