There's a problem with Ottovino and it's not his fault


The Yankees are human. After winning nine straight series falling to Toronto for a second night in a row is frustrating but the bombers were due to fall back to earth.
It just so happens that the team that the Yankees fell victim is a terrible division opponent in the Toronto Blue Jays. Don’t let the Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hype overshadow how awful this Blue Jay team is. The only thing Toronto has going is that Guerrero Jr. is most likely going to win the AL ROY. Marcus Stroman will be pitching for another team on August 1st, Cavan Biggio is an okay player but hasn’t scratched the surface of his potential yet, and the total attendance last night in Toronto was Tampa Bay Ray-esc (16,609). That said, the Blue Jays are completely out playing the Yankees in every aspect of the game. This series is the first time the bombers are facing the Blue Jays this season and the Yanks did drop the first two games of the season series to Baltimore, but there is something that does draw some concern.
Aaron Boone’s bullpen usage is extremely problematic of late and could lead to being disastrous. In particular, the usage of Adam Ottovino. I know every manager gets criticized for their bullpen usage with analytics telling managers when to turn to specific arms, but smart bullpen play is something Boone has excelled at so far in his Yankee tenor. If Boone continues to mismanage the best bullpen in the game, there will be games like Sunday night and last night in the future. Dropping games that should be wins will not bow well with the way the American League is taking shape. The bombers need these games and cannot afford to be out-managed by teams that will be bottom feeders in September.
Recently Ottovino has not been used as the “relief ace” that he was signed to be. In his last two games, Ottovino has been used for three batters. Three. Both situations where turning points in the game where the Yankees had all the momentum and if Ottovino came out for the following inning, it would’ve given the Yankees the best chance to win the game. In the Red Sox game on Sunday night they were losing, but down by one Ottovino is the best option out of the pen. And last night only using him for two batters when you have a lead is ridiculous based off the outing prior. Boone can’t give Ottovino the same work load that he had in April, but stretching him out for another inning in two games against division opponents might be a good idea.


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