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Aaron Boone finishes fifth in AL Manager of the Year voting

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(Mike Stobe/Getty)

In his first season as a manager or coach at any level, Aaron Boone finished fifth in the AL Manager of the Year voting. MLB and the BBWAA announced earlier tonight that A’s skipper Bob Melvin has been named the 2018 AL Manager of the Year. Not a surprise given their improvement from 75-87 last year to 97-65 this year. Red Sox manager Alex Cora finished second in the voting and Rays skipper Kevin Cash was third.

For all intents and purposes, the Manager of the Year award is the “manager of the team that most exceeded expectations” award, and that doesn’t fit Boone or the Yankees at all. The Yankees came into the season as World Series contenders and they were very good, going 100-62 and finishing with the third best record in baseball. Generally speaking, they met expectations, and meeting expectations doesn’t win this award.

Boone received received two third place votes and finished behind Melvin, Cora, Cash, and Astros manager A.J. Hinch. This is the tenth straight season the Yankees’ manager received Manager of the Year votes. Joe Girardi did not receive any votes in 2008, his first season with the team, but he received votes every year from 2009-17. Girardi won the NL award with the 2006 Marlins and topped out with a third place finish in 2009 with the Yankees.

The full voting results are available at the BBWAA’s site. As a reminder, these are regular season awards only. Ballots are cast before the postseason. No one asked me, but I would’ve voted for Cash. Cash got his team to buy into the “opener” strategy and it was a big reason they won 90 games. The opener machinations are one of the few tangible pieces of evidence we have of a manager making a difference on the field. Shrug.

Game 159: Escape from Tropicana Field

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(Getty)

All things considered, this series is going well for the Yankees. They’ve won two of the first three games and, even in the loss yesterday, they showed some serious ninth inning fight and simply ran out of outs. This afternoon the Yankees will look to earn their first series win in Tropicana Field since, well, last September. Surprised it was that recent. Then again, the Yankees are 2-5 in their last seven series at the Trop, so yeah.

(Update: I was just reminded that last September’s series win was the alternate site series at Citi Field, so the Yankees haven’t won a series in Tropicana Field since September 2016.)

Anyway, the magic number for homefield advantage in the Wild Card Game is two, but the Athletics have an off-day today, which means the Yankees can not clinch until tomorrow at the earliest. Sucks. I was hoping they’d go to Boston and play three meaningless games this weekend. That won’t be the case. Just worry about today though. Win today, win the series, knock the magic number down to one. Here are this afternoon’s lineups:

New York Yankees
1. CF Brett Gardner
2. RF Aaron Judge
3. 1B Luke Voit
4. LF Giancarlo Stanton
5. 3B Neil Walker
6. DH Miguel Andujar
7. 2B Gleyber Torres
8. C Austin Romine
9. SS Adeiny Hechavarria

LHP CC Sabathia

Tampa Bay Rays
1. CF Mallex Smith
2. LF Tommy Pham
3. 3B Joey Wendle
4. DH C.J. Cron
5. 2B Brandon Lowe
6. SS Willy Adames
7. 1B Jake Bauers
8. RF Carlos Gomez
9. C Jesus Sucre

RHP Jaime Schultz

It is nice and sunny in St. Petersburg today and dark and gloomy in Tropicana Field. Good day to play baseball outside. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10pm ET and you can watch on YES locally and MLB Network out-of-market. You can also watch on Twitter. Twitter? Twitter. Enjoy the game.

Injury Updates: Aaron Hicks (hamstring) is tentatively scheduled to return to the lineup tomorrow, Aaron Boone said … Didi Gregorius (wrist) took batting practice on the field, though Boone cautioned they’re not out of the woods yet. Gregorius remains day-to-day and there is no firm timetable for his return to the lineup … Walker (shin) went for x-rays after the hit-by-pitch last night. They came back negative and he’s fine, hence his presence in the lineup.

Rotation Update: J.A. Happ starts Friday, Lance Lynn starts Saturday, and Luis Severino starts Sunday. That presumably takes Severino out of the running for the Wild Card Game start, though Sunday could be a short “throw day” outing rather than a full blown start. Right now, Happ lines up to start the Wild Card Game on normal rest with Masahiro Tanaka lined up on two extra days rest.

The Yankees and 2018’s major awards

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(Mike Stobe/Getty)

There are five days to go in the regular season and, at some point in the next seven days, the various voting members of the BBWAA will have to submit their ballots for the major awards. Ballots are submitted after the regular season but before the postseason. MVP and Cy Young and all that are regular season awards. The postseason is not a factor.

In recent years the voting body has done a better job handing out the awards, and by that I mean the voting results have aligned closely with my hypothetical ballot. The Yankees have several awards candidates this year — not as many as last year, but definitely a few — and could have someone walk away with some hardware. Let’s break down the awards races with only a handful of regular season games remaining.

Most Valuable Player

Aaron Judge’s wrist injury removed him from the MVP conversation. It wouldn’t surprise me to see him get some eighth or ninth or tenth place votes, but, as far as being a true MVP candidate, missing two months put an end to that. The AL MVP award will likely go to Mookie Betts, Mike Trout, Jose Ramirez, Alex Bregman, or J.D. Martinez. Khris Davis and Matt Chapman will get some love as well. Those are the top MVP candidates at the moment.

With Judge out of he mix, the Yankees don’t have a bona fide MVP candidate, which is kinda weird for a team with a chance to win 100+ games. Giancarlo Stanton’s had a good but not great year, Didi Gregorius had a brutal May and has missed time with injuries, Aaron Hicks doesn’t seem high-profile enough, and Luis Severino slumped terribly in the second half. Miguel Andujar or Gleyber Torres? I bet they get some down ballot votes., especially Andujar.

Unlike last season, when Judge was right there with Jose Altuve, the Yankees don’t have a legitimate MVP candidate this year. They might not even have anyone finish in the top ten of the voting. The last time that happened was 2016. The last time it happened in a year the Yankees made the postseason was … 2015. I would’ve guessed the last time that happened was much further back. Apparently not.

Cy Young

Man, Severino was so good in the first half. He went into the All-Star break ranked fifth in the AL in ERA (2.31), third in FIP (2.74), seventh in strikeout rate (28.7%), sixth in K/BB ratio (4.50), and fourth in WAR (+4.1). The second half slump knocked him down a peg:

  • ERA: 3.39 (9th in AL)
  • FIP: 2.95 (4th)
  • Strikeout rate: 28.2% (8th)
  • K/BB ratio: 4.78 (4th)
  • WAR: +5.7 (5th)

The second half skid doomed Severino’s Cy Young chances. Others like Blake Snell, Chris Sale, Corey Kluber, Justin Verlander, and Gerrit Cole have been so good that Severino might not even get a fifth place vote. (The Cy Young ballot runs five names deep.) Lame, but when you pitch as poorly as Severino did for as long as Severino did, you can’t expect Cy Young votes.

Aside from Severino, I think the only pitcher on the staff with a chance to get a Cy Young vote is Dellin Betances. Masahiro Tanaka labored in the first half, Aroldis Chapman has been hurt and ineffective in the second half, and David Robertson hasn’t had a “reliever who deserves Cy Young attention” season. Betances might’ve. He has received Cy Young votes before — one fifth place vote in 2015, to be precise — and it could happen again. I’d bet against it. Decent chance the Yankees are completely shut out of the Cy Young voting this year.

Rookie of the Year

(Jim McIsaac/Getty)

Now we’re talking. The Yankees had the Rookie of the Year runner-up two years ago (Gary Sanchez) and the unanimous Rookie of the Year last year (Judge). They could have the Rookie of the Year winner and runner-up this year thanks to Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres. The last team with the first and second place finishers in the Rookie of the Year voting is the 2011 Braves with Craig Kimbrel and Freddie Freeman. The last AL team to do it is the 1984 Mariners with Alvin Davis and Mark Langston.

