MICHAEL KAY FINALLY SAID "STUMP MERRILL". WE DID THAT ALREADY

Michael Kay finally did it.

He looked at this Yankees mess and uttered two words that should send chills down the spine of anyone who's lived through the late '80s and early '90s:

Stump Merrill.

Welcome to the conversation. But if you're going to go after this team quoting the "Stump Merrill era" you have to blame Boone for being just as bad as Merrill was, but you won't because you get paid by the Yankees. We here at Bleeding Yankee Blue? We'll say it.

But seriously, the funny part isn't that Kay finally made the comparison. The funny part is that Bleeding Yankee Blue has been connecting those dots for years, long before it became acceptable on the airwaves.

Back in 2021 THE YANKEES ARE DEAD BECAUSE OF POOR LEADERSHIP, we wrote exactly where this train was heading:

"Aaron Boone is the reason this Yankee team is terrible. Leadership is vital in this game and Boone doesn't have it. You know who else didn't have it? Stump Merrill. Dallas Green. Those were dark times as a Yankee fan. We're back to those times."

That wasn't written after one bad week. That wasn't written to grab headlines. That was written because the same problems kept showing up over and over again and it's still happening.

Now here's where Michael Kay—and much of the mainstream Yankees media—stops because he has to. We don't.

Because if you're going to compare this era to the Stump Merrill years, then you have to be honest enough to explain why.

The Stump Merrill Yankees weren't remembered simply because the roster wasn't good. They were remembered because there wasn't leadership. There wasn't accountability. The clubhouse wasn't being driven by a manager capable of getting more from his players. That's why those teams drifted.

That's why those years became synonymous with mediocrity.

And here's the uncomfortable question...

What's different today? Sure, blame the players. Absolutely. They're the ones swinging the bats. They're the ones making the errors. They're the ones failing to deliver in October—or, lately, just failing to deliver. But baseball has always been bigger than the box score.

Leadership matters. Culture matters. Direction matters. A manager isn't there just to hand the baseball to the starting pitcher and fill out a lineup card. He's supposed to set the standard.

When the same mistakes happen every game and every season... When fundamentals disappear every season... When urgency vanishes every season...eventually the conversation has to move beyond the players.

It has to move to the men in charge. Aaron Boone.

Brian Cashman has wrapped Boone in enough bubble wrap to survive a five-story fall.

Every collapse comes with another excuse. Every poor decision is explained away. Every postseason disappointment is followed by another vote of confidence.

The result? No championships. No meaningful progress. The same movie playing on repeat. We've said it before because it's true now as it was then:

Leadership isn't optional. It's everything. That's why Buck Showalter changed the Yankees. That's why Joe Torre changed the Yankees. That's why Joe Girardi squeezed everything he could out of his clubs.

Managers matter. The Yankees themselves proved that for decades. So why are we suddenly pretending they don't? And here's where things get really interesting.

Michael Kay made the comparison. But he stopped short of saying what naturally comes next.

Why? You can decide for yourself, but hey, I'll tell you my thoughts...

Kay works inside the Yankees' orbit. Whether consciously or unconsciously, there are realities that come with that position. He can push the envelope, but only so far. We're not in that position at BYB. We don't answer to Yankee executives. We don't answer to YES Network producers. We answer to our readers.

That freedom matters. It allows us to say the quiet part out loud. If this really is the Stump Merrill era all over again—and we believe it is—then the comparison isn't primarily about the players.

It's about the leadership. It's about the manager. It's about a culture that has grown comfortable with excuses instead of accountability.

Michael Kay deserves credit for finally saying "Stump Merrill." But finishing the thought?

That's a different story. We've been finishing that thought for years. And until someone is willing to admit that leadership is just as broken as the roster, don't expect anything to change. Because championship teams don't just have talent.

They have leaders and right now? They don't have one.  Just ask me... I'll be truthful with you.

