Instead of hiring a 2003 ALCS hero as their manager, Chris “Mad Dog” Russo believes the Yankees should have tapped into one of the key figures from the 2004 edition.
Russo, the ex-WFAN host now on SiriusXM and ESPN, ranted on “The Show” podcast with The Post’s Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman how the Yankees should have hired Terry Francona this winter instead of extending Aaron Boone, who he barely sees as a top-10 manager.
“You’re telling me that Boone is a better manager than Terry Francona? Are you freaking crazy? How did Francona end up with the Reds?” Russo said in the episode published Tuesday.
“Did the Yankees put a call in to see if Francona — ‘Hey, Terry, we had a bad World Series, our manager killed us in Game 1.’ He killed them in Game 1 guys, that was awful. And Francona ends up in Cincinnati. Everybody loves Boone and he’s not a bad manager, but he’s been there a long time with one World Series win and, in my opinion, seven or eight managers are better than he is. “
Russo’s takes comes a time while the Yankees are scuffling and trying to hold on for dear life in the AL playoff race and many fans are pointing fingers at Boone and general manager Brian Cashman.
This is Boone’s eighth season on the job and the Yankees have won one pennant and one World Series game in that time, with their summer malaises becoming routine.
Russo clearly believes the manager is part of the problem, and he listed seven skippers he believes are better than Boone: Francona, Boston’s Alex Cora, Texas’ Bruce Bochy, the Dodgers’ Dave Roberts, Arizona’s Tory Luvullo, Detroit’s A.J. Hinch and the Cubs’ Craig Counsell, although he said Boone is only “probably not better” than him due to Counsell’s “spotty postseason.”
“How do the Yankees have a manager who’s the eighth-best — and now, you guys might think he’s higher than I, but I think there’s eight managers in this sport better than freaking Boond,” Russo told Sherman and Heyman. “I mean, I’m not going to give you (Brian) Snitker because he’s old, but he won a World Championship too. Hinch, Francona, Bochy, Roberts, Luvullo, Cora, there’s a lot of managers in this sport who are better than Boone. He is barely in the top 10. These are the New York Yankees.”
Francona, 66, led Boston to two championships in 2004 and 2007, and has the upstart Reds just two games back of the Mets in the NL playoffs race.
He’s generally considered one of the game’s better managers, especially after a strong run with Cleveland despite limited payrolls.
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Try it freeOne major issue, though, with Russo’s idea is that the timeline and logistics for the Yankees to have hired Francona to replace Boone this offseason would have not lined up.
Cincinnati hired Francona on Oct. 7, 2024, while the Yankees did not finish their season until their Game 5 World Series debacle against the Dodgers on Oct. 30.
Boone still had one year left on his deal before the Yankees gave him a two-year extension in February through the 2027 season.
Yankees’ brass has talked highly of Boone — seemingly to the fans’ chagrin — and even said he believes there would be a “feeding frenzy” if he became a free agent.
He also has the support of team captain Aaron Judge.
“I think the No. 1 thing is the care and passion he has for everybody in this room,” Judge said after the extension. “It doesn’t matter if you’re first year in here in big league camp or 15-year vet getting a chance to come over and play for the Yankees, he’s going to make you feel like you’re the most important person in the room. When you do that, it equals a lot of wins when you feel comfortable.”
For all the good will Boone has accumulated with Cashman and owner Hal Steinbrenner, though, the calculus could change if the Yankees miss the playoffs for the second time in three years.
The Bronx Bombers only lead the Guardians by one game for the final AL wild-card spot and poor fundamentals have plagued them as a huge AL East lead has swung into a six-game hole behind the Blue Jays.
For a team with championship aspirations, not making the dance two times in three years when 40 percent of the league makes the playoffs is a tough look.