Aaron Boone Archives - River Avenue Blues

Saturday Links: Boone, Sixth Starter, Power Rankings, YES

March 31, 2018 by Mike Axisa Leave a Comment

The Yankees and Blue Jays continue their season-opening four-game series with the third game later today. First pitch is scheduled for 4:07pm ET. In case you’re wondering, the minor league regular season begins this coming Thursday, so that’s cool. Anyway, here are some links and notes to hold you over until first pitch.

Boone interviewed with Twins, Cubs

Prior to being named manager of the Yankees, Aaron Boone interviewed with the Twins for a front office job and the Cubs for a coaching position, reports Ken Davidoff. In the weeks after being hired, Boone admitted he was preparing to leave his ESPN gig to get back into the game, and hinted at interviewing with other clubs in addition to the Yankees. Now we know it was with the Twins and Cubs, for different roles.

I know Boone kinda came out of nowhere as a managerial candidate — it sure surprised me when the Yankees interviewed him — nevermind as a managerial hire, but it sure seems like he’s highly regarded within the game. Multiple teams were interested in bringing Boone aboard in a rather significant capacity despite his lack of experience. Smart teams interested in adding smart personnel to their organization. News at eleven.

Yankees have date in mind for sixth starter

The Yankees are targeting Tuesday, April 24th as a day to bring up a spot sixth starter, Boone told Billy Witz near the end of Spring Training. They’ll play the second game of a four-game series against the Twins at Yankee Stadium that evening. Boone and the Yankees have said they plan to use a spot sixth starter to give the regular starters extra rest from time to time. They’ve done that a whole bunch over the years. Nothing new here.

Thanks to April off-days, the Yankees won’t need a starter to make a start on normal rest until Monday, April 16th, and even then only Luis Severino and Masahiro Tanaka would have start on normal rest. There’s an off-day on April 18th, giving the other three starters an extra day. Weather could always throw a wrench into things, but right now, whoever starts the third game of the season for Triple-A Scranton would line up for that April 24th start. My guess is Domingo German is atop the sixth starter depth chart the moment.

Yankees top ESPN’s future power rankings

Earlier this month ESPN compiled their annual future power rankings, in which they rank the 30 MLB teams based on how they “will fare over the next five years.” The rankings are based on four components (MLB roster, farm system, finances, front office), which are weighed differently. The Yankees rank first. The Dodgers are second and the Astros are third. (The Marlins are 30th). Here is a piece of write-up:

A strong case could be made that the Yankees are better positioned than any team in baseball, because they have some of the best of all types of elements right now. They have a top farm system, including high-end infielders Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar; their major league team is loaded with young and old talent, from power-hitting outfielders Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton to 24-year-old ace Luis Severino; and they have the greatest payroll flexibility of any Yankees team since the early 1990s — right before the Paul O’Neill-Tino Martinez dynasty.

The Yankees’ biggest problem? Jacoby Ellsbury and his contract, according to the ESPN crew. And you know what? If Ellsbury and his contract are their biggest problem, that ain’t so bad at all. The big league roster is loaded, the farm system is loaded, the front office is shrewd as hell, and the Yankees have lots of money to spend. They’ll have even more to spend in the future, once they rest their luxury tax rate this season. Yep, the Yankees are in really great shape going forward.

YES Network ratings skyrocketing

The Yankees have a great team and they were one game away from the World Series last season, so, not surprisingly, television ratings are up big time so far this year. The YES Network announced Grapefruit League ratings were up 80% from last year even though only one of their eleven spring broadcasts was in primetime. The spring ratings were better than March Madness ratings, on average.

Furthermore, Opening Day was the YES Network’s highest rated season-opening broadcast in seven years, since the 2011 opener. The Opening Day broadcast drew more viewers in New York than all other sports broadcasts that day, including nationally televised NBA and MLB games on TNT and ESPN, respectively. The Yankees are good, they’re fun, and people are excited. I reckon attendance will be up quite a bit this year as well.

The New Manager and Coaching Staff [2018 Season Preview]

March 27, 2018 by Mike Axisa Leave a Comment

Managerial job security isn’t what it used to be. Joe Girardi, in his tenth season with the Yankees, led a team that exceeded all expectations to Game Seven of the ALCS last year. His reward? Unemployment. The Yankees cut ties with Girardi after the season and Hal Steinbrenner said he probably would’ve authorized the managerial change even if the Yankees had won the World Series. Ouch.

“We do not make changes at that level lightly, so it was a very difficult and challenging decision,” said Brian Cashman soon after it was announced Girardi would not be retained. “Easiest call would be plug and play and continue in safe harbor arena. I have never been safe harbor kind of person … Our issues and concerns were the ability to engage, fully communicate, and connect with the playing personnel.”

Rather than recycle an experienced big league manager or promote someone from within, the Yankees took a risk and named former Yankee Aaron Boone their new skipper. He has no prior coaching or managerial experience. None. Nada. Boone went from playing to the broadcast booth to managing. He reportedly blew the Yankees away during the interview and convinced Cashman & Co. that he’s the right guy for the job.

“I wanted this opportunity and I wanted this challenge. I wanted to be back on this side of things. I want to chase the prize,” said Boone to Mike Lupica earlier this month. “I’ll say it again, what pulled me back to this side of things was chasing that prize.”

That prize is, of course, a World Series championship, something Boone never won as a player. (The 2003 postseason was the only time he played in the postseason in his career.) And that’s the goal this year: Win the World Series. This is a win-now roster and a win-now organization. The Yankees brought a rookie manager into a situation where the goal is to be the last team standing, and, to be fair, they are not the only team in recent memory to do that. The Dodgers (Dave Roberts) and Nationals (Dave Martinez) both hired inexperienced managers in recent years.

