Apr 1, 2023; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees relief pitcher Clay Holmes (35) hands the ball to manager Aaron Boone (17) after being taken out of the game against the San Francisco Giants during the ninth inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone is in hot water in the 2023 season.
Recently, Yankee fans have been hard on manager Aaron Boone. Are the boos and the “fire Boone” chants warranted?
It isn’t surprising that fans are frustrated with the Yankees being in last place in the American League East. The Yankees have to be frustrated, too. To be fair, though, they are playing in the toughest division. The AL East is the only division where all five teams are over .500. But the Yankees are barely over .500, which on paper is shocking considering they have the highest payroll in the American League.
Undoubtedly, the team has a lot of talent, and many of their struggles have come from injuries to important players. Despite this, Boone’s management has come under fire for decisions he’s made. His management of the pitching staff has been particularly puzzling.
Here are three times the Yankees could have fired Aaron Boone so far this season.
Yankees: 3 times Aaron Boone could have been fired…and 1 reason to keep him
3. Clay Holmes blowing the save in a gut-punch loss
There have been many games so far this season that feel like the worst loss of the season. Yet it’s never long before another brutal loss feels like even more of a gut punch than the previous one.
The loss on May 1st was one of those punches. Domingo German pitched into the 9th inning. At just 88 pitches, German only gave up 2 hits all game. One out into the 9th, Boone overmanaged, going to the bullpen, despite German looking strong. With other relievers like Ron Marinaccio and Michael King available, Boone mismanaged the bullpen and turned to Clay Holmes.
Since the second half of the 2022 season, Holmes has not looked like a closer. His command has faltered, and he hasn’t looked sharp in high-leverage situations. Boone still trusts him to close. Holmes didn’t record an out on May 1st before being pulled. Wandy Peralta came in and walked in a run. The Yankees lost 3-2.
Just a few days later, on May 3rd, Boone pulled Marinaccio who was pitching well and again went to Holmes in the 9th inning to close. The inning was a disaster, which leads us to our next fireable offense.
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