Bret Boone understands his brother Aaron might take the fall for this supremely disappointing Yankees season, but he thinks there are a multitude of other factors more deserving of the blame.
Bret Boone, who played in MLB from 1992-2005 and made three All-Star teams, appeared on “Sports Talk Chicago” with Jon Zaghloul and went through a laundry list of reasons the Yankees have an “inferior product” on the field.
Boone began on the pitching front by saying that he expected big things out of Carlos Rodon, the free-agent acquisition who has made just eight starts and has a 1-4 record and a 5.97 ERA.
In addition, Boone noted Luis Severino has missed time and has a 6.64 ERA in his 17 appearances and All-Star Nestor Cortes has also suffered multiple injuries.
Boone added that Josh Donaldson is “getting old” while noting Anthony Rizzo’s concussion, Aaron Judge’s toe injury which cost him two months, Harrison Bader’s stints on the IL and the season-ending injury to catcher Jose Trevino.
He also mentions that Giancarlo Stanton is hitting about .200.
“I watch that team on a daily basis, and all due respect to [Anthony] Volpe, I think he’s gonna be a really good player — if he’s hitting fifth for the New York Yankees, you’re in trouble,” Boone said.
“And I think that’s what Aaron’s got to deal with. And I think Aaron’s done a great job. And I’ll tell you, I have to take my brother hat off sometimes. But you have to be honest. I’m honest with him, too.
“The players love Aaron Boone. He backs them to a fault. He loves his team. He loves his players. He’s one of the most passionate men I’ve ever been around.”
Bret Boone said he advised his brother not to be “so hard on himself” and acknowledged that being the manager of the Yankees is a “pressure cooker.”
“When the game starts, and you and your staff do the best job you can, and put out the best team available, in that lineup, put them in the positions to give them the best chance to succeed, and the national anthem’s over — you’re done!”
“You get the lefty up, you get the righty up, and nowadays everything’s run by a computer,” Bret Boone said. “So I tease Aaron a lot about it and say, ‘What are you gonna do?’
“At some point you have to say, ‘This is out of my control. This is all I can do with the personnel on the field.’
“And the personnel of the New York Yankees, if I’m being honest, put out on a daily basis is an inferior product [compared] to the top teams. And that’s just the way it is. Sometimes things don’t work out.”
Bret Boone reiterated that in his opinion the blame does not lie with his brother.
“If you’re a good baseball man that can honestly evaluate, and you put this season on Aaron Boone, then you’re a guy that really can’t have a conversation with me because you don’t know what you’re talking about,” Bret Boone said.
“That’s my honest opinion of Aaron Boone the manager, brother aside.”