In the Subway Series, everything seems to be a little more fired up than usual. However, there was one simple mistake that the New York Yankees‘ skipper made that cost New York the game. Aaron Boone is by no means a bad manager at all, but he certainly made himself look a little foolish in game two of the subway series.
Aaron Boone’s Decision Proves Costly in Game 2 of Subway Series
Did Anybody Else Say, “Take Him Out of the Game”
In game two of the Subway Series, it seems to me that Aaron Boone lost the game himself. First, a home run by DJ LeMahieu gave the Yanks the lead. Then, a nice comeback from the New York Mets nearly blew the game open but the game remained 2-1 with the Mets taking the lead. Just when the Mets looked confident, Cody Bellinger went deep and secured the tie for the Yanks.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Yankees loaded the bases and then stranded all three runners to bring the tie into the ninth. That’s when Fernando Cruz was pushed to finish New York off in the ninth. The inning began nicely but then it took a turn with a walk and an infield single. Instead of replacing the obviously tired Cruz, Boone left him in the game to face Tyrone Taylor who he then hit with a pitch. Again, Boone left Cruz in to face Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto. Cruz prevented disaster but then again, the Yankees still lost after Lindor hit a sac-fly.
Boone Decision Cost New York the Game
Boone’s decision cost the Yankees the game to say the least. Why? Simply put two runners got on base from a walk and a hit by pitch. If these runners didn’t get on, the game would probably remained tied. I predicted that if Taylor got on base, the Mets would score, especially if Cruz was left to fend for himself against the most dangerous part of the lineup against the MVP runners-up from last season Soto and Lindor.
All the struggling Mets offense needed to do was put the ball in play to win the game. Edwin Diaz so far this season has been amazing with 10/10 saves. Hoping for the top of the lineup to hit really wasn’t a good idea. What’s even worse is that Cruz was left to pitch against Soto, who nearly drove in more runs. It felt like the Yankees could have easily brought in Jonathan Loaisiga or Devin Williams, especially when Max Fried is pitching the next day.
How Big of An Issue Is the Bullpen
Does Boone’s decision to leave Cruz in reveal a lack of confidence in his bullpen? Williams, the Yankees closer to begin the season is no longer a closer, while others might not have seemed reliable to close out the inning for New York. To be quite honest however, it does seem that even the struggling Williams would have been better than Cruz. And in addition to this, with Fried headed to the mound, the need to save the pen wasn’t really there. If you really want to rub it in, then you could also point out that New York had an off day before facing Texas.
All in all, “you can’t win em all”. However, you certainly can try to. Boone made it feel like the Yankees were punting to live to see another day when they didn’t need to do so. Some mistakes can be viewed as minor, but when you leave your tired pitcher in to face six batters in one inning in a tie game, that might qualify as a big mistake.
Main Image: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