Boone’s first Spring Training as manager went, well, like any other Spring Training. And that’s a good thing. It was business as usual. Nothing out of the ordinary happened — aside from that whole “forget to warm up Adam Warren” incident — and, to paraphrase Boone’s predecessor, that is what you want. A normal spring. By way of a preview, I have some thoughts and observations about the new manager.

1. Boone has a Torre-esque quality. Specifically his calm and the way he’s able to diffuse things with the media. Girardi was a great manager. He was not so great with the media, which is not insignificant. They can make your life miserable. Joe Torre’s best trait was, by far, the way he handled the media and diffused unfavorable situations. He was asked about whatever, he shot it down in a way that closed the book, and that was that. Girardi had a tendency to ramble and let things fester for a few days.

This spring Boone has been more Torre than Girardi when it comes to his daily briefings with the media. That Warren situation a few weeks back? It would’ve been easy for the rookie manager to blame someone else — calling down to the bullpen to tell a reliever to warm up is definitely something that gets delegated to a coach — but instead Boone took the blame, owned up to the mistake, and that was it. It was a non-issue going forward. Boone will be under the microscope all year and he could’ve shifted blame for that mistake. He owned it and that was that.

The Yankees hired Boone partly because of his communication skills, specifically his ability to interact with his players, but those communication skills also apply to the media. Torre was a master at keeping the peace and limiting distractions. Boone seems to have a similar quality, though, to be fair, he has yet to face a real crisis or even manage a regular season game. We’ll see if things change once the games start to count.

2. He’s willing to be open-minded. Everyone seems to be looking for the new Joe Maddon, that manager willing to be unconventional and try new things. Why? Because it’s different, mostly. Maddon has had success doing that but many managers have had success not doing that. To each his own. But many fans seem to want their team to hire the next Maddon. The next smart manager willing to think outside the box.

Boone, if nothing else, seems to be open-minded. He’s talked about batting Aaron Judge leadoff against lefties and Cashman confirmed that was a conversation initiated by Boone. Boone also said that, aside from Aroldis Chapman at closer, he plans to use his setup relievers interchangeably, rather than assign set roles or innings. He doesn’t want his speedy baserunners to risk outs on the bases because the Yankees have so much power. Who knows whether anything will actually come of this. For now, Boone is talking the talk. We’ll soon see if he walks the walk too.

3. Let’s talk about the rest of the coaching staff. When the Yankees cut ties with Girardi, they also cut ties with much of his coaching staff. Joe Espada left to join the Astros, and Tony Pena and Alan Cockrell weren’t retained. Pitching coach Larry Rothschild stuck around, as did assistant hitting coach Marcus Thames and bullpen coach Mike Harkey. Otherwise the coaching staff is full of fresh faces:

Bench Coach: Josh Bard (had been Dodgers bench coach)
Pitching Coach: Larry Rothschild (retained)
Hitting Coach: Marcus Thames (promoted from assistant hitting coach)
Assistant Hitting Coach: P.J. Pilittere (promoted from Triple-A Scranton)
First Base Coach: Reggie Willits (promoted from player development staff)
Third Base Coach: Phil Nevin (had been Giants third base coach)
Bullpen Coach: Mike Harkey (retained)
Catching Coach: Jason Brown (promoted from bullpen catcher)
Quality Control Coach: Carlos Mendoza (promoted from player development staff)

Bard was Boone’s teammate with the Indians back in the day, and he spent time with the Dodgers (another progressive analytics driven organization) in both the front office and on the coaching staff, so has experience on both sides of the table. He’ll help Boone quite a bit, I imagine. Nevin is more old school and that’s a necessary balance. Sometimes you need that tough love.

The coaches who were promoted from within all have experience with the young Yankees on the roster. Willits, formerly the minor league outfield and baserunning coordinator, worked with Judge during his days in the minors. He also worked with Clint Frazier and Tyler Wade and others. Mendoza was the minor league infield coordinator, meaning he spent time with Wade, Gleyber Torres, and Miguel Andujar. Pilittere has been a hitting coach at various levels over the years and he’s worked with pretty much every young Yankee at some point.

Brown, interestingly enough, is making the jump from bullpen catcher to full-time catching coach, meaning he will be tasked with helping Gary Sanchez improve his defense. He and Cashman spoke to Billy Witz about this recently:

“Everything we do as catchers starts from that stance, that setup, whether it’s the receiving, the blocking, the throwing,” said Jason Brown, the Yankees’ new catching coach. “That’s the foundation. It’s more natural for smaller guys. For Gary, it’s something that he’s been working on.”

…

(Cashman) also said Sanchez was uncomfortable with the pregame workout routine that last year’s catching coach, Tony Pena, and manager, Joe Girardi, had implemented.

In the second half of the season, Sanchez returned to the pregame regimen he had used in the minor leagues.

Hmmm. Last year Sanchez went from eleven passed balls in his first 61 games at catcher to five passed balls in his final 43 games, so he went from one every 5.45 games to one every 8.60 games. That’s better! Whether it’s real improvement or just official scoring noise is another matter. Either way, Brown is now the full-time catching coach. He is in charge of helping Sanchez (and Austin Romine) improve his catching.

The Yankees made sweeping changes to their coaching staff over the winter, but because so many of the new coaches came up from the farm system, they already have a working relationship with many players. They’re not coming in blind. Also, Bard caught CC Sabathia with the Indians and Nevin managed both Didi Gregorius and Brandon Drury in Triple-A while with the Diamondbacks, so there is some familiarity there as well. Clearly though, the Yankees wanted some new leadership and new voices in the clubhouse. They have that in Boone and they have it with his coaching staff.

* * *

My fearlessly bold prediction is the Yankees will win a lot of games this season because they are incredibly talented, and Boone will look like a genius manager. He’s in position to get a lot of credit. And, when things inevitably go wrong, he’ll get the blame. The Yankees will lose three straight at some point. They’ll score like four runs in a three-game series at some point. That’s baseball. When it happens, fingers will be pointed at Boone.

