Yankees fans will hate Michael Kay's explanation for Aaron Boone's malfeasance

The heat is turning up in the Bronx as the New York Yankees' (annual) summertime swoon is in full swing. There's plenty of criticism to go around, from poor starting pitching performances, offensive disappearances, defensive miscues, base running gaffes, and bullpen meltdowns — sometimes all in the same game.

With issues in all facets of the game cropping up on a regular basis, it is only logical that one man should fall in the crosshairs of the ire of fans, the media, and the organization alike. That man is the man at the center of it all, the captain of the ship, manager Aaron Boone.

That might make you think he'd be the prime target for some of New York's biggest voices, but ESPN radio host by day and Yankees play-by-play man by night, Michael Kay, has come up with an explanation for Boone's performance that should make you see red.

Michael Kay's defense of Yankees manager Aaron Boone will make fans furious

Citing Boone's contract extension that he was given on the eve of the 2025 season, Kay goes on to make the claim that the embattled skipper is managing the club, "exactly the way the organization wants him to."

Kay's analysis is missing one critical piece of nuance, though. Boone was awarded that contract extension on the heels of a World Series appearance. Now the club is on the verge of falling out of the American League playoff picture, with just a one-game lead over the Cleveland Guardians for the final Wild Card spot as of Aug. 12.

This can't be what the organization wants. The goal in the Bronx isn't mediocrity, especially after nearly achieving the ultimate honor. After getting exposed by a lack of execution of basic baseball fundamentals in last year's World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the expectation should have been that Boone worked to improve the team on that front.

Instead, he's repeatedly shied away from candidly addressing those topics, even as those same fundamental snafus crop up more and more frequently. Sorry, Michael, but a contract extension given to a guy who made the World Series the year before doesn't mean this is how the brass would prefer he manage. In all honesty, Brian Cashman, Hal Steinbrenner, and the rest of the head honchos probably wouldn't care very much what Boone did as long as it results in a 28th World Series title.

For what it's worth, Kay did call out the inconsistency in Boone's decision-making through the premise of his decision to give Devin Williams the ball in the eighth inning on Aug. 5 against the Texas Rangers, despite the disgraced former closer's massive struggles. Boone claimed he went to Williams over Mark Leiter Jr. because Leiter Jr. hadn't pitched in much recently.

Kay correctly pointed out the logical fallacy of Boone using that excuse when he is the same guy who brought Nestor Cortes into the ninth inning of Game 1 of the 2024 World Series after not pitching for a month. And that's kind of the point, right? Far too often, there's no rhyme or reason for why Boone does what he does; therefore, there's no way that this is the way the Yankees want him to manage the team. And if they do, then, well, we have our problem.