Max Fried all but officially threw Aaron Boone under the bus with postgame comments

Max Fried might not have been flawless, but when the ace took the ball at the top of the seventh, he represented the New York Yankees' best hope. He had gotten into some jams, but worked out of them with ease, and held down the Red Sox for six scoreless innings to that point.

That's what aces are supposed to do. They put you in the best position to win, and you need to trust them. Fried had thrown 99 pitches when he went back out there to start the seventh, one shy of what has become a magic number in recent years, especially under Aaron Boone.

Likely, Boone only let him go back out there because the batter due up, Jarren Duran, is a lefty, meaning the southpaw would have the advantage. That's another thing Boone likes to do: play into conventional wisdom. Fried got the job done, and then immediately got the hook, now at 102 pitches and with the right-handed hitting Ceddanne Rafaela due up.

The thing is, Rafaela isn't the second coming of Manny Ramirez out there. The speedy center fielder and occasional second baseman is known for his elite leather rather than his powerful bat. Still, Boone called upon the right-hander Luke Weaver, and with that the Yankees' slim 1-0 lead evaporated into the early autumn night, never to be seen again.

Max Fried's postgame comments subtly through Aaron Boone under the bus

Fried said he felt good out there when Boone strode to the mound to take the ball. He wanted to go as long as he could. When asked directly if he felt he had something left, he said yes. Elaborating further, he stated, "I'm going to stay in until I get the ball taken from me." It probably didn't need to be taken from him, then.

"I definitely exerted a lot of energy trying to get out of that, but I definitely had enough in the tank for whatever the team needed," he continued. He was visibly distraught as he responded, adding that Boone "was confident he could give the ball to Weaver in that situation."

If it wasn't clear from what he said, it was by what he didn't say. His body language and tone all tell the story of a competitor who vehemently disagreed with his manager's decision and felt that he could give more.

He's not wrong, either. Boone loves to play matchups. However, the actual data supported Fried staying in to face Rafaela. The Boston center fielder actually has a reverse platoon split, batting .220/.265/.413 against lefties versus .260/.306/.414 against right-handers.

Fried, too, has a reverse platoon split, though he's been great against both righties and lefties all year. Righty hitters put up just a .266 wOBA against him this year. That number rises to .295 against lefties.

Lastly, there's the Luke Weaver of it all. The former closer struggled hard in the season's final month, posting a 9.64 ERA and Rafaela has had success against him in the past! In what world was turning the ball over to him instead of riding the horse that got you here the right decision?

Lack of accountability has been a constant criticism of Boone, but this decision highlighted an even greater issue. By pulling Fried and not giving him the chance to go deeper when he thought he had more left to give, Boone robbed him of the chance to be accountable for his performance.

Instead, Boone managed the game like a meaningless midsummer matchup, instead of a must-win playoff game against a hated rival. Fried is right to call him out for that, no matter how subtle. It was a ridiculous decision, and there is no justification aside from blindly following mindless strategy without having any feel for the game or his own pitcher.