That comes with the territory. You sign up to be manager of the Yankees, you have to take the good with the bad. Boone is a baseball lifer. He knows the game. I have no doubt about that. I also have no doubt that he’s passionate about the job, that he cares for his players, and that he understands the expectations. Girardi was a very good manager and keeping him would’ve been justifiable. The Yankees decided to be bold though, and while Boone has shown some promising traits, this season will be one giant learning experience. It’s all new to him.

The Yankees’ five most important Spring Training storylines

February 14, 2018 by Mike Axisa Leave a Comment

Spring Training is officially underway. Pitchers and catchers reported to Tampa yesterday, they threw the ball around a little bit, and they’ll do it all again today. And tomorrow. And the next however many days after that. Position players report Sunday, and next Friday actual Spring Training games begin. Can’t wait. Baseball is better than no baseball.

As is the case every year, the Yankees have some storylines worth keeping an eye on this spring. The biggest, obviously, is the infield situation. Second and third base are wide open — they are “fluid,” as new manager Aaron Boone said yesterday — and while we have an idea who will ultimately fill those positions, lots of weird stuff happens in Spring Training. This year will be no different. Here are what I consider the five most important storylines this spring, in no particular order.

How will the Yankees spend that $12M?

Technically, the Yankees have about $22M to spend under the $197M luxury tax threshold, but they’re setting aside $10M for midseason additions. That seems like a lot, but who knows. The Yankees might have to trade for a starting pitcher and two infielders come July. Brian Cashman & Co. would rather have too much set aside than not enough.

Anyway, setting aside $10M still leaves the Yankees with $12M to spend, and I have to think they’re going to spend it. Free agency is the smart bet — there are still sooo many good free agents unsigned — but I suppose they could always take on salary in a trade. Sign an infielder like Neil Walker? Or a depth starter like, say, Jaime Garcia? Or maybe someone better than a depth starter like Alex Cobb or Lance Lynn?

I don’t think that $12M is going unspent. The Yankees have needs like every other team and there are still quality free agents on the market, so it’s not like they have nowhere to spend it. In previous years the free agent market would’ve been picked clean by now. Spending $12M would’ve been tough without overpaying someone. That isn’t the case now. That $12M is going somewhere.

How does Gleyber look after his injury?

Gleyber Torres has completed his rehab from Tommy John surgery on his non-throwing elbow, and during an MLB Network appearance yesterday, he said he took live batting practice for the first time Monday. That’s good. Torres seems to be on a typical “get ready for the season” schedule. Tommy John surgery is a major procedure, obviously, but there is less risk with position players, especially when they have it on their non-throwing arms.

I’m looking forward to seeing Gleyber in camp (who isn’t?) and I suspect we won’t even be able to tell he had the surgery. I still want to see him in action though, to see if there’s any rust, to see if he’s apprehensive at all when swinging, things like that. It’s a bit of a weird situation. Torres has a chance to win a big league roster spot and of course he wants to do well this spring. At the same time, you don’t want him overdoing it so soon after elbow surgery, and risking a setback.

Is Betances throwing strikes?

This will be Dellin Betances’ fourth Spring Training as a no-doubt member of the bullpen and the previous three have followed the same script. Betances comes out of the gate sitting closer to 94-95 mph than 98-99 mph, and he doesn’t throw strikes. Then, by the end of camp, the velocity is back and his mechanics are locked in, and he looks like dominant Dellin. No reason to think this year will be different, really.

This year is different, however. Betances was borderline unusable down the stretch last season because he couldn’t throw strikes. He has a history of control problems and late last year was his worst stretch as a big leaguer. Spring Training is Spring Training, these guys go through the motions and focus on getting their work in more than anything, but in Dellin’s case, it would behoove him to come out strong and show he is back to throwing strikes, and that Boone can trust him right away.

“(I) wanted to get to a weight I was comfortable at, where I was two, three years ago. I just feel like I’m trying to start strong and finish strong,” said Betances, who dropped 16 lbs. this offseason, to Erik Boland yesterday. “I felt like last year my delivery was just not there, I just wasn’t consistent with that. I worked on my breaking ball (this winter), throwing it more for strikes. Last year, obviously, I had problems with a lot of walks, so that was a focal point for me.”

Who emerges as the sixth starter?

If the Yankees sign or trade for another starter, the sixth starter might be Jordan Montgomery. For now Montgomery is in the starting five and sixth starter duties will likely fall on Luis Cessa, Domingo German, or Chance Adams. The sleeper: Chad Green. A lot of times the sixth starter decision gets made by the schedule — who is lined up to pitch that day? — but those are usually only spot starts. I’m talking about the full-time sixth starter.

In reality, the sixth starter race won’t be decided in Spring Training. Hopefully the Yankees won’t need one for a while, but, if they do, they figure to go with who is pitching the best at the time rather than who pitched the best in March. Cessa could put up a 0.75 ERA during Grapefruit League play, but if it’s mid-June and German is sitting on a 1.90 ERA with 25.0 K-BB% rate in Triple-A, he’s going to get the call. It is possible to jump to the front of the line in camp though, so if a sixth starter is needed early in the season, you can be the guy who gets called up.

How’s Boone handling things?

Spoiler alert: Boone’s first Spring Training as a manager will probably look like the ten Spring Trainings under Joe Girardi. Maybe they’ll do a few more team-bonding things? Otherwise it’ll be business as usual. Spring Training won’t be a good time to get a read on the new skipper. Certainly not in terms of on-field strategy and whatnot. Lineups don’t mean much and no one plays the bullpen matchup game during Grapefruit League play.

