Devin Williams and Co. Become Collateral Damage to Aaron Boone’s Dirty Play as Yankees’ Hopes Collapse

Is Aaron Boone trying to get fired? Because it sure seems like it. The New York Yankees sure took three steps forward from the past few weeks, but on Wednesday, they stepped four steps back. And if you think that the center of the wrong attention was Devin Williams, not really, because it was Boone himself. The skipper is already under the microscope for plenty of things. From being unfazed by the team’s performance to being soft on players. Also, making rash decisions and attending the UNC football game amidst such a crucial stage of the season.

And yet again, against the Houston Astros, he gave fans another reason to question whether he should be the person manning the pinstripes or not. It was yet another Yankee unraveling, one that fans are getting too used to. Up 4-1 in the sixth inning, the Yanks looked like they could get away with this. By the eighth, it was tied 4-4, and in this crucial time, Boone did what he does best—make an unpredictable move. He handed the ball to Devin Williams, one of the most inconsistent arms in the bullpen. What happened next was chaos and embarrassment.

Williams gave up a leadoff double, walked the bases loaded, and forced in the go-ahead run on yet another walk. Not just that, his frustrations with the strike zone got him ejected from the game, too. But the damage was done, and the Yankee world is not ready to sit quietly and take this.

The Locked On Yankees podcast didn’t hold back, blasting Boone’s decision: “The manager directly lost in this baseball game. Simple and plain as that. That decision is so unbelievably inexcusable in that spot. I can’t wrap my head around it. It’s insane to think that Devin Williams is the guy that you go to in that position, Stacey. It’s insane to think that that is the guy that you are with.” Also, the main kicker was that everyone in the bullpen was as healthy as humanly possible, maybe even healthier and more rested since opening day.

It is strange also because Williams has been more shaky this season. He has allowed multiple runs in 10 different outings, and in half of those, he has been tagged for three or more. His ERA is at 5.60, and still, Boone made that move! But then again, the man has made weirder decisions, like him constantly sticking with Volpe even though he is no Derek Jeter, at least. But the drama at the game didn’t stop there.

Boone got ejected too, during the pitching change, and that left Camilo Doval to handle the nightmare of a situation. Doval coughed up an RBI single and then committed a balk and a wild pitch to make the situation even worse. Cody Bellinger’s three-run shot tried to even things out, but it was too late.

What stings fans the most is that fans had hoped that Boone would turn a leaf. Maybe learn from his previous mistakes and give his team a chance. Instead, his dirty play with the bullpen has turned into collateral damage for pitchers like Williams. And maybe this is the sinking ship fans have to see before their eyes.

What Aaron Boone said that got him ejected from the game!

“You stink. You fu—– stink.” That is what Aaron Boone shouted at home plate umpire Brian Walsh on Wednesday. And that was it. Boone for his sixth ejection of the season. He, after all, barked those words right at Walsh’s face after pulling Devil Williams in the eighth inning, with the game slipping away. Walsh had missed borderline calls throughout the frame, and Boone seemed fed up and decided to rip the Band-Aid before heading to the dugout.

This was no run-of-the-mill frustration; it was a boiling-over moment. For context, even Williams was tossed earlier, after he told Walsh that he had missed four pitches, and hence the ump ran him. But Boone, never shy to get amidst a heated situation, did exactly that. The problem, though, is that his ejections don’t seem to rattle anyone anymore. It just seems more like theatrics than actual fire for the team. And how much the team matters to him actually got highlighted when Judge mentioned how Boone has no clue how he is doing, given he was not there to see him recover. A manager not there for the franchise cornerstone?

However, some still tend to sympathize with Boone. Michael Kay, in fact, went to ESPN New York to defend Boone and the UNC attendance, pointing out that the skipper had gone to watch his son. Even though this is not what Clint Frazier, the ex-Yankee, would really stand by. He, after all, mocked Boone’s game day hooky look on social media. Now, at the bottom line is the fact that your stink tirade might have been right, but it is doing nothing to change how the fans feel—the Bronx is running out of patience.