Was Aaron Boone’s 43rd Ejection His Last?

Aaron Boone was ejected from last night’s game in Toronto. It was his 43rd ejection as the manager of the New York Yankees. The team made four errors last night and has made mistakes in nearly every game over the past six weeks. As horrible as this is, it is part of a pattern that has repeated itself in each of the last eight years, the tenure of Aaron Boone. With one of the highest payrolls in baseball, the poor play of the Yankees during the tenure of Aaron Boone is unforgivable. Do you think Yankee General Partner Hal Steinbrenner should fire Aaron Boone?

Aaron Boone was Ejected Last Night

The Yankees made four errors last night in Toronto, embarrassing themselves and Yankee fans everywhere. Aaron Boone, the Manager of the Yankees, was ejected, along with Yankee Pitching Coach Matt Blake, for arguing balls and strikes.

The ejections were really about the frustration stemming from the Yankees’ mental and physical errors. It was the 43rd time Aaron Boone was ejected from a game as the Yankees manager. He has been ejected most often for arguing balls and strikes. It is fair to wonder whether Hal Steinbrenner will fire Aaron Boone. His father, George M. Steinbrenner, would have by now.

June Swoon

Adding to the tale of woe for Boone is the fact that the Yankees have made mistakes nearly every game for the past six weeks. They have been seriously unprepared. Unfortunately, in the eighth season, Boone has been the Yankees manager while the Yankees are 656-475 during his tenure. Every season, the Yankees have experienced these problems. They occur so frequently that they have a name, the June Swoon. So, we have a repeated pattern of bad play that correlates with Boone’s tenure. It is happening again this season.

With the Yankees having the highest payroll in baseball almost every year, this pattern of play is not acceptable. It is part of the record that the Yankees were embarrassed in last year’s World Series by the Los Angeles Dodgers, when they made a series of mental and physical errors. All this was on national television. The Yankees have made the same mental and physical errors this season. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result.

You Cannot Fire the Players

The Yankees have had all kinds of mistakes this season. Not only have they made many garden-variety errors, but they have made base-running errors, positioning errors, and cut-and-cover errors. All these mistakes are examples of a lack of preparation and are examples of how the manager has failed the players and fans. At the upcoming July 31 trade deadline, the Yankees will be buyers, and they will attempt to improve their team. It may not matter. Hundreds of players have played for the Yankees during Aaron Boone’s tenure. The new guys are likely to make the same mistakes as the old guys.

One cannot fire the players even after they have made the type of mistakes Little Leaguers make. There are simply too many of them to fire, bench, or trade. A change needs to be made regardless. Given that one cannot fire the players, a change needs to be made. The question at hand is whether Hal Steinbrenner dares to fire Boone. His father, Georgoe M. Stienbrenner, would have. His father died in 2010, but he bought the Yankees from CBS in 1973. He was famous for hiring and firing managers.

Conclusion

Are the Yankees going to make trades at the trade deadline? Will the Yankees keep Boone as manager? Who will replace him? The answer to the last question is probably Matt Blake. The answer to the first is most likely yes. The answer to the middle question is maybe, but it should happen.