New York Yankees: Don’t blame Aaron Boone for early playoff exit
By Alex Jordan
The New York Yankees failed to reach their goal of winning a World Series title this year. The blame shouldn’t be put on manager Aaron Boone.
The New York Yankees got eliminated from the playoffs Tuesday night as the Boston Red Sox won Game 4 of the American League Division Series to advance to the American League Championship series.
The Yankees had a great year. They won 100 games and had their best record since their last World Series title in 2009.
Also, they even set a major league record with 267 home runs. However, they were 16th in batting average at .249, eighth in on-base percentage at .329, eighth in strikeouts, and tied for 25th in stolen bases with 63.
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So who’s to blame for the Yankees early playoff exit?
While its easy to blame manager Aaron Boone, it’s not his fault.
Yes, he did make mistakes throughout the year, but he’s a rookie manager and you don’t win 100 games and make it to the ALDS if you aren’t doing something right.
Now, he needs to learn from his mistakes and if he does then the Yankees will be on the path to making the World Series next year.
MLB Network analyst Al Leiter told Justin Terranova of the New York Post that he thinks that the Yankees demise wasn’t Boone’s fault.
"“Not even 1 percent. It wasn’t his fault at all. It’s not like I am coming from the ’60s or ’70s, I last pitched in 2006. You’re a starting pitcher and there’s a reason why you are a starting pitcher — you have plus-stuff, two secondary pitches, you’re better than just about everybody else in the bullpen. When I’m hearing talk radio and they’re wondering whether Aaron Boone should have taken Luis Severino out after the third inning and 62 pitches when he’s not only the ace of the Yankees, but one of the best pitchers in the league, just give me a break.”"
Yankees slugger Aaron Judge told Ted Berg of USA Today that guys dealing with injuries and slumps were part of the reason why they didn’t reach their goal of a World Series title.
"“It was a grind, up and down, the whole way. Guys battling injuries, battling slumps, battling this and that – just another baseball season. But we know we came up short of our goal. Now it’s time to build off that, and get ready for this year.”"
Now the question is what should the Yankees do?
Starting pitching should be their main priority in the offseason. There’s also the question of what the Yankees should do with C.C. Sabathia and Brett Gardner, who are free agents, and what should the Yankees do with Luke Voit?
While the Yankees have some tough decisions to make, Boone told Berg that they are very close to being a championship team.
"“Obviously, we have some decisions, a lot of things are going to happen between now and next year. But I think we’re right there knocking on the door to be (champions). We’re very close to being a championship club right now. We’ve just got to continue to improve on the margins in every facet.”"
Sabathia told Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News that this Yankee team will win a World Series eventually.
"“This is a young team that has a lot of talent that is going to win the World Series.”"
Boone and Sabathia are right.
This team has so much talent that they can win the World Series. They just need to get better with everything to make that happen and it could happen as soon as next year.
While the Yankees failed to make the World Series this year, don’t put the blame on Aaron Boone because he doesn’t deserve all the blame.