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

Yankees fans will remember the team’s Memorial Day weekend losses to the lowly Detroit Tigers in Comerica Park for a very long time. The three-game series sweep to one of the worst MLB teams revealed more about manager Aaron Boone’s questionable decision-making and leadership than anything else.

Ironically, the television broadcast of the first game of the series with the Tigers on a cold Friday night began with Yankees announcer Michael Kay informing viewers how “terrible” the Tigers are playing. He said the Tigers were one of the most woeful teams in baseball, and they were on their way to a 100-loss season.

The Tigers’ poor won-loss record, according to Kay, was primarily due to the team’s “awful” pitching – particularly the relief pitching – bad hitting, and terrible defense.

They are certainly in a rebuilding mode, Kay authoritatively told the TV audience.

In the first game, with the Yanks clinging to a one-run lead in the bottom of the 10th inning, relief pitcher Justin Wilson was one strike away from closing the Tigers out. Instead, Robbie Grossman hit a fastball delivered down the heart of the plate for a walk-off, two-run home run. The home team won 3-2, a devastating loss for the men in pinstripes.

Kay lamented about the painful Yankee extra-inning loss on the air at the end of the night. Yankee hitters were a dismal 0 for 10 with RISP.

The Yankees offense was also MIA in the second and third games of the series. The Bombers again lost to the Tigers, this time 6-1 in the second game — and, not to outdo themselves, the Yanks lost the third and final game by a score of 6-2. Deficient starting pitching, sloppy fielding, and lackluster hitting (especially with runners in scoring position) by the boys from the Bronx accounted for the final two losses.

For me, the Tigers series revealed a set of significant problems with the dugout management of this Yankees team. As the Yankee Skipper, Boone’s decision-making, particularly in four leadership areas, is why the club struggles to remain competitive in MLB’s American League East Division.

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.