WANT MORE ABOUT STUMP MERRILL? READ THIS:

DOMINGUEZ JUST PROVED TO EVERYONE THAT BOONE'S NOT QUALIFIED

BOONE'S LEGACY IS ONLY ABOUT WINNING REGULAR SEASON GAMES

There was a time when the Yankees measured success with parades. Not playoff appearances. Not Wild Card berths. Not division titles. Championships.

That was the standard George Steinbrenner built. If you didn't win the World Series, you answered for it. There was accountability. There was urgency. There was an understanding that wearing pinstripes came with expectations unlike any other organization in sports.

Fast forward to today, and the standard feels... different. Aaron Boone has been the Yankees' manager since 2018. During that span, the Yankees have won plenty of regular-season games. They've reached the postseason repeatedly. They've had MVP-caliber players, Cy Young-caliber pitchers, and one of the highest payrolls in baseball almost every single season.

And yet... Zero championships. That's not an attack.

That's a fact.

Every October seems to end the same way. The Yankees fall short, the front office talks about what they learned, Boone talks about how close they were, and everyone comes back the following spring saying this year will be different. Eventually, "close" stops meaning anything. Because in New York, banners—not participation trophies—define greatness.

To hear the Yankees' front office tell it, Aaron Boone is exactly the right man for the job. Listen to the organization's messaging, tune into YES broadcasts, scroll through team-controlled social media, and you'll find praise for Boone's calm demeanor, his communication skills, and the culture he has supposedly built.

That's all well and good. But fans see something much simpler. No rings. That's the résumé that matters. Fair or unfair, that's the scoreboard. Now let's talk about accountability.

One of the biggest criticisms Boone has faced over the years isn't simply his bullpen decisions or lineup construction. It's the perception that too many things happen under his watch without meaningful consequences. Take Jazz Chisholm Jr.

Jazz is an electric player. His swagger is part of what makes him special. Baseball needs personalities like his. But when he showed up at the plate with a lollipop in his mouth earlier this season, it became national news. Boone publicly admitted afterward that the stunt "pissed" him off because of the safety concerns. Jazz responded by saying Boone's message was essentially to keep having fun—but to be smarter about it.

That's probably the right response. But it also illustrates the larger conversation surrounding Boone.

Fans don't necessarily question whether Boone likes his players. We really don't care. We question whether he demands enough from them.

There have been too many mental mistakes. Too many sloppy innings. Too many baserunning blunders. Too many games where the Yankees look flat. Is every one of those Boone's fault?

Of course not. But when those issues become recurring themes year after year, eventually the manager has to own part of the culture. Then there's Brian Cashman. Cashman deserves enormous credit for being a part of building championship teams in the late 1990s and early 2000s. No one can erase that.

But it's also fair to ask whether this version of the Yankees has become too comfortable with falling short. The Yankees have invested hundreds of millions of dollars. They've retained stars. They've traded prospects. They've changed coaches. They've adjusted philosophies. Yet the one thing that hasn't changed is the leadership at the very top. At some point, every organization has to ask itself a difficult question:

If the results never change, why should the decision-makers? This isn't about calling Boone a terrible baseball mind. I mean, he pretty much is but this post is about something different. It's about not closing. BOONE CAN'T CLOSE.

Sometimes a clubhouse simply needs a different voice. Sometimes a franchise chasing greatness has to stop accepting "good enough." Because let's be honest.

When fans think about Joe Torre, they think about championships. When they think about Casey Stengel, they think about championships. When they think about Joe Girardi, they think about the 2009 championship

No one is going to think about Aaron Boone being a great manager. No one.  What will they remember?

A lot of regular-season wins.

The dynasty years weren't built because the Yankees were satisfied with being competitive. They were built because ownership demanded excellence and refused to confuse potential with accomplishment.

Can the Yankees get back to that level? Absolutely.

Aaron Judge is still one of the best players on the planet. Ben Rice has emerged as a legitimate star. The core has talent.

But talent alone doesn't build dynasties. Leadership does. Vision does. Accountability does.

So, here's the question every Yankees fan should be asking as another postseason approaches:

If this season ends the same way the others have, and I truly believe it will, is it finally time for Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone to step aside?

Or will the Yankees once again convince themselves that next year will be different? Because eventually, "next year" becomes "another year."

