Yankees: What we learned from the postseason and what’s next

Here’s what we learned from the Yankees’ latest postseason failure.

Like so many Yankees fans, I was crushed that the team did not reach the ALCS. The team’s failure to advance has led many pundits to second guess and criticize the management of the club and deride some of the players for subpar performance.

Skipper Aaron Boone has been a target of the critics, yet he’s 236-148 in three seasons as New York’s manager — a truly impressive record, especially given the enormous number of injuries with which he has had to contend.

Many of the injuries have been to key players and have been serious. He successfully navigated through them and the Yanks have reached the postseason every year under his leadership.

Hired after the 2017 season, Boone was given a three-year contract with a team option for 2021. Hal Steinbrenner announced that the club will keep Boone for the 2021 season. This is a no-brainer. The players like Boone a lot, the chemistry on the team is good, and the Yanks play hard for their Field General.

A number of analysts have also criticized general manager Brian Cashman for interfering with the on-field management of the team, including during the postseason. However, firing Cashman would be a terrible mistake.

He has made several brilliant personnel moves (e.g., obtaining Gio Urshela, Luke Voit, and DJ LeMahieu for bread crumbs and signing the best pitcher in baseball, Gerritt Cole) during the past three years. He is largely responsible for pulling this impressive team together. Apologies to the critics, but Cash is not going anywhere.

The Yanks played a gritty and talented Rays team with a superior 2020 win-loss record to the very bitter end. The ALDS vs the Rays could have easily gone either way, and it unfortunately came down to one bad pitch by Aroldis Chapman.

Don’t forget, the Yankees were down Luis Severino, James Paxton, Domingo German and Tommy Kahnle, all of whom would have given the Bombers the edge. But in the end, they lost.

So what did we learn, and what’s next?