WHY AARON BOONE DRIVES ME CRAZY

You know what it's like when you feel like you left something behind? You feel flustered, maybe anxious, concerned and maybe like you have to retrace your steps. I once felt that way when I took my then three-year-old to the movie theatre to see one of the Toy Story movies. He was dressed like Woody and he sort of got ahead of me as we were leaving and the lights were still dimmed in the theatre. Scary. Now stay with me here. I feel this pit in my stomach way when I get a notification about the Yankee lineup each day. Who isn't going to be in it. The first place I go is who's batting ninth? And is it Anthony Volpe? Who's batting second? And is it Aaron Judge? You get the deal. This is one of the reasons why Aaron Boone drives me crazy. The lineup offers no consistency and I have to worry who is getting left behind and why.

Source: USA Today

"Boone wrote out 146 different batting orders last season — which was only the 17th-most in the majors — but the most consistent spots were LeMahieu batting first (89 games), Judge batting second (112), Rizzo batting third (90) and Stanton batting fourth (77)," reported The New York Post. I am surprised about the ranking; I actually thought he was the most overall, but at least there's that. 

Sitting out Tuesday night's game was Anthony Volpe. My question is why? If the Yankees are trying to set their new shortstop for success, why is he out of the lineup only two weeks into the season? And if you wanted to rest his legs, why not use the DH? “When we’re all out there, it’s a force to be reckoned with,” Stanton said. “So just work off these days. As many days as we can get close to our full lineup out there, it’s a fun look and preview for the year,” reported The Post. By the way, Giancarlo Stanton was also out of the Tuesday night lineup.

Source: The Athletic

On a day when the Yankees needed to ensure a win, especially after Monday's pitiful performance, you would think your A-game would be in the lineup. Now I say all this as the Yankees put 12 hits on the board in just 7 innings and a score of 10-2 heading into the 8th inning, eventually winning the game. But still...Boone's lack of rationale for sitting hot players or players who need more reps, just makes no sense.

Many bloggers and fans took to Twitter after Monday night's loss to the Guardians, blaming Boone's mismanagement of players, lineups and the bullpen. "Despite having a talented roster, the team has struggled to find its groove and has yet to produce the kind of dominant performances fans have come to expect from the storied franchise. Fans feel that Boone is responsible for the team's poor showing, and they're no longer willing to tolerate it," wrote Sportkeeda. And "Yankees Boone sure loves "resting" players only to insert them into the lineup randomly in high leverage situations. There's literally zero sense to any of the lineup decisions either he or the front office makes,"@YankeeMandela and @GarysheffieldJr "@Yankees Stop resting players in April."

                                                                                            Source: YES

Boone let your starters start. It is only April and two weeks into the season. If you want a team to marinate like a good steak or simmer like a Sunday Sauce, then you have to be patient. Stop playing all the toys in the toy chest when you have a perfectly good play set right in front of you. You are not a child. This is not a do it yourself situation. Focus on playing your best team and gain momentum. And stop driving me and every other fan crazy with your ridiculous lineup combinations. 

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Senior Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof