Just when we thought that the introduction of ABS would reduce arguments between the managers and umpires, the Yankees’ Aaron Boone proved it wrong on Thursday. As the Yankees lost the series decider to the Angels, Boone entered the field in the eighth. He fought it out over a balk call by the umpire and was eventually ejected, his first this year.

However, Boone stuck to his stance after the game and called out the umpire for being “overly sensitive.”

“Will gave it to me behind home plate, but then I wanted what I thought should have been more of an explanation,” said Boone. “So I went out to talk to Ryan at first and [crew chief Lance Barksdale] cut me off.”

The story started in the eighth inning when the Angels were already leading by 7-4. Yankees’ Ryan Yarbrough was on the mound, and he was pitching with the runners on first and second. Yarbrough tried to pick off to the first, but the way he did that by halting his pitching at the very last moment looked like a balk. First base umpire Ryan Additon called it a balk, which has left Boone unimpressed.

While it seems like Yarbrough tried to pick off at first, his leg was visibly lifted at the last moment, which hints at stopping the pitch at the last moment. That call actually took away the game entirely from the Yankees. It offered a free base to the Angels’ Mike Trout, and the Yankees also walked him. Jo Adell entered the plate and scored a grand slam that closed the game.

So, while Boone’s frustration was expected this time, he was not as aggressive with the umpire as the last season. “I still haven’t gotten good clarity, because of course, they got overly sensitive when I was as calm as could be,” Boone added. Still, that was proven to be too sensitive for the home plate umpire Will Little, as he ejected Boone.

And with that ejection, Boone might have started to maintain his unique record of ejections from the last five seasons. Notably, he has led the American League in ejections in each of the last five seasons. And by how the Yankees are playing currently, it seems like Aaron Boone needs to enter the field a few more times this year.

So, the record might stay with the Yankees manager.

The Yankees’ pitching struggle is hitting the danger zone

The Yankees scored 21 runs in the series against the Angels, but ended up allowing 32 runs to them. That’s some scary pitching stats to start with.

Before the Angels series, the Yankees’ pitching staff allowed just 3 homers in their first 15 games. In contrast, the four-game series against the Angels saw the Yankees get slugged for the big hits 13 times. Ryan Yarbrough, who caught in the middle for his pick off, gave up 4 ERs without recording a strikeout. Max Fried started for the Yankees and secured 3 SOs, but also allowed 5 ERs!

“Story of the series, we just didn’t keep the ball in the ballpark,” Boone admitted on Thursday.

Currently, the Yankees are ranked 9th in terms of ERA (3.68), which could be improved once Gerrit Cole enters the scene.

The Yankees missed Cole last year, and this year their pitching staff is losing out their steam before Cole is back. And the good news is, he will begin a rehab assignment with the Double-A Somerset Patriots on Friday. However, considering the Yankees are sensitive with Cole and not rushing his return, we assume it’s still a month or two before he enters the MLB.

Till then, it’s the existing arms who would take the team forward. Expectedly, Boone might be seen taking on the umpires a few more times.