What Yankees’ Aaron Boone needs to do to help his team climb out of slump

New York Yankees, Aaron Boone

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone has taken a lot of the blame for the Yankees’ recent slump. The team has not been performing the way fans were all expecting, and Boone has taken a lot of heat for that. His “next man up” mentality hasn’t been working the same in 2020. But let’s be honest, what has? The whole year has been a disaster, and it’s only getting worse for Yankee fans. 

The reality is, the blame should be spread around the roster and management. No one man should be put under the gun for the team’s recent struggles. You can’t always expect the Yankees B-team to perform the way they did in the past. To be honest, this is what we should’ve expected. Boone was given an All-Star lineup that has now turned into a rebuilding roster. However, there are some things that Boone needs to fix.

1. His starting rotation management

The Yankees’ pitching rotation has not been the reason for New York’s struggles. The offense has been incredibly slow, and the starting pitching actually keeps them in games. However, Aaron Boone needs to stop getting trigger happy with plugging in the bullpen. There have been many scenarios in which Boone has pulled a starter who was pitching great and put in someone from the bullpen who gave up the lead. Now I get it, the bullpen is supposed to perform way better than they have. But, that doesn’t mean you should be premature with your pitching changes. 

2. His bullpen management

Aaron Boone sometimes has too much trust in the big arms of the bullpen. Guys like Chad Green, Zack Britton, and Adam Ottavino are great, but that doesn’t mean they’re perfect. Many times this season, I’ve seen Boone go to one of those good bullpen arms and completely ignore the matchups. Look, I love them too. But when you take out a starting pitcher that was completely shutting down the lineup, why not put a similar bullpen guy in? If the opposing team has been unable to hit certain pitches all game then why not throw in a guy that excels at those pitches? When I see Boone do this, I just sit there and shake my head. This is something he needs to fix.

3. Stop giving so many off days

If I had to pick my biggest Aaron Boone pet peeve, it’s this. I can’t stand when a player is on a tear, and Boone decides to award that player with an off day. I get it, you want to rest your players so that they have energy and strength for longer periods of time. Sounds good, right? Wrong. For players like Judge and Stanton, it’s a good thing. However, when you have LeMahieu or Torres hitting the ball really well, there’s no point. You’re only going to hurt them by doing this. Believe it or not, he does this pretty frequently, and it needs to stop, especially now. We need all the help we can get in as many games possible this season. 

The Yankees problems right now go way beyond Aaron Boone. There are so many other little things that aren’t going right for New York. However, Boone does need to step up too. I really like Boone, and I think the players like him too. In no way is he the problem with the Yankees, but he does have some things to work on. I still think he is one of the better managers in the MLB, but just like the players, he needs to get better. 

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