Yankees: Aaron Boone made right call bringing Clarke Schmidt in mid-inning

Aaron Boone lost Game 2 after Clarke Schmidt surrendered a Yankees lead in his MLB debut. It was still the right call.

New York Yankees fans have been waiting for top pitching prospect Clarke Schmidt to contribute at the big-league level since mid-February.

Of course, the second he did, it sent Yankee fans into an angry tizzy as they reached for their Captain Hindsight costumes. Have you ever met Yankee fans?

Schmidt entered with the second game of a doubleheader in peril, as two of Deivi Garcia’s runners sat on first and second with two outs in the fifth. Clearly a high-leverage situation, but hey, that’s why you go to the strongest arm available, regardless of context. The mojo felt right — I did not believe, after so much anticipation, that Schmidt would fail.

Unfortunately, the 2020-ness of it all overwhelmed Schmidt’s bravado, and he surrendered four runs before recording an out, two of his own, to largely salt this game away for the O’s, preventing a doubleheader sweep. But I’d make the move all over again, and the toxic corners of this fanbase blaming Aaron Boone for giving them … exactly what they’d begged for all year need to redirect their animosity.

If not Schmidt, the only options Boone had at his disposal, as he let us know postgame, were Miguel Yajure and Albert Abreu, two equally inexperienced rookies. Abreu, of course, had already been thrown to the wolves on Thursday, surrendering Pete Alonso’s cathartic walk-off in Flushing. Yajure showed plenty of gumption against the Rays this week, but was equally inexperienced in the scenario presented.

Adam Ottavino, used by a one-game-only manager on Wednesday to preserve a 5-1 deficit, was unavailable (thanks for suspending Boone, MLB!). So was Luis Cessa, heavily taxed in that Wednesday game, too. So that was it. Schmidt, who Yankees Universe has been clamoring to see for ages, or two other newbies who would’ve been just as out-of-sorts. The gambit could’ve worked. It didn’t.

You want to blame someone? Blame the home plate umpire who gave Pedro Severino a late “time” call as Deivi Garcia delivered his 1-2 pitch with two outs in the fifth, locked in rhythm. It resulted in count confusion, a brief Aaron Boone argument, a lot of wandering around, and a single to left before Garcia was pulled. It’s the little things.

Or you can blame the extraordinary depth shortage that led to the Yankees playing a double-header on Friday night with only half their most important bullpen pieces available (with Chad Green’s entrance in Game 1 breaking the supposed Boone Rules for reliever usage). Jonathan Loaisiga’s late IL stint (and we wish him well in his recovery from a still-mysterious malady) further sent things into chaos.

Why did Schmidt come in mid-inning? Why did Ben Heller try to protect a 4-3 lead in the first game? Why did Jonathan Holder act as the designated runner in the ninth? The answers, in order: Lack of depth, lack of depth, objective hilarity.

On Saturday, the Yankees will be without Aroldis Chapman, Zack Britton, and Chad Green, based on workload. Any key ‘pen outs will need to come from Ottavino, Cessa, Yajure once more, and Holder.

So before you criticize Boone for making one of the most obvious calls he’s ever made (which didn’t work), run that laundry list in front of your eyes and reconsider the narrative. Please tell us who you’d have preferred — and remember, the only eligible answers were Yajure and Abreu.

Schmidt is built for moments like this. It didn’t work. It should next time.

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