And that's not the Yankee Way.

THE RAYS ARE BREATHING DOWN THE YANKEES NECK

The 2026 New York Yankees are having the kind of season that makes the Bronx buzz again. Thank God. I mean the Yankees front office bet on their rotation doing what they wanted them to do without Rodon and Cole and for some strange reason, the rotation has been stellar. The rotation looks dangerous, the bats are loud and the standings suggest Yankees baseball is once again headed toward the upswing. Now I am a realist... it is only May, but damn it feels good. I had to laugh the other night. After the Yankees beat the Rangers 2 nights ago 7-4, Joe Girardi said something absurd. He said to Kay something to the effect of "This feels like 1998 all over again", to which Kay paused longer than normal and said... "Well, that's a mouthful." It was awkward and the reason is simple... it's only May. That being said, things are clicking. Aaron Judge continues to launch baseballs into neighboring zip codes, the bullpen has mostly stabilized, and the Yankees have looked like a legitimate American League powerhouse so far.

But there is one gigantic problem hanging over all of it like a rain cloud over the Bleacher Creatures. Wins are great, but we want a championship. And until Aaron Boone delivers one, every hot streak, every division lead, and every carefully worded postgame quote comes with an asterisk the size of the George Washington Bridge. Boone isn't a winner... a WORLD CHAMPION.  The Yankees have one standard: World Series titles. Boone has been manager since 2018 and still has not delivered one. That is the conversation. Everything else is background noise right now. Let's keep it real.

And speaking of uncomfortable conversations, here come the Tampa Bay Rays again.

Like clockwork.

Every single year baseball analysts predict the Rays will “take a step back,” and every single year they hang on. The Rays are once again neck-and-neck with New York in the AL East, and in some ways they may actually be the more complete team. They already swept the Yankees earlier this season and exposed some of the exact flaws that continue to haunt Boone’s Yankees in big moments: sloppy situational hitting, questionable bullpen management, defensive lapses, and an inability to adjust once momentum swings the other direction.  Tampa Bay, meanwhile, keeps doing more with less.

Less payroll. Less media attention. Less star power. And somehow, often, more competence. That is what drives Yankees fans insane.

The Rays are baseball’s version of the guy who beats you at golf using borrowed clubs while drinking a gas station coffee and wearing cargo shorts. Nothing about it looks flashy, but by the 18th hole you are down six strokes and questioning your life choices.  Tampa Bay’s pitching staff has again become one of the nastiest groups in baseball. Their ability to develop arms borders on black magic. Drew Rasmussen has been dominant again, the bullpen continues shutting games down with terrifying efficiency, and the Rays’ run prevention remains elite.

Meanwhile, the Yankees still too often look like a team waiting for Aaron Judge to solve every problem personally. And that is where Boone continues taking heat and he should. For example, you all know Boone wanted Anthony Volpe to be back with them in the Bronx, but thank God someone with a brain in their head realized that Volpe is no longer good, and no longer marketable in the Bronx. Fans don't like him, and don't want him.  And that's the problem with Boone. He made the wrong decisions, and in my opinion, while this run is great, it's May... don't worry, Boone will mess this up somehow.

When games tighten up, the Yankees can start managing scared. Bullpen moves become overcomplicated science experiments. Hitters abandon approaches. Defensive mistakes snowball. Fans watch Boone emerge from the dugout with the expression of a man trying to remember whether he left the oven on. The frustration is not about regular season wins anymore. Yankees fans have seen enough 95-win seasons with no payoff. 

What makes the Rays comparison especially brutal is that Tampa Bay often looks mentally tougher in high-pressure situations despite operating with a fraction of the Yankees’ resources. They play cleaner baseball. Smarter baseball. More adaptable baseball. And they do it without acting like every close game requires a four-hour committee meeting.

That is why the 2026 AL East race feels so fascinating.

The Yankees are absolutely dangerous right now. Their ceiling is still championship-level if everything clicks. But the Rays continue to look great, and that's the bottom line. And while I want the Yankees to succeed... I can't help but wonder when Boone will fall over himself and overmanage and take us on a losing streak, because let's face it... you know it's coming. 

