Yankees: 3 in-game mistakes Aaron Boone can’t make for rest of season

And then, once the season’s over, he can make them all he wants! For he’ll likely no longer be the manager of the New York Yankees.

Fun how that works, huh?

For the fourth consecutive season, fans remain locked in an interminable battle. Rip Aaron Boone when the team disappoints, begrudgingly praise Boone when he weathers the storm, enthusiastically praise Boone when the team actually begins to exceed expectations, then damn him again when the struggles deepen. We understand it can get tiresome.

Ask yourself, though: during the Yankees’ 13-game winning streak, how often did Boone make a catastrophic lineup error or in-game adjustment only for the confetti to fall at the end of the game anyway? And does his recent run of egregious mistakes and early surrenders feel out of character, or has the roster’s poor performance simply exacerbated the inevitable? At some point, Boone’s stubbornness, buoyed by the front office’s orders, was bound to blunt this team’s momentum.

Since the roster’s returned to full strength over the past few weeks, the team has gotten … worse, as the most pessimistic of Yankee fans could’ve told you it would a few weeks ago.

Fool me twice, shame on the entire organization, we guess.

With increased weapons at his disposal, Boone has seemingly stayed loyal to those who brought this team to the brink of elimination instead of those who buoyed the roster, pushing incorrect buttons these past 10 days while helping us all relive the trauma of the first half.

In terms of stubborn mistakes, this list could’ve gone 12 deep. Keeping Joey Gallo in the two-hole, despite his lack of comfort there. Bouncing Luke Voit between the bench and the lineup, even though he carried the roster with Anthony Rizzo out. Keeping Andrew Velazquez only to drill him to the bench like a trophy, featuring a plaque that reads, “Coolest August.”

For now, though, we’ll focus on the in-game errors that have to stop immediately for the Yankees to have a real shot at holding off their playoff challengers.

Aaron Boone must stop making these 3 in-game mistakes immediately for the Yankees.

3. Leaving Gleyber Torres at SS in Late-and-Close Games

You want Gleyber Torres‘ bat in the lineup late in a tight game? Not sure why, but you’d better figure out a way to move him off shortstop first!

Torres didn’t seem like a shortstop prior to the end of April, then somehow buoyed his season-long defensive statistics and crafted a positive OAA for himself. How about that? We enjoyed the renewed progress, even though it came with a well-below-league-average bat devoid of all power.

Since Torres’ return, though, he hasn’t reached previous highs. Instead, his time back with the team has been pockmarked by a series of obvious gaffes, from holding a routine grounder too long and igniting an Orioles rally in Sunday’s stupid loss to bobbling chances of every difficulty level.

Torres was brought back from a thumb issue to contribute with the bat and continue his positive momentum, as well as prove to the team that his defensive issues were behind him, with a pivotal offseason coming (remember, the Yankees didn’t supplement the position with Trevor Story or a lesser name like Freddy Galvis at the deadline). Instead, he’s looked like everyone’s preseason worst-case scenario, and has gone 3-for-13 with four strikeouts, participating in three of the most bumbling, depressing losses of the second half.

The 24-year-old sat on Tuesday night, and until further notice, if he’s going to start, he needs to be subbed out for either Tyler Wade or Andrew Velazquez in the late innings. Both defensive wizards have earned the nod in recent weeks.

1. Maintaining a “Set Closer” as Bullpen Thins

If the matchup dictates it, use Aroldis Chapman in the seventh inning. Close with Chad Green. Use Clay Holmes as a multi-inning buzzsaw. Do anything other than use Jonathan Loaisiga’s unfortunate absence as an excuse to name Chapman the official, all-caps CLOSER without context.

Please.

For years, the Yankees have been unreasonably rigid with their ‘pen usage; no matter how much he’s struggled, Chapman has been their de facto closer, except for a one-week demotion earlier this summer. Without Loaisiga for at least 15-ish days, Boone will surely be tempted to call the ninth inning a wash, then dedicate the rest of his time to figuring out the sixth, seventh and eighth. He can’t do that.

If the heart of the lineup is due in the eighth inning of a one-run game, the newly-upright Chapman had better strap in. If the ninth seems simpler, anyone from Wandy Peralta to Joely Rodriguez could be called upon. Holmes has been outright special, dotting 99 on corners since arriving from Pittsburgh, and can probably be pushed a bit further at this point.

Of course, the more hopeful solution involves the Yanks playing fewer close games, but … we all know that’s not happening. Green has faltered in big moments this year because he’s been used in, I want to say, 750 high-leverage appearances. We’re as worried as anyone about bullpen arms tiring out this season, but if not now … when? It’s time for Boone to get creative and push the limits of his relievers’ readiness, not recede into early-90s closer stereotypes. There’s no cushion here, and there’s no lasagna-flavored savior en route.

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