Yankees: 4 things we learned about Aaron Boone in pitiful Tigers series

4. Aaron Boone Doesn’t Learn from Past Mistakes

A significant problem is that Boone doesn’t learn from past mistakes and tends to repeat them. The Yanks’ bullpen core has been outstanding in 2021…except for Justin Wilson. He has lacked consistency and has failed to get on track. The Skipper admitted this following the game.

Including the Friday night game, Wilson has allowed nine earned runs in 13.1 innings in 15 appearances. Wilson now has a 6.08 ERA in 2021. To say the least, his performance on the mound has been unpredictable throughout 2021. Hmmm, does he sound like a closer to you? He’s got the third-worst FIP of any reliever in the league.

Boone knows Wilson’s record. Then why bring in the left-hander with the game on the line?

Boone could have asked Chapman, who is now arguably the best relief pitcher in baseball, whether he was willing and able to pitch another inning and close out the game after recovering from a “bug.”

Maybe he was saving Chapman for games two and three of the series, both of which they lost and in which he never appeared. A game in hand is always better than two in the bush.

Or, rather than bring in Chad Green earlier in the game, why not use Wilson before the end of the game and employ the much better Green as the closer?

There were other options, but Boone chose to go with his most erratic relief pitcher in a high-leverage spot. Perhaps he was trying to elevate his confidence level – well-intended but questionable timing to accomplish this.

Unfortunately, Wilson was placed on the IL with a left hamstring strain, his second stint this year, immediately after the game. Did Boone know about this problem before he brought Wilson in to pitch on a chilly night? It seems he did; he spoke about it “nagging” in previous days. Did the injury officially occur on the last pitch of the game? After the game, the Yankees manager said he still has faith in Wilson. We’re glad. Some things never change.

3. Aaron Boone Doesn’t Value Consistency

Manager Boone doesn’t seem to see the importance of having players be consistently in the lineup and play in the same position on the field as much as possible. For example, when Clint Frazier struggled at the plate, Boone pulled him in and out of games.

All good hitters get into slumps. But to get back on track, they need to continue to play regularly and be inserted in the lineup continuously.

Miguel Andújar has worked hard on trying to recreate his outstanding offensive production in 2018. That year, he hit 27 home runs and had 92 RBI, and he raked a .297/328/.527 slash line with a .855 OPS. Miggy came in second for Rookie of the Year. He underwent shoulder surgery in May 2019 and was out for nearly the entire season.

Andujar has had challenges fielding third base throughout his time in the majors. Rather than finding a regular spot for him in 2021, Boone has had him play left field, third base, and first base, three very different positions requiring different defensive mindsets and skills.

While having versatile fielders on the roster is a plus, a ballplayer should first master at least one position before tackling a second and third spot on the field.

Shuttling Andujar between first, third, and the outfield has to be challenging and difficult for him. Trying to become comfortable at one (or more) position in the field and simultaneously trying to regain his excellent hitting approach is too much to ask of him.

2. Boone Doesn’t Make His Players Confident

Another deficiency of Boone’s management style is that he fails to instill confidence in his players. Most of the fielding and hitting problems that several Yankee players are experiencing should have been fully addressed and mostly resolved before the regular season. There are a few examples of this.

Gleyber Torres has had problems with his fielding and throwing early on as a second baseman. Boone was aware of this and should have made sure those problems would not be carried over to his switch to shortstop when the season began, especially since shortstop is a much more challenging position to play than second base.

As a consequence, Torres’ play at shortstop throughout most of the regular 2021 season has been inconsistent and has hurt the Yanks. It almost appears that Torres received little or no extra work on his fielding and throwing during the offseason and Spring Training. Boone should have anticipated this and made sure that his new shortstop received enough instruction during the offseason and Spring Training so that he was ready to field his new position.

Torres has seemed quite unsure playing shortstop until recently, and he has appeared to lack confidence in the field. It took him about 35-40 games into the 2021 season to show improvement at the plate after growing comfortable with his throwing and fielding.

There are other examples of Boone’s inability to instill confidence in his players. Gary Sanchez is still struggling as the Yanks’ backstop, and his hitting continues to suffer. He is still insecure in the batter’s box and behind home plate.

While Clint Frazier seems to have gained confidence in the field (and has made several remarkable catches), he has struggled in the batter’s box (with a slash line of .172/.284/.305 in 2021 compared to .267/.394/.511 in 2020). His hitting has been erratic most of the season, and he lacks self-assurance at the plate, taking strike three more often than we can count. Boone needs to help Frazier reduce his self-imposed stress in the batter’s box to get a hit and learn how to relax at the plate. Then the hits will come. What has he done to set these players up tp succeed?

Pitchers Deivi Garcia and Michael King, two promising young starting pitchers for the Yanks at the beginning of the 2021 season, threw erratically against the Tigers, one of the worst hitting teams in MLB. The two pitchers seemed uncertain about what to throw, and they lacked poise and self-assurance on the mound against the Tigers. They have regressed instead of advanced as major league hurlers in 2021.

As has nearly everyone Boone touches.

1. Boone Doesn’t Create Winning Mindset

Compared to the Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, and Toronto Blue Jays, Yankees players lack a true champion’s swagger and drive. They don’t seem to possess the same conceit and arrogance as players from their three main divisional rivals when they get into the batter’s box with men in scoring position.

Boone has been unsuccessful at creating an atmosphere for winning. This requires a manager to be able to balance empathy and support with occasional strong discipline. It is almost as if Boone is afraid of criticizing or calling out his players when they perform poorly. Maybe he doesn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. Being nice to everyone doesn’t win ball games.

At this point, most analysts would agree that the Yanks are likely to win more games with Kyle Higashioka behind the plate than Gary Sanchez. Despite Sanchez’s athleticism and strength, he has not been able to nail down the catching position and improve his hitting.

Rather than publicly appoint Higgy as the starting catcher, Boone instead avoids the issue and simply states that Higgy will now get more playing time. This creates ambiguity for Higgy and resentment by Sanchez (I would imagine), leaving both catchers questioning their exact roles on the team — and, shocker, Higashioka has gotten much worse in recent weeks. Such vagueness leads to confusion and undermines any efforts to create a winning atmosphere on the Bombers.

Given how the Yanks are playing right now, I don’t see the club making the playoffs with Boone at the helm. It will not be enough to just “call out” the Yankee players to turn things around for the club.

GM Brian Cashman should consider replacing Boone at the All-Star break if the Yanks continue to flounder. Buck Showalter or Mike Scioscia could be asked to manage the rest of the season before the team must decide on a permanent replacement for the current field general.