Now here’s where I be a jerk and say Shohei Ohtani is almost certainly going to win Rookie of the Year. And he wouldn’t be an unreasonable pick! Ohtani is hitting .280/.360/.559 (151 wRC+) with 21 homers in 351 plate appearances, and, before his elbow injury, he threw 51.2 innings with a 3.31 ERA (3.56 FIP) and 63 strikeouts. That is ridiculously good! The AL rookie WAR leaderboard:

FanGraphs WAR
1. Shohei Ohtani: +3.6
2. Joey Wendle: +3.6
3. Miguel Andujar: +2.6
4. Brad Keller: +2.5
5. Shane Bieber: +2.4
6. Gleyber Torres: +2.1

Baseball Reference WAR
1. Joey Wendle: +4.4
2. Shohei Ohtani: +3.8
3. Brad Keller: +3.6
4. Gleyber Torres: +2.9
5. Jaime Barria: +2.4
6. Miguel Andujar: +2.1

Wendle ain’t winning Rookie of the Year. You have a few weeks to prepare yourself to be angry when Wendle gets a handful of third place votes instead of Andujar or Gleyber, but he’s not winning. Fair or not, there is a narrative component to these awards, and Wendle has zero narrative going for him. He’s a 28-year-old rookie who was designated for assignment over the winter and is getting a WAR boost because the defensive stats still don’t handle multi-position guys well.

Anyway, Ohtani has the numbers and the narrative. He’s been incredible. He’s a top ten hitter on a rate basis and he was very good when on the mound. Doing one thing well is hard. Ohtani is doing both well. Can he overcome the lack of playing time? Andujar has 583 plate appearances. Torres has 465 plate appearances. Ohtani is at 351 plate appearances as a hitter plus 211 batters faced as a pitcher (562 combined). The offensive numbers side-by-side:

  • Ohtani: .280/.360/.559 (151 wRC+) and 21 homers
  • Andujar: .298/.329/.525 (128 wRC+) and 26 homers
  • Torres: .276/.345/.484 (122 wRC+) and 23 homers

Even with the injury, Ohtani has more than lived up to the hype, and it’s an incredible story. I fully expect him to win Rookie of the Year and I don’t think it would be undeserved. And I expect Andujar and Torres to finish second and third in the voting, in either order. That’s still really cool. I mean, you could rank these three guys in any order and I’m not sure it’d be “wrong.”

There is no shame in finishing behind Ohtani. The Yankees will be the first AL team with two top three finishers in the Rookie of the Year voting since the 2013 Rays (Wil Myers and Chris Archer).

Manager of the Year

Last season only four AL managers received Manager of the Year votes. Two years ago it was six. The year before that it was seven and the year before that it was seven as well. Nearly half the league! This year the Manager of the Year award figures to go one of three managers: Kevin Cash, Alex Cora, or Bob Melvin. The Red Sox are having a historic year and that’ll undoubtedly get Cora votes. The A’s are a surprise contender and that usually equals Manager of the Year votes. The same applies to the Rays and Cash.

As for Aaron Boone, everyone expected the Yankees to be good this season and the Yankees have been good this season, if not underwhelming in the second half. A team expected to be good having a good year — and not a historically great year like the Red Sox — usually doesn’t earn a skipper many Manager of the Year votes. There are 30 Manager of the Year ballots and three spots per ballot. How many of those 90 spots go to Boone? Three or four, tops? I’m not sure he even gets that many. The last Yankees manager to win Manager of the Year was Joe Torre in 1998. That won’t change this year.

Comeback Player of the Year

The Yankees don’t have a Comeback Player of the Year candidate. This usually goes to a guy who missed most (or all) of the previous season with an injury and the Yankees don’t have anyone like that. Maybe Betances would get some Comeback Player of the Year attention? I doubt it. As bad as he was down the stretch last year, he had a 2.64 ERA (3.23 FIP) and was an All-Star last season. My guess is Matt Duffy will be named Comeback Player of the Year considering he’s hitting .294/.360/.366 (106 wRC+) at the moment and played 91 total games from 2016-17 (zero in 2017) due to an Achilles injury.

Gold Gloves

The Gold Glove selection process has improved in recent years — there’s a statistical component now and there doesn’t seem to be as much reliance on reputation — and I’m not sure the Yankees have a Gold Glove candidate. Judge missed too much time and he wouldn’t beat out Betts anyway. Hicks is a good defensive center fielder but also probably no better than the fourth best defensive center fielder in his own division. Gregorius has to contend with Andrelton Simmons and Francisco Lindor. Gardner? Meh. The Yankees’ best hope for a Gold Glove is probably Tanaka. He’s an excellent fielder. But yeah, bot seeing a Gold Glove in the 2018 Yankees’ future.

* * *

As far as the Yankees are concerned, all the intrigue this award season will revolve around Rookie of the Year. They don’t have a serious MVP or Cy Young candidate, but Andujar and Torres are right in the Rookie of the Year mix. Beating out Ohtani won’t be easy. Maybe even impossible! But I do expect those two to finish in the top three of the voting somewhere. Three straight seasons with top Rookie of the Year candidates is pretty cool. Hopefully Justus Sheffield makes it four straight next year.

Game 157: Six Games to Go

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(Joseph Garnett Jr./Getty)

Good win last night. The Yankees beat the Rays at their own game with the bullpen and knocked them out of postseason contention in the process. That was satisfying. That doesn’t mean the Rays will lay down these next three days, of course. It doesn’t work like that. They still want to win and make life miserable for the Yankees. The magic number for homefield advantage in the Wild Card Game is four.

On the mound tonight is Luis Severino, who is potentially making his final start of the regular season. He lines up to pitch tonight and on the season’s final day. My guess is Severino will only start the final game if it’s a must-win for homefield advantage. Otherwise he’ll be held back for the Wild Card Game, even if he’s only on the roster as a reliever. If this is his final regular season start, I hope Severino dominates, and goes into the postseason confident. Here are tonight’s lineups:

New York Yankees
1. LF Andrew McCutchen
2. RF Aaron Judge
3. 1B Luke Voit
4. DH Giancarlo Stanton
5. 2B Neil Walker
6. 3B Miguel Andujar
7. C Gary Sanchez
8. SS Adeiny Hechavarria
9. CF Brett Gardner

RHP Luis Severino

Tampa Bay Rays
1. RF Mallex Smith
2. 3B Joey Wendle
3. LF Tommy Pham
4. 1B Ji-Man Choi
5. 2B Brandon Lowe
6. DH C.J. Cron
7. CF Kevin Kiermaier
8. SS Willy Adames
9. C Adam Moore

RHP Jake Faria

It is it hot, humid, and rainy in St. Petersburg today. Good day to play indoors. Tonight’s game will begin at 7:10pm ET and you can watch on YES locally and ESPN out-of-market. Enjoy the ballgame.

Injury Updates: Aaron Hicks (hamstring) went for an MRI today and it brought back good news. There’s no tear. The hamstring is still tight and Hicks is day-to-day. Best case scenario, basically. “We feel like we dodged a bullet,” said Aaron Boone … Didi Gregorius (wrist) took ground balls today without throwing. He is still receiving treatment and said he feels better than he did yesterday, when he felt better than he did Sunday. Gregorius will see the doctor for a check-up tomorrow … Gleyber Torres was scratched from tonight’s lineup with tightness in his groin/hip. He spent a few weeks on the disabled list with a hip problem earlier this year, remember. Torres was scratched as a precaution and is available off the bench.

Game 140: Sevy For The Series Win

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(Presswire)

Pretty big win last night. The Athletics are coming after the Yankees for homefield advantage in the wildcard game and, after getting shut down for five innings, the Yankees rallied late against a good bullpen. Good response after Monday’s loss. Here are the current wildcard standings:

  1. Yankees: 87-52
  2. Athletics: 83-57 (4.5 GB)
    ——————————
  3. Mariners: 77-62 (10 GB)
  4. Rays: 75-63 (11.5 GB)

The same as two days ago, basically. Which is good for the Yankees because there are two fewer games on the schedule now. The series ain’t over yet though, and tonight’s game will determine whether the Yankees go into tomorrow’s off-day with a 3.5-game lead or a 5.5-game lead. Go win the series. Here are tonight’s lineups:

New York Yankees
1. LF Brett Gardner
2. DH Giancarlo Stanton
3. RF Andrew McCutchen
4. CF Aaron Hicks
5. C Gary Sanchez
6. 1B Luke Voit
7. 3B Neil Walker
8. SS Adeiny Hechavarria
9. 2B Gleyber Torres

RHP Luis Severino

Oakland Athletics
1. CF Ramon Laureano
2. 3B Matt Chapman
3. 2B Jed Lowrie
4. DH Khris Davis
5. 1B Matt Olson
6. RF Stephen Piscotty
7. SS Marcus Semien
8. LF Chad Pinder
9. C Josh Phegley

RHP Mike Fiers

Another chilly evening with clear skies in the Bay Area. Great night to spend at the ballpark. First pitch is scheduled for 10:05pm ET and you can watch on YES locally or MLB Network out-of-market. Enjoy the game, folks.

Injury Update: Didi Gregorius (heel) went through another full day of workouts and will “probably” be activated Friday, according to Aaron Boone … Aaron Judge (wrist) hit off a tee for the third straight day and again reported no issues. His rehab plan is still being mapped out, but he’s making progress … Clint Frazier (post-concussion migraines) suffered a setback and is unlikely to return this season. Poor kid. He was preparing to join Double-A Trenton for the postseason when his symptoms flared up again. Get healthy, Clint. See you in Tampa in a few months.

The Yankees are built around their bullpen, and Aaron Boone’s bullpen management must improve

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(Presswire)

Yesterday afternoon, for the fifth time in their last eight games, the Yankees lost a game to a team they really need to beat. The first four of those five losses came at home against the White Sox and Tigers — the White Sox and Tigers! — two teams flirting with 100-loss seasons. Yesterday’s loss came against an upstart Athletics team that is trying to chase down the Yankees for the top wildcard spot. Oakland is now 3.5 games back (four in the loss column).

The Yankees lost yesterday because CC Sabathia stunk, first and foremost. He didn’t make it out of the fourth inning. The offense didn’t help matters either. Three runs on four hits, including no hits after the fifth inning, isn’t good enough to beat a team like the A’s. The Yankees had two runners on base with no outs in the seventh inning and couldn’t get a run home. They had two on with two outs in the eighth and couldn’t get a run home either.

The game started to slip away from the Yankees in the middle innings, when A.J. Cole allowed an inherited runner to score in the fourth and then served up a solo homer in the fifth, turning a one-run deficit into a three-run deficit. Cole was brought in with a runner on base to face the middle of the lineup. After the deficit grew, Chad Green pitched the sixth and Jonathan Loaisiga pitched the seventh and eighth, all scoreless. Gah.

It would be easy to chalk up yesterday’s bullpen machinations to one of those moves that just didn’t work out — every manager makes seemingly silly bullpen decisions from time to time — if it wasn’t something that has happened multiple times now. Consider Cole’s last seven appearances:

  • August 13th: Entered down one in the sixth, exited down four in the seventh.
  • August 18th: Entered up six in the ninth, finished the game up five.
  • August 21st: Entered a tie game in the 11th, created a bases loaded jam with no outs, and escaped.
  • August 22nd: Entered down six in the eighth, finished down six in the ninth.
  • August 27th: Entered down two in the ninth, finished down four in the ninth.
  • August 29th: Entered down three in the eighth, finished down three in the ninth.
  • September 3rd: Entered down one in the fourth, exited down three in the sixth.

Three times in his last seven appearances (August 13th, August 27th, September 3rd) we’ve seen Cole enter a game with the Yankees down no more than two runs, and let it slip away. Twice in those three games one of the usual late inning guys pitched later in the game. On August 13th it was Zach Britton, who entered with the Yankees down two in the ninth. Yesterday it was Green in the sixth inning.

Beyond the Cole infatuation, we’ve also seen Green transition from multi-inning guy to one-inning guy, something he doesn’t seem to like. Boone said he wanted to get Britton regular work to help him get back up to speed following the Achilles injury and long layoff, and he’s pitched 13 times in the last 35 games, a 60-appearance pace that would be considered on the low side for a full-time reliever. There were Chasen Shreve issues earlier this year.

You can’t manage every game like Game Seven of the World Series, and of course there are often days certain relievers are not available for whatever reason, and we just don’t know about it. But something like yesterday — using Cole in a one-run game and Green in a three-run game — stands out as a strategic mistake, especially given the explanation. And the fact something like this has happened multiple times is especially bothersome.

