PUT TO THE TEST
Shortened sked could be obstacle for boone's title dreams in Bronx
In Aaron Boone’s first season as manager, he took over a team with sky-high expectations that reached the ALCS the previous year under Joe Girardi.
A year ago, there was a neardaily barrage of injuries, as the Yankees sent 30 players to the injured list for a total of 39 stints ontheIL.
Both years, the Yankees still won at least 100 games and reached the postseason, first losing to the Red Sox in the ALDS in 2018 and then falling to
Houston in the ALCS last year.
But this season — if it ever actually gets underway — could be Boone’s stiffest challenge in his final guaranteed year of his initial contract with the Yankees. There is a team option for 2021 and it’s hard to fathom a scenario in which Boone isn’t brought back for a fourth season.
With the acquisition of Gerrit Cole, the Yankees were considered the favorites in the American League to get to the World Series. That likely won’t change with an abbreviated schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but as ex-Yankee Mark Teixeira pointed out, there will be less margin for error with fewer games.
“If they’re able to start on July 1, you’re already basically in the second half of the season and then you go right into a pennant race,’’ Teixeira, now an analyst with ESPN, said. “Now, you’ll be dealing with having a long layoff and if, say, the Rays get off to a hot start, you can’t rely on having the regular schedule for you to get back in it. It’s going to be tougher for everyone.’’
Including Boone, who figured to get 30-plus starts from Cole in
his first season in The Bronx, but now may get less than half that.
“Cole is the best in the business because of what he does over a six-month season,’’ Teixeira said. “Now there’s double the pressure on what was already a pressurepacked season. And not just for Cole, but all the Yankees, because of the team [GM Brian] Cashman put together.”
The halting of spring training and postponement — for now — of the regular season, did give Boone and the Yankees a bit of a break, as it allowed James Paxton and Giancarlo Stanton to recover from their injuries and could mean Aaron Judge and Aaron Hicks may be ready to go as soon as the season begins rather than missing at least a few months.
“Obviously, everyone kind of mentions a silver lining with us,” Boone said this month. “I think that’s very much true.”
The details of a possible 82-game regional schedule, including fundamental changes to the game — at least temporarily — are still to be worked out. While a universal DH wouldn’t impact Boone, he may be faced with an expanded 30-man active roster and a 20-player “taxi squad” in a season that may end with more teams making the playoffs.
For a team with championship aspirations, a longer playoff setup would make a title run trickier.
But he’ll still be at the helm of a team that is playoff-tested and coming off its first division title since 2012. And the 29-year-old Cole will boost the rotation, regardless of how long the season is.
The Yankees will also enter the season with two of their main rivals, Houston and Boston, diminished. The Astros will be dealing with the penalties from their role in the sign-stealing scandal and the Red Sox dealt Mookie Betts and David Price to the Dodgers.
Failure to make the World Series would be tough to stomach.
“Our job is to get ready to go win a championship,’’ Boone said before spring training was shut down. “We don’t feel like anyone should be able to get in our way.”
In the meantime, Boone waits for a potential restart to spring training. He’s been keeping up with his players online and — in some cases — in person, playing catch with both Cole and Adam Ottavino, both of whom live near the manager in the suburbs north of the city.