I guess the big thing to watch is how Boone handles the inevitable crisis — a player leaves a game with an injury, does Boone clam up like Girardi when asked about it? — and what sort of mood hangs over camp. Should be one of excitement! The Yankees are good, they have a lot of fun young players, and they added Giancarlo Stanton. Should be a blast. If it’s not, that’ll be weird, especially after Boone said his priority is building strong relationships with his players time and time again over the winter.

“I want to be somebody that is known as a smart manager, that makes solid decisions and is prepared,” said Boone yesterday. “But also one that when you walk into our clubhouse, hopefully I’m part of what I believe is a winning culture (and) a culture where guys are at ease, where guys are allowed to be themselves. When you walk into our room, it’s not a stressful place. It’s a place where guys are at work but there’s a joy coming there to do their job. Hopefully I’m part of creating that atmosphere.”

* * *

There is plenty of other stuff to keep an eye on this spring. How do Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton handle left field? Does Chasen Shreve get the final bullpen spot by default, or does someone else take it? Does Greg Bird make it out in one piece? All of that stuff will be settled in time and I don’t think we’re in for any surprises. Hopefully Bird stays healthy. Chances are Judge and Stanton will be fine in left. Shreve probably gets the last bullpen spot, and if he doesn’t, eh who cares.

To me, the most important things this spring are Gleyber’s elbow, Dellin’s control, and Boone’s on-the-job training. I’m interesting to see where that $12M is going, sure, but I’m more interested in Torres, Dellin, and Boone. Those are three pretty important members of the organization and they’re all facing different challenges this spring. The Yankees want all of them to begin 2018 off on the right foot.

Aaron Boone and the recent history of rookie managers

January 4, 2018 by Mike Axisa Leave a Comment

Aside from the Giancarlo Stanton trade, the biggest move the Yankees have made this offseason is replacing Joe Girardi with new manager Aaron Boone. Brian Cashman and the rest of the higher ups felt the team needed a fresh voice in the clubhouse, and a fresh voice they will get. This is Boone’s first managerial gig.

Hiring a manager with no prior managerial experience — Boone doesn’t even have any coaching experience, he’d been an analyst with ESPN since his playing career ended — is far from unprecedented. In fact, it is business as usual these days. Six teams changed managers this year. Five hired first-timers.

Mets: Mickey Callaway
Nationals: Dave Martinez
Phillies: Gabe Kapler
Red Sox: Alex Cora
Tigers: Rob Gardenhire
Yankees: Aaron Boone

Three of those teams made the postseason this past season and four of them can go into 2018 with a reasonable expectation of competing for a postseason spot, at worst. And yet, they hired rookie managers. The average MLB payroll was just north of $150M in 2017. Teams are putting their nine-figure rosters in the hands of inexperienced managers. Pretty wild.

Why are they doing this? Two reasons, I think. One, front offices are always looking for the next big thing. Hiring Joe Maddon or Terry Francona is the sexy move, but hiring the next Joe Maddon or Terry Francona is the real goal. And two, managers with no experience are essentially a clean slate. Front offices can mold them into the type of manager they want. I’m sure that applies to the Yankees and Boone to some degree.

Of course, hiring a no experience manager comes with a lot of risk. You simply have no idea what you’re going to get until the person is put in the position of being a manager. Everyone loved Matt Williams as a player and a coach, then, as soon as he became Nationals manager, he was a disaster. An experienced manager is a known commodity, and the team could help him improve on the things that got him fired from his previous managerial job.

Eighteen teams hired a rookie manager between the end of the 2011 season and the start of the 2017 season. That’s a six-year window and it does not include interim managers who were later hired full-time, like Mike Quade and Ryne Sandberg. They took over the Cubs and Phillies, respectively, as interim rookie managers at midseason and were hired full-time after the season. Those 18 teams gave the keys to a first year manager in the offseason.

My original plan was to look at those 18 teams and rookie managers to see how they performed and how the rookie manager’s tenured played out, and maybe a pattern would emerge or something. A pattern did emerge, for sure.

Combined actual winning percentage in final year under old manager: .468
Combined PECOTA projected winning percentage in final year under old manager: .513

Combined actual winning percentage in first year under rookie manager: .480
Combined PECOTA projected winning percentage in first year under rookie manager: .488

Here’s my spreadsheet. I used PECOTA projections to get an estimate of each team’s talent level because that’s kinda important. For all intents and purposes, the teams with rookie managers met their PECOTA projection. The difference between the actual .480 winning percentage and projected .488 winning percentage is roughly one win per 162 games, which is nothing.

In the previous year, those same teams under their old manager collectively unperformed their projected winning percentage by more than seven wins per 162 games. That’s why the managerial change was made, right? The team underperformed and the front office wanted to shake things up. Among our 18-team sample, eight underperformed their projection by at least ten wins and 15 underperformed their projection in general. The 2011 Cardinals were the only team to beat their projection by more than two wins. They beat it by five wins in Tony La Russa’s final season, and he retired after winning the World Series. He wasn’t fired.

The teams underperformed under their old manager for whatever reason. The 2014 Rangers were decimated by injuries under Ron Washington. The 2013 Cubs were picked apart at the trade deadline under Dale Sveum. The 2012 Rockies were so thin on the mound they went to a four-man rotation and used tandem starters under Walt Weiss. A team that underperformed replaced their manager, in this case with a rookie skipper, and met projections the next year. That was the pattern. Underperform with the old manager, meet expectations with the rookie. A few more observations.

1. Most rookie managers had a prior history with their team. Click on my spreadsheet and go down the list of rookie managers. Almost all of them had some prior connection to their new team. Mike Matheny played five years with the Cardinals before they hired him in 2012. Sveum was the Red Sox third base coach under Theo Epstein before Epstein hired him with the Cubs. Robin Ventura played for the White Sox. Mike Redmond played for the Marlins. Weiss played for the Rockies. So on and so forth.

Boone, of course, played for the Yankees back in the day, albeit briefly. He hit a big home run and was honest when he blew out his knee playing basketball. Boone could’ve made up some story about hurting the knee during an offseason workout to keep his contract, but he was honest, and I think the Yankees appreciated that. It says something about his character. That prior connection undoubtedly helped Boone — and the other rookie managers in our little 18-team sample — get their job. They had their foot in the door already.

2. Bo Porter is the cautionary tale. When the mid-tank Astros named Porter their new manager in September 2012, GM Jeff Luhnow had this to say:

“People know Bo is going to be here for a long time. He could be one of those guys who is an Astros manager for decades, not just years. The players knowing that this is the group that’s going to be here — it begins to lay the foundation for stability, which is really what we’re looking for.”

Clearly, Luhnow was very high on Porter. And less than two years later, he fired him. “I made this decision because I believe we need a new direction in our clubhouse,” said Luhnow after letting Porter go. The two reportedly had some communication problems leading up to the firing. Their relationship went south quick.

To me, this looks very much like a case of Porter not being the guy Luhnow expected. Luhnow thought he was hiring the next great manager, someone who could take all the fancy ideas the Astros have and implement them on the field, and it didn’t play out like that. The two couldn’t get on the same page. Porter had no prior managerial experience — he had plenty of coaching experience, but not managerial experience — so as much as Luhnow liked him, he was going in blind. He expected one thing and got another. That’s the risk that comes with an inexperienced manager.

3. True zero experience managers are rare. As you know, Boone has no coaching or front office experience whatsoever. He retired as a player, headed to the ESPN broadcast booth, and remained there until being hired by the Yankees a few weeks ago. Pretty crazy. Here’s the breakdown of our 18-manager sample:

Coaching experience: 12 (Jeff Banister, Kevin Cash, Andy Green, Chip Hale, Paul Molitor, Porter, Bryan Price, Redmond, Rick Renteria, Dave Roberts, Sveum, Williams)
Front office experience: 5 (Brad Ausmus, Craig Counsell, Scott Servais, Ventura, Weiss)
No front office or coaching experience: 1 (Matheny)

Like Matheny, Boone is going into his new managerial gig blind. He’s never coached and he’s never worked in a front office. Matheny is the only other guy to do that since the end of the 2011 season, and he’s still in the dugout for the Cardinals, so I guess that means he’s doing okay? (I know plenty of Cardinals fans who are sick of him, for what it’s worth.) The Yankees are asking Boone to do something that is very rare, and they’re asking him to do it in the game’s largest market. A bold decision, this is.

* * *

I didn’t expect to learn much from recent rookie managers, though I did think it was interesting teams more or less met projections with their rookie skipper after underperforming with their previous manager. In that sense, replacing Girardi with Boone is a huge outlier. PECOTA pegged the Yankees as an 82-win team last year, and they wound up winning 91. No other team since 2011 has replaced a manager after that much success (aside from La Russa retiring).

Can a bad manager sink a talented roster? Absolutely. Look at Williams and the Nationals a few years ago. The players were damn near the point of mutiny in the clubhouse. Can a good manager contend with a not so talented roster? Eh, maybe. I’m of the belief managers can do more harm than good. At the end of the day, talent wins out. The players play. I think the most likely outcome this coming season is the Yankees win a lot of games because they’re talented, and Boone looks smart because of the players.

Coaching Staff Notes: Beltran, Willits, Mendoza, Harkey

December 6, 2017 by Mike Axisa Leave a Comment

The Yankees officially introduced Aaron Boone as their new manager earlier today — that still sounds weird as hell — and if you missed the press conference, you can watch it here. Now that Boone has been hired, the next step is building his coaching staff. Brian Cashman said today that process could take “a couple of weeks.” Here’s the latest.

Boone’s contract worth $4M

According to Joel Sherman, Boone’s contract will pay him $4M across the three guaranteed years before the club option for 2021 comes into play. Other rookie managers hired this offseason, like Mickey Callaway (Mets) and Dave Martinez (Nationals), all received between $2M and $3M on their three-year contracts. Boone received a little more because he was leaving a lucrative deal with ESPN.

Joe Girardi earned $4M per year on the contract he just completed, so the Yankees are saving quite a bit of cash with their managerial choice. I’m sure the cynics out there will say that is Hal Steinbrenner’s reason for making the managerial change, but nah. That’s just the way it goes when you bring in new managers. The new guy almost always makes less than the old guy.

Experience not necessary for bench coach

Interestingly enough, both Cashman and Boone said today they’re not prioritizing experience with their bench coach. They’d like a bench coach with managerial experience, sure, but they want a good baseball mind and hard worker above all. “Experience is important, but it’s not the be all, end all. I want smart sitting next to me. I want confident sitting next to me,” said Boone today.

Boone is a complete rookie and he knows it — “As far as the in-game stuff, there’s obviously going to be some stuff that I’m green at,” he said today — so I figured they’d want a bench coach who has been there, done that. Someone who has seen pretty much everything the game can throw at a manager. Apparently not. We’ll see where this goes. I’d be surprised if the Yankees hire a bench coach with zero prior managerial or bench coach experience.

Beltran could join Yankees in some capacity

I had a feeling this was coming. Carlos Beltran told Neil Best that it is very possible he will join the Yankees despite not getting the manager’s job. As I said earlier today, I think the managerial interview was out of respect for Carlos, and the Yankees’ way of letting him know they want him in the organization. From Best:

“There’s no doubt that they showed interest in having me back in a different role,” he said. “I basically have to have a conversation with the organization and see which role they want me to be back in and see if that’s something I really want to do after I just retired from the game.”

Beltran could join Boone’s coaching staff, or he could join the front office as a special advisor, similar to Hideki Matsui. He is very highly regarded within baseball, especially among Latin American players, and has an awful lot of knowledge to share. Beltran has been taking young players under his wing for years and it’s no surprise the Yankees want him around. I think it’ll happen. They’ll do whatever they have to to accommodate him.