This is where I have to acknowledged Joe Girardi’s best trait as a manager, at least on the field, was his bullpen management. He wasn’t flawless — remember when he liked Anthony Swarzak’s slider? or Andrew Miller said he could be “wasteful?” — but, by and large, he used his relievers well. A guy like Cole, who was buried in mop-up duty most of the summer, probably would be persona non grata in a close late season game under Girardi. Or maybe not. Who knows?

It’s easy to obsess about bullpen management because, aside from the batting order, it is the most visible part of the manager’s job. With the Yankees, bullpen management takes on added importance because this team is built around the bullpen, especially when it comes to the postseason. The plan is three or four innings from the starter, maybe five, then turn it over to the relief crew and smother the other team in October. That’s how the Yankees are built.

Expecting Boone to manage a regular season game like he would a postseason game is silly — would Girardi ever bring Green into a regular season game with one out in the first like he did the Wild Card Game last year? no way — but there is still room for improvement. The Cole obsession needs to stop. Britton needs more action to get himself right. Using Green in a way he feels most comfortable seems worthwhile. Settling on a set closer with Aroldis Chapman sidelined is probably a good idea.

I expected worse bullpen management under Boone this season but I didn’t think it would be this much worse. This was the risk the Yankees took when they hired a rookie manager straight out of the broadcast booth. He’d have to learn things on the job and he’d have to do it with a team with World Series aspirations. And look, the Yankees are really good. They’re 86-52 overall and they went 17-13 in August even though like half the team was on the disabled list. The Yankees are really good. But bullpen management has been an issue, and since the Yankees are built around their bullpen, it’s something Boone has to improve.

Game 137: End of the Homestand

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(Rich Schultz/Getty)

The penultimate homestand of the regular season ends today and this afternoon’s game will determine whether this is a tolerable 4-3 homestand or a disappointing 3-4 homestand. Man, losing four of seven to the White Sox and Tigers at home would really stink. Even winning four of seven would feel kinda like a letdown. Whatever.

A modest goal today: Get a hit at some point in the first four innings. That’s been an issue the last few days. I’m not going to bother to look this up to confirm it because I don’t really care, but it feels like the Yankees have won all these “they’re getting no-hit through five innings they suck so much” games this year. Still, hits are good. Hits and runs. Here are today’s lineups:

New York Yankees
1. RF Andrew McCutchen
2. CF Aaron Hicks
3. 3B Miguel Andujar
4. DH Gary Sanchez
5. 2B Gleyber Torres
6. 1B Luke Voit
7. C Austin Romine
8. SS Adeiny Hechavarria
9. LF Brett Gardner

RHP Lance Lynn

Detroit Tigers
1. 3B Jeimer Candelario
2. CF JaCoby Jones
3. DH Nick Castellanos
4. 1B Niko Goodrum
5. LF Mikie Mahtook
6. C James McCann
7. SS Ronny Rodriguez
8. 2B Dawel Lugo
9. RF Victor Reyes

LHP Matt Boyd

It is warm and cloudy in New York today, but there is no rain in the forecast, and that’s all that matters. This afternoon’s series finale will begin at 1:05pm ET and you can watch on YES. Enjoy the game.

Boone Suspended: Aaron Boone has received a one-game suspension and an undisclosed fine for Friday’s ejection tirade, MLB announced. His cap made contact with the umpire at some point and making contact is an automatic suspension. Boone is serving the suspension today and bench coach Josh Bard will fill in as manager.

Injury Update: Didi Gregorius (heel) took batting practice and ran the bases today. It’s more likely he’ll return at some point during the Mariners series late next week rather than the upcoming Athletics series … Aside from the ongoing hamstring issue, Giancarlo Stanton is fine. Adding McCutchen and getting Sanchez back allows the Yankees to finally give Stanton a day to rest. He’d started the previous 84 games.

Roster Move: Welcome back, Jonathan Loaisiga. The Yankees have called Johnny Lasagna up from Double-A Trenton, the team announced. He was scheduled to start today. There are now 31 players on the active roster.