Right now however, the Rays may honestly look more trustworthy when the games start mattering most. We shall see.  I hope I'm wrong, because as a true Yankee fan, it's really hard to root for this team with someone as incompetent as Boone at the helm.  

That's my issue, not yours.

THE GREAT BOONE PUPPET DEBATE REALLY ISN'T A DEBATE

Brian Cashman doesn’t get to tell fans how they’re supposed to feel about Aaron Boone. That’s just not how fandom works.

Since Boone took over for Joe Girardi, Yankees fans have heard the same message over and over from the top. Every year, Hal Steinbrenner reminds everyone that it’s “championship or bust.” Every year, the season ends without a championship, and every winter Brian Cashman assures fans that meaningful upgrades are coming.

And yet… here we are again.

So, when people look at the Yankees and say Boone feels more like a pawn than a power figure, it’s not coming out of thin air. Fans have watched this same movie for years now. Boone sits in the dugout, smiling, chewing gum, managing the lineup card while the front office supposedly calls the big shots, in my opinion of course.

Cashman, however, insists that narrative is completely wrong. Speaking to Fox Sports reporter Deesha Thosar, he made it clear the criticism bothers him.

“Like, at the end of the day, I know all that's going to matter is if we're winning games. And even when we are winning games, it still won't matter... Because there's a lot of narratives out there that just aren't the case. Like, to this day, I'm definitely frustrated with the one narrative that the manager is the puppet, and we're dictating his moves. None of it's true.”

The problem is, that explanation lands with a thud among fans who have watched this team spin its wheels for years.

Yes, the Yankees have talent. Nobody denies that. Aaron Judge is one of the best players in baseball. Giancarlo Stanton can still crush a baseball into orbit. Cody Bellinger brings legitimate skill to the lineup.

But building a championship team takes more than a few stars surrounded by ongoing development projects. Too often the Yankees feel like a lab experiment — mixing veteran power hitters with prospects who are learning on the fly at the major league level.

And when the team falls short, Boone is the one sitting in the manager’s chair.

Cashman, though, says the public perception simply won’t change no matter what he says.

“I can't change people's minds. They want to believe what they want to believe, no matter what... It's like politics and conspiracy theories. You can try to prove it scientifically, prove it with people testifying under oath, or, like, I can roll out former managers, you can ask those guys. It doesn't matter. It doesn't mean anything. People still say it. So it's like, well, then what am I going to do?”

Well, here’s an idea: give fans a roster that actually looks upgraded.

Because from the outside looking in, it often feels like the Yankees make one splashy move and call it a winter. The bullpen still needs depth. The roster still leans heavily on development experiments. And somehow Boone is expected to steer that mix to a championship.

Not exactly a fair assignment.

Sports Illustrated writer Joseph Randazzo summed up the situation perfectly:

“It's hard to say what they think will be accomplished by repeating year in and year out that Boone isn't a puppet, but, in a lot of ways, it comes off the way Mark DeRosa has come off for Team USA. He put his foot in his mouth by doubling down, telling the public that he, in fact, knew the United States didn't ‘punch their ticket’ to the knockout round, and all that has gotten him is more criticism. Shooing away criticism comes off as a lack of understanding of the crux of everybody's frustration in the first place. That makes everything worse.”

And that’s exactly the point.

Every year the Yankees insist the criticism is misguided. Every year they promise improvement. And every year the same frustrations resurface.

The Yankees are a good team. But they’re not a great one. And good teams don’t hang championship banners in the Bronx.

Spring training doesn’t change that. Adding one player in the offseason doesn’t change that. Rolling into the season with roster holes and hoping internal development solves everything doesn’t change that.

You know what also doesn’t help? A manager who feels more like the players’ buddy than their boss.

If you want to see what strong dugout leadership looks like, watch managers like Bruce Bochy or the legendary Jim Leyland. Their teams play with discipline, urgency, and accountability.

That’s leadership.