Willits, Mendoza being considered for coaching staff

Reggie Willits and Carlos Mendoza are being considered for Boone’s coaching staff, reports George King. Willits, 36, played with the Angels from 2006-11, and has been the organization’s minor league outfield and baserunning coordinator for three years now. The 38-year-old Mendoza has been with the Yankees since 2009 and has held a variety of minor league coaching and managerial roles. He’s been the team’s minor league infield coordinator since 2012.

Neither Willits nor Mendoza have big league coaching experience, though they are among their best instructors in the minors, and have been considered potential coaching candidates for a while now. Mendoza in particular has a lot of fans in the front office. He’s worked with all the organization’s top prospects in recent years, from Gleyber Torres to Miguel Andujar to Tyler Wade to Jorge Mateo. This would jibe with the talk about not necessarily wanting an experienced person on the coaching staff, but a smart person.

Yankees officially bring back Rothschild, could bring back Harkey

As expected, Larry Rothschild will indeed return as pitching coach next season. The Yankees made the official announcement earlier this week. It’ll be his eighth year as pitching coach. In more surprising news, King reports “there are indications” Mike Harkey will return as bullpen coach. Huh. Didn’t see that coming.

Harkey, 51, is in his second stint as bullpen coach (2008-13, 2016-17) after spending the 2014-15 seasons as the Diamondbacks pitching coach. He is a Girardi guy. Girardi hired Harkey because they’re very close friends dating back to their playing days. I’ve been assuming he’s as good as gone because of that, but I guess not. Tuns out Rothschild might not be the only coaching staff holdover.

Thoughts after the Yankees name Aaron Boone manager

December 6, 2017 by Mike Axisa Leave a Comment

No more dip in the dugout, skip. (Getty)

In a few hours the Yankees will hold an introductory press conference for new manager Aaron Boone, who we learned got the job last Friday. You’ll be able to watch the press conference live on YES and Yankees.com at 12pm ET. Needless to say, this is a significant change. The upstart Yankees are going from veteran skipper in Joe Girardi to a neophyte in Boone. The manager situation is almost a microcosm of the roster. Out with the old, in with the new. Anyway, I have thoughts on all this, so let’s get to ’em.

1. News broke the Yankees would name Boone their manager Friday night, and the word of the weekend was “risky.” It’s a risky hire. The Yankees made a risky move. It’s a risky decision. Blah blah blah yadda yadda yadda. Of course hiring Boone is a risky decision. This was always going to be a risky decision, no matter who the Yankees hired. Realistically, who could the Yankees have hired to make this whole thing not be considered risky? Maybe luring Terry Francona away from the Indians would’ve done the trick? Parting ways with Girardi and going forward with literally anyone else as manager was risky. I don’t see Boone as any more risky than any other managerial candidate, even with the lack of experience. Hire an experienced manager and you’re hoping he learned from his previous managerial stint (from which he was fired, of course). Hire an inexperienced manager and you don’t really know what you’re going to get. There’s always risk, and with Boone, the focus has been on the negative (he might suck) rather the positive, specifically the fact he is a very bright and personable guy who grew up in the game and is enthusiastic about taking on the challenge of managing in New York.

2. When teams change managers, they have a tendency to bring someone in who is the exact opposite of the guy they just fired. The Mets and Phillies went from the old school Terry Collins and Pete Mackanin to the very new school Mickey Callaway and Gabe Kapler this offseason, respectively. The Tigers moved on from Brad Ausmus, an analytics guy and former front office dude, and brought in the thoroughly unspectacular Ron Gardenhire. The Yankees replaced the intense and meticulous Girardi with Boone, who by all accounts is much more laid back and open-minded. Girardi was high-strung and he wore it on his face, you could see if every time the Yankees played a remotely important game, and I think that tends to wear on a team after a while. That shouldn’t be a problem with Boone. He’s outgoing and he’s got a great sense of humor (have you seen his impressions?). I’ll be very surprised if we see Boone in the dugout wearing that same strained look Girardi wore so often the last decade.

3. “Communication” was the buzzword during the managerial search, and if you’re judging Boone’s communication skills on his broadcasting, just stop. Broadcasting a game for a national audience is waaay different than communicating with players one-on-one. Informing the audience is not the same thing as a manager forming a professional (and personal) relationship with his players. Basically everything I’ve read about Boone the last few days (like this, this, this, this, and this) indicates he is very relatable and the kind of person who gets along with everyone. He’ll joke around with the media — that’ll be a nice change of pace from Girardi, who enjoyed speaking to the media about as much as I enjoy a subway platform on a nice and toasty August afternoon — and keep his players loose, and that’s important. The Yankees bought into his communication skills and ultimately, that’s all that matters. Just don’t judge those skills by his broadcasts. Talking on television and talking to human beings are very different things.

4. Clearly, experience was not a priority for the Yankees. Or for pretty much any team this offseason, for that matter. Six teams changed managers this winter (Mets, Nationals, Phillies, Red Sox, Tigers, Yankees) and five of them hired first time managers. Only the Tigers (Gardenhire) hired a retread. The Yankees interviewed six candidates and only one, Eric Wedge, had prior MLB managerial experience. Boone and Carlos Beltran have zero coaching or managerial experience, and Chris Woodward is relatively new to the coaching game. This is the trend within baseball now. Even Girardi only had one year coaching experience and one year managerial experience under his belt when the Yankees hired him. He wasn’t exactly a seasoned vet. Teams don’t want Joe Maddon or Terry Francona. They want the next Joe Maddon or Terry Francona. Look at the two World Series managers this year. Dave Roberts and A.J. Hinch have barely more than 1,000 games of managerial experience combined. That’s a little more than six full seasons between them. Boone spent the last few seasons speaking to all 30 managers as a broadcaster — and I don’t mean those silly mid-game interviews, I’m talking about in the clubhouse and on the field before games — and that’s valuable experience. He got to pick the brain of everyone around the league rather than work under one or two managers. Young inexperienced managers are a clean slate. Boone is going to have his own unique managerial style, no doubt, but the Yankees will also be able to mold him into the manager they want because he’s not set in his ways. That’s what pretty much every team is trying to do these days.

5. I was surprised the Yankees let Rob Thomson get away and join the Phillies as their new bench coach. He’d been with the Yankees since the early 1990s and he’d done basically everything there is to do in the organization. Thomson knew the Yankees inside and out, and he said he wanted to stay even if he didn’t get the manager’s job. The fact he’s now with Philadelphia leads me to believe the Yankees moved on from Thomson, not the other way around. The split seems amicable — “No hard feelings on my part! It’s the business. The Steinbrenners and the Yankee organization have taken great care of me for 28 years,” said Thomson to Joel Sherman — so I wonder if the Yankees felt they needed such large scale clubhouse change that they let Thomson go in addition to Girardi. Or maybe they didn’t want Boone to have to look over his shoulder at a Girardi holdover and someone else who interviewed for the managerial job? I’m not sure. If anything, I thought the Yankees would kick Thomson back up to the front office than let him go completely. I’m surprised. I expected Thomson to stay in some capacity.

6. Speaking of the front office, I think the odds are pretty darn good the Yankees will hire Beltran as a special advisor to Brian Cashman, similar to Hideki Matsui. I think that’s why they brought him in for the managerial interview. To show him respect and to show him he’s wanted. Matsui has been a special advisor to Cashman for three years now and his duties include, among other things, going around and working with prospects in the minors. I know Beltran said he wants to manage, but going from player one year to manager the next is a huge jump, and was probably never all that realistic. A special advisor role is much less demanding. There’s less travel and more time at home with the family, which a recently retired player figures to appreciate. But he also gets to stay in baseball and begin the second phase of his career. Matsui and Beltran are very similar. They are dignified and very highly respected, especially in their home countries, and have a lot of baseball knowledge to offer. The Yankees could bring Beltran aboard as a special advisor with the promise that if a coaching or managerial job opens somewhere around the league, he’s free to leave. He can work with players up and down the organization, particularly Latin American players, in the meantime. Beltran is someone worth having in the organization and I think the Yankees let him know they want him during their interview, even if they didn’t name him their manager.

7. Among the six managerial candidates, my personal preference was Hensley Meulens, though I didn’t feel strongly about any of the candidates one way or the other. I liked Bam Bam because he has extensive coaching experience. That’s basically it. Being able to speak five languages was an obvious plus, though I thought it was getting played up a little too much. There’s more to managing than speaking different languages. Meulens has coached for a long time, he’s coached under a great manager in Bruce Bochy, and just about everyone who’s spent time around him has said he’ll make a great manager one day, so that’s why I liked him. Then again, Meulens has interviewed for a few managerial openings over the years (including the Tigers this offseason) and didn’t get any of them, so maybe he’s not as great of a candidate as everything thinks? I dunno. I thought Bam Bam would be the guy and he was my personal favorite for the job, but like I said, I didn’t feel all that strongly about any of the six candidates. I thought maybe I would the deeper the Yankees got into the process, but nope. I was mostly indifferent about the whole thing.

8. The next step now is building a coaching staff and I have to think Boone and Yankees will look for a bench coach with managerial experience to help the rookie skipper. I don’t think there will be a meaningful difference between Girardi and Boone in terms of on-field strategy. The lineup kinda writes itself, at least through the top six spots or so, and the bullpen is deep enough to survive the rookie manager’s learning curve. The front office has a lot of input into that stuff anyway. Boone and the Yankees are still going to want someone in the dugout with experience. Someone who has run a Spring Training before, someone who has seen so many of those weird situations baseball can throw at you. Who are some potential bench coach candidates then? Beats me. Wedge has been mentioned as a candidate — he managed Boone for two years in Cleveland — and he reportedly wants to get back in the managing game, and getting back in the dugout as a bench coach is a step in that direction. Tony Pena is an obvious candidate, but if the Yankees want to move on from Pena like they apparently wanted to move on from Thomson, he won’t be an option. Dave Miley managed Boone for a short period of time in 2003 and managed Triple-A Scranton from 2006-15, so he is familiar with the Yankees and vice versa. Could the Yankees hire bench coach Bob Geren away from the Dodgers? They’d probably be able to get Fredi Gonzalez, Boone’s former manager with the Marlins, away from Miami. He is currently their third base coach. Robin Ventura (unemployed)? John Farrell (unemployed)? Ron Washington (Braves third base coach)? Bo Porter (unemployed)? I’m looking forward to seeing the coaching staff. Should be interesting.

9. Boone is going to be under the microscope this year because every new manager is under the microscope, though in this case Boone is the inexperienced manager of ready to win Yankees, who will almost certainly be a trendy World Series pick going into 2018. There will be a lot of attention on him. And that’s good because it means that much less attention will be paid to Aaron Judge and Greg Bird and Luis Severino and all the other young players who would’ve been the top story this season had the Yankees kept Girardi. There’s some value in that. Anything that makes life easier for your young cornerstone players is a plus. I always thought Alex Rodriguez provided an intangible value by soaking up so much attention that many other Yankees were able to fly under the radar. Don’t get me wrong, there will be a ton of attention of Judge and Severino and all the young guys expected to lead the team to a title. As much attention as there would’ve been without the managerial change? I don’t think so.

10. So what number will Boone wear? I imagine we’ll find out today. He wore No. 19 during his brief stint with the Yankees as a player, but that’s Masahiro Tanaka’s number. Boone also wore No. 8 at times in his career. That’s not happening either. He wore No. 17 with the Reds all those years, and that’s open now with Matt Holliday gone, so I guess that’s it? We’ll find out. Whatever it is, I hope Boone doesn’t adopt Girardi’s tradition of wearing the number of the World Series title the Yankees are chasing. Remember that? He wore No. 27 in 2008 and 2009, then when the Yankees won the 2009 World Series, he switched to No. 28 because that was his goal, the team’s 28th championship. I always thought that was kind of gimmicky, and when Girardi ended up wearing No. 28 for the final eight years of his tenure, it was a daily reminder that the Yankees weren’t achieving their stated goal. The gimmick has run its course. I hope Boone picks No. 17 or whatever and that’s that.

11. And finally, no, the Yankees did not hire Boone because of that home run he hit 14 years ago. I know some people out there are thinking it. Did that home run give Boone a level of celebrity he wouldn’t have otherwise achieved given his playing career? Absolutely. It helped land him on ESPN, I’m sure. And maybe that helped Boone stay relevant long enough to be considered for a managerial gig seven years after he played his final game. But no, that homer didn’t get him the job. If anything, being honest and accountable about blowing out his knee in a basketball game helped Boone get the job. He could’ve easily made up some story about getting hurt during an offseason workout to keep his 2004 contract — the Yankees voided his $5.75M deal, which would’ve been the highest salary of his career by $2M — but no, Boone owned up to it. That speaks to his character and I think that stood out to the Yankees. Now, did they hire him because of that? No, of course not. But it was an insight into Boone’s character. It was a piece of information that could be used during the hiring process. The home run though? Nope.

Yankees officially name Aaron Boone their new manager

December 4, 2017 by Mike Axisa Leave a Comment

December 4th: It’s official. The Yankees announced Boone is their new manager this afternoon. The press conference is Wednesday at 12pm ET. He received a three-year contract with a club option for a fourth year, which seems to be the standard contract for a rookie manager. No word on the money yet.

Let’s get to the various statements, shall we? First, Hal Steinbrenner:

“I firmly believe that Aaron possesses the attributes needed to follow in the tradition of great Yankees managers. From all accounts, he is a polished communicator who possesses the ability to cultivate and grow relationships. Aaron has also spent a lifetime immersed in baseball, affording him a unique and intimate understanding of what fosters team success.

“Aaron’s name is already etched into Yankees history, and my family and I are excited to welcome him back to this franchise. This opportunity will allow him to continue to make a positive impact on this organization in distinctly new and meaningful ways.”

Next up, Brian Cashman:

“Over the past several weeks, our baseball operations department sat down with a number of managerial candidates, all of whom brought a diverse array of baseball knowledge and experience. Each interview led to insightful and thoughtful discussions, and I am grateful to the candidates for their preparation, interest and commitment to our extensive interview process.

“When we had the opportunity to speak with Aaron and share concepts and ideas, he was able to showcase a variety of traits that we believe will strongly benefit this franchise as we move forward, including an astute mind for the game and a progressive approach to evolving strategies.

“We also believe Aaron’s interpersonal skills and baseball pedigree will allow him to blend well with the systems we have in place, our baseball operations staff and the 25-man roster. On a personal level, I look forward to collaborating with him over the coming years and offering him the support and resources needed to get the most out of our players.”

And finally, Mr. Boone himself:

“Words cannot express how humbled I am to wear the pinstripes again as the manager of the Yankees. I want to thank the Steinbrenner family and Brian Cashman for entrusting me with this tremendous honor and responsibility. I believe we are entering into a special time in New York Yankees history, and I am so excited to be a part of it. I can’t wait to get to work – and that work starts now.”

December 1st: The Year of the Aarons continues in New York. According to multiple reports, the Yankees are set to name Aaron Boone their next manager. Jack Curry, Buster Olney, Joel Sherman, Ken Rosenthal, Mark Feinsand, and Bill Madden are all reporting it, so yeah. The Yankees have not yet confirmed or announced anything. That should happen relatively soon.

The Yankees interviewed six candidates for their managerial opening and one-by-one they were ruled out Friday before Boone was the last man standing. The candidates: Boone, Carlos Beltran, Hensley Meulens, Rob Thomson, Eric Wedge, and Chris Woodward. Boone and Meulens were reportedly the two finalists. Thomson, who had been with the Yankees since the early 1990s, is leaving to become the Phillies bench coach.

With Boone, the Yankees are continuing the recent trend around MLB of hiring managers with no experience. He retired as a player following the 2009 season and had been working as an analyst with ESPN ever since. Boone has an interest in analytics, that much is clear from his broadcasts, and he’s always been good with the media. The Yankees must feel pretty good about his communication skills as well. They reportedly prioritized communication.

Boone, who will turn 45 in March, will be the 33rd different manager in Yankee history and only the third in the last 22 years, and the fourth in the last 26 years. Pretty amazing considering how much turnover there was under George Steinbrenner in the 1970s and 1980s. Boone is very much a baseball brat. His grandfather (Ray), father (Bob), and brother (Brett) all played in the big leagues. He grew up around the game. Baseball is all he knows.

What kind of manager will Boone be? Beats me. Your guess is as good as mine. My guess is his lineup construction and bullpen usage and other basic on-field stuff won’t be all that different from Joe Girardi. The real difference will be in the clubhouse. That’s why the Yankees parted ways with Girardi. They didn’t like the way things were going on behind closed doors. Hopefully Boone connects well with the young players and gets them to take their games to the next level.

Now that the managerial search has reportedly concluded, the Yankees have to build the rest of their coaching staff. Larry Rothschild is coming back as pitching coach. We know that much. I have to think the Yankees and Boone will want an experienced bench coach, someone who has been a manager before. Tony Pena, maybe? Someone new? We’ll find out soon enough.