Two years ago I called Aaron Boone a parrot. It had been reported – assumed – or thought that Boone was just taking orders from Brian Cashman. He wasn’t confrontational towards players, he wasn’t making decisions, and really was nothing more than a gimmick TV broadcaster. Boone wouldn’t have gotten hired without his home run against Tim Wakefield in 2003. That’s just a fact. No other team interviewed him. Boone got outplayed and outmanaged during the postseason last year by Alex Cora. The Red Sox kept checkmating the Yankees which eventually resulted in another title for Boston.
Entering the 2019 season, things changed. What has transpired this year, Boone has proven he is actually smart. Not just walking into the postseason with Joe Girardi’s culture. This is now his team and sits in first place in the AL East by 8 games. Boone is no longer a robot either. Yesterday (a game that I was actually at) Boone was tossed. He actually showed some fire that had been missing from the Joe Girardi regime. Check out Boone’s interaction with the umpire. It’s pure gold.
Boone has earned my respect. This is what I didn’t think Boone was capable of. Bringing out that fire on occasion when something needs to be said. The Yankees rallied to win both games of a doubleheader in Boone’s absence. Do they win without the ejection? The Rays were leading 2-0 prior to him getting tossed. Tampa didn’t score the rest of the game.
Just respect. Boone found a way to win when half the team went on the IL. Nobody has been hit harder by injuries than New York. Boone found a way to win anyway. Maybe this guy does know what he’s doing. Maybe he isn’t just taking direct orders from Cashman. Maybe Boone does have a little more skin. Now can he guide the Yankees to doing damage in the postseason? New York is dangerously close to not winning a single World Series in the decade. That would be a first in franchise history that they failed to win one in a given decade.