So when Cashman says fans are going to believe what they want to believe, he’s right about one thing: fans will decide for themselves.

And until the Yankees prove otherwise on the field, plenty of people will keep believing the same thing.

Aaron Boone isn’t running the show.

He’s holding the strings someone else is pulling.

PLAY IT AGAIN, HAL

Are you listening to Brian Cashman’s end of the year presser? WHY?! Why do it again? It’s like the same awful Christmas sweater that you bought in a pinch 10 years ago to make it a friends Holiday Party! Now you keep dusting it off to re wear each year. Throw it away! Donate it to Goodwill! Better yet don’t go the the next “Bad Christmas Sweater” get together…those parties are worse than fruitcake.

The Yankees are now like that Christmas sweater in a way. Sure, they’re still the NEW YORK YANKEES. They are synonymous with big time sports like the Tree at Rock Center is with Christmas. But the magic is gone! It feels like the years after we were told Mom and Dad were Santa (Though I’m still investigating that one).

Who changed it all? Well, it seems to be the 3 UNWISE MEN! Hal isn’t a baseball man or a competitive titan like his father was. He is a silver spooned bank teller who reads from a Steinbrenner script…but he can’t sell it. George NEEDED to win. He believed he owed it to New York. Hal hears about all the subways in the city and probably thinks they just have a lot of low-rate, chain sandwich shops! He isn't NYC.

It's like that movie “Funny Bones” with Oliver Platt and Jerry Lewis. The great comedian and his unfunny son. “There are some that can read funny, and there are those with funny bones…you’re neither.” See it. It’s great and sums up the massive gap between “The Boss” and “The Bust”.

Cashman is a clown. He was the wunderkind under the Stick Michael regime and just a figure head while the Dynasty was playing and winning. Then he took the massive checkbook at his disposal and found a way to get it done in 2009…still with Mo, Jeter and company.

He constructs bad teams! He makes dumb moves. Sure, the sun shines on a dog’s ass now and then but…well hell, I'll just shout Ellsbury and leave it there! He is defiant every year when the press asks why the Yankees are a broken record of broken teams. He needs to go! FOR THE SAKE OF CHANGE!! They canned GI Joe Girardi and he was good! Cashman is like 10-week-old milk at this point. He stinks and you’ll get violently ill if you drink any of his nonsense. Hit the Deegan, Brian. You need to move on.

Then we have Boone. I like Aaron Boone. Had the chance to meet him a few times, He is genuine. He loves the game, and I KNOW he gets that he is the skipper of the greatest franchise in sports. He has been ok. Not great. Not the main reason they fall short. He’s been ok. But this is NEW YORK! Like Colin Quinn once said about New York audiences, “I don’t care if Jack Nicolson gets up on that stage…if he isn’t funny within the first 5 minutes he’s gonna get booed.” 

 

 

Boone is a nice guy…but my Uncle Jack is a nice guy, and he shouldn’t manage the Yanks either. I think Aaron would be better suited skippering the DBacks or Pads. He’s a So Cal guy and they can skate by with the laid back thing. NOT IN THE BRONX.

Sadly, ZERO will change. The great player we have…and we have 1…will be another year older and edging closer to the Pat Ewing, Charles Barkley club. Pitching is touch and go. Max is good, Cam could be great, and Cole is on a new elbow. They are selling a dream, and we haven’t shown interest in buying into it for years now.

Change is the only thing in life that is guaranteed…somehow the New York Yankee Brass is the exception to the rule. They won’t for yet another year. Firing a bullpen coach named Mike Harkey? He was the problem???

Look, I still believe in Santa. I stopped believing in the Yankees…and that is more of a kick in the head to my childhood than fading faith in a jolly elf from the North Pole, gang.

That's the bottom line.

--Mike O'Hara
BYB Contributor
Twitter: @mikeyoh21

CONTRACT OR NO CONTRACT... BOONE SHOULD BE FIRED

The Yankees’ season didn’t just end in the ALDS — it flatlined. And the man standing over the wreckage looking as clueless as ever was Aaron Boone. Once again, the Yankees stumbled out of October with their bats silent, their bullpen cooked, and their manager shrugging his shoulders like a man wondering how to program his DVR.

After the Blue Jays embarrassed the Yankees in the ALDS, Boone was asked a perfectly legitimate question in the postgame presser: is he concerned about being fired after yet another year of nothing? Boone smirked and said, “I’m under contract.”

Really, Aaron? That’s the answer? After the Yankees’ billion-dollar roster sleepwalked through October again, that’s the best you’ve got? “I’m under contract”? News flash — so was Bob Melvin when the Giants tossed him out after going 81-81 this year. In 2022, Joe Girardi was under contract when the Phillies told him to pack his bags midseason. Jimy Williams? Same deal. Jimy got canned in mid-August of 2001 despite the Red Sox being only 2.5 games out of a playoff spot, and as the Astros manager in 2004, again mid-season, for failing to meet expectations. Being under contract doesn’t make you safe. It just means ownership will pay you not to show up anymore.

And at this point, that sounds like a bargain.

Boone has been given everything — stars, payroll, analytics, patience — and he’s delivered nothing. No rings. No fire. No Championships. Just press conferences filled with the same robotic phrases: “We’ll be fine,” “We believe in our guys,” “I’m under contract.”

 

He manages like a man afraid of offending a spreadsheet. The team looks flat, uninspired, and overanalyzed — a perfect reflection of their manager and front office.

This is supposed to be the New York Yankees — not the Bronx Bureau of Excuses. Fans pay high prices expecting October glory, not this repeated postseason faceplant followed by Boone’s smug detachment.

The Yankees’ failure this year wasn’t about injuries, bad luck, or matchups. It was about leadership — or the lack of it. Boone failed to lead. He failed to inspire. He failed to hold his players accountable. And when it all fell apart against Toronto, he didn’t take responsibility — he hid behind his contract like a coward.

If the Yankees’ front office has any guts left, they’ll admit what every fan already knows: this isn’t working. Being “under contract” doesn’t make you untouchable — it just makes you overpaid for mediocrity.

Boone should be gone. At least fire him to signal to the fans that change is coming, plain and simple. The Blue Jays didn’t just beat the Yankees — they exposed the truth: under Aaron Boone, this team is soft, directionless, and allergic to accountability.

Contract or no contract, it’s time to rip off the Band-Aid. Fire him. Because the Yankees’ championship window is closing fast, and Boone’s smug grin shouldn’t be the last image of another wasted season.

WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE BASEBALL BRAINS, IT SHOWS!

Why the Yankees continue to trust Aaron Boone, I will never know. It infuriates me more than I will ever be able to truly articulate. The guy who hit a clutch home run back in October 2003 who beat the Red Sox in the ALCS and went to the World Series just got beat by the Red Sox.....badly.

He just showed all of baseball what not to do. He gambled big time against Alex Cora and the Red Sox and it bit him in the ass. I used to make fun of Joe Girardi and his binder back in the day but Baboonie doesn't have a binder. He doesn't even have a brain. He's the real life Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz. He has no brain, only bad analytics. 

I think Casey said a lot of what I feel in BOONE & THE ANALYTICS DEPARTMENT LOST GAME 1 FOR THE YANKEES. Boone pulling Max Fried after 7 innings and replacing him with Luke Weaver was asinine! I guess Baboonie wanted to save him for his next big start in March? It's a big contributing factor to the loss....you need to trust your ace more in these scenarios. It doesn't make sense to go to the bullpen too quickly. You just don't know who doesn't have it on any given night. But that's not the only problem.

It's the same story. The offense didn't do enough last night. Yes, Garrett Crochet is a freaking beast of a pitcher, but the offense still could've done more. If Anthony Volpe (or as I like to say VolpE6) can make something happen it's not impossible. More importantly, by the time Aroldis Chapman made it into the game the Yankees LOADED THE BASES WITH NO ONE OUT.....and couldn't bring runners in! The Yankees can't get out of their own way. They just can't stop failing! 

So we have two big failures in pulling Fried too quickly and then not driving in runs. What else? Benching Jazz Chisholm until late in the game is a joke. He's too much of a spark plug. Some people are irate that Ben Rice did not start. I get it, I think it's a valid point. However, I'm okay with him not starting and leaving him as a powerful bench guy for an opportune moment. That's okay. Rice on the bench should ALWAYS find a way into the game at some point. He's been hot as of late. Not plugging him in was the mistake....because Boone has no brain. Thank god Baboonie wasn't a manager way back when. I swear if this was 1927 he would've benched Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig! He has no common sense.

You always need to put the best team on the field, but when you have a short three game series you have to be even smarter. There's no room for error here. Play the guys who are hot and maximize the opportunities. This is exactly what Baboonie did not do. 

Brainless bubblehead Baboonie doesn't have the brains it takes to win....and we saw it again last night. If he only had a brain, he's the new scarecrow. 

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor
Twitter: @nyprincessj

IF THE YANKEES DON'T FIRE HIM, BOONE NEEDS TO WALK AWAY!

Let’s start with a truth bomb wrapped in pinstripes and frustration: Aaron Boone has to go. This is not a hot take. This is a baseball fan’s plea, born from years of empty promises, hollow pressers, and the slow, joyless decay of a team that used to breathe fire under the Bronx lights.

Yes, Boone owns a .581 winning percentage across eight seasons. And yes, that’s the fourth-best among active managers. But guess what? That number is as empty as the Yankees’ trophy case since he took over. A good regular season record doesn’t mean squat when your October resume reads like a disappointment reel. Ask any real Yankee fan—Boone doesn’t lead this team. He babysits it.

Boone’s relationship with his players feels more like a group therapy circle than a baseball team. He coddles. He protects. He nods empathetically when guys boot grounders or forget the number of outs. When Jazz Chisholm Jr. made a brutal baserunning mistake, Boone publicly called it “aggressive baseball.” Privately, according to Athlon Sports, he admitted it was dumb. You know what that is? Cowardice with a side of sugar-coating.

Leadership means calling out nonsense when you see it—not whispering it behind closed doors like you’re afraid of hurting feelings. Boone leads like a middle school vice principal who just wants everyone to get along and eat their orange slices at snack time.

Baseball isn’t a spreadsheet. It’s instinct, pulse, momentum. I caught something the night of August 4th when the Yankees lost 8-5.  During the game, David Cone set of Aaron's brother Bret Boone and I'm paraphrasing, that Bret wasn't the type that used an iPad to go over baseball players and techniques. Cone suggested that Bret Boone goes by gut and feel and "that's why Bruce Bochy" swept him up.  In other words, that's why Bret coaches with Bochy... cause he's smart.  Cone can't talk trash about Aaron Boone in public, but I can guarantee you that was a subtle shot at Aaron Boone because he doesn't use his gut. 

He and the Yankee cronies in the front office us iPads and projection analytics.  That's how I interpreted it. I could be wrong, but that's how I feel. Boone clings to analytics like they’re the Rosetta Stone. He’ll pull a pitcher who’s shoving because the iPad says so, only to put in some reliever who last pitched during the Paleozoic Era. You’re left wondering if Boone is managing the Yankees or simming a game on MLB The Show with auto-manage turned on.

Let’s not dance around it—this team forgets how to bunt, move runners, or even play heads-up baseball. And that’s on Boone and his staff. We’ve seen more cohesive strategy in beer league softball games. 

You think Billy Martin would’ve let this slide? Earl Weaver? Heck, even Joe Girardi would’ve flipped a table by now.  Under Boone’s watch, talent rots and hustle dies. The Yankees can go from world-beaters to bottom-feeders over the course of a single series. They’re not bad because they lack skill. They’re bad because they lack urgency. And urgency starts at the top.

Here’s the cherry on top of this stale sundae: Boone has had a Cy Young winner and an MVP on the roster. And what does he have to show for it? A 22-23 postseason record and not a single World Series appearance. That’s a historic waste of firepower. He’s the first Yankee manager to hold both of those trophies on his roster and still be home