Aaron Boone's weekly interview with Talkin' Yanks is somehow making him look worse
Turns out, any press is bad press for the Yankees' manager.
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Jomboy Media is one of the favorites out there. It's a fan-driven enterprise in the best way possible -- it's not toxic, it's more fun than it is buttoned up, and it's filled with non-traditional journalists. Talkin' Yanks, the company's Yankees podcast, consistently tops the charts. Most New York Yankees fans, including us, love Jimmy and Jake.
The duo aren't only revered by the fans, either. They're respected in the whole Yankees universe. David Cone works for them. They have a partnership with the YES Network, which they later parlayed into a weekly segment with Yankees' manager Aaron Boone.
OK! Bringing the skipper straight to the people. No fan base would love that kind of exposure more. The conduit? Two very dialed in fans that are learned, respectful and fearless.
Turns out, that's a terrible combination for Boonie, who can't seem to handle the heat on a weekly basis when he's pressed with tough questions about why his team is failing to deliver. Or why he didn't make X obvious decision. Or why he's saying things that simply aren't true.
Usually, something like this would give fans a different, more favorable perspective of the subject in question. It's more conversational. It's supposed to be more honest. It's supposed to remove the barrier that so often exists when reporters are tasked with handling the in-the-moment questioning that typically results in more vague, guarded answers. But it's not working for Boone.
Aaron Boone was NOT happy when asked why the Yankees rested Judge on Sunday pic.twitter.com/F5dsdqSIVV
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) August 2, 2023
Aaron Boone's weekly interview with Talkin' Yanks is somehow making him look worse
Sometimes Boone rightfully gets testy. Answering these questions isn't easy. And when facing two angry fans whose job it is to get candid answers, you can feel like you're backed into a corner.
But the insight Boone provides, time and time again, is just as blurred as his responses to the general media during pre- and post-game scrums. He has no idea what the front office is doing for the roster at the trade deadline? Not a clue?
Jomboy asked Aaron Boone if he's surprised Brian Cashman still hasn't gotten him the leftfielder he promised pic.twitter.com/hVHWmsT7Xw
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) August 2, 2023
And then, of course, there's his unrelenting defense of players who don't perform. The modern day Yankees staple. It leads to mounting frustration because this organization loves to tell the fans they're watching something that they're not, which happened when he recently spoke on Luis Severino's performance and the team's decision to start him again.
Aaron Boone says there are encouraging signs from Luis Severino's two starts before the Baltimore game even if that one was awful pic.twitter.com/yNz6uetPQ2
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) August 2, 2023
"Track record of success when he's healthy." The only problem? He hasn't been healthy since 2018. That's on the physical side of things. Mentally, he's been completely lost, and it seems like that's not even taken into account.
How about smiling in response to a serious question about how fans should feel about the lackluster and disappointing performance they've been watching for four months?
Jake asks Boone where we're supposed to be at as fans right now pic.twitter.com/wsNLsx08gY
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) August 2, 2023
"We live it." But it also seems you're fine with it? Because nothing is being done to change anything? From the front office to the dugout? And all the organization is doing is banking on a magical turnaround/untapping of talent that seems very much intangible. It's a massive gamble without any evidence to back it other than "these guys were good once upon a time."
Unfortunately, Boone's made it clear that this is how the organization truly thinks. "This is what we have," he told Jimmy when the co-host pressed Boone on his worries that the Yankees think "this is the team" to get the job done in 2023 and 2024 ... again, despite evidence that this is not the team dating back to 2020 (and the 2018-2019 playoffs).
"The scariest part to me is that you guys truly think that this is the team and next year is the same as this year" - Jomboy to Boone pic.twitter.com/kozI6ZWqIA
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) August 2, 2023
Passive aggressive? Maybe. But this is how the fans feel because they're not given any answers, and there's no proactive charge forward to fix problems that continue to persist year after year. Boone can't throw the Yankees under the bus, but he can at least sympathize with the fans' in-depth knowledge of the poor product that's so obviously living on our televisions every night.
It's either constant lies or the truest form of delusion -- neither of which are going to help the Yankees make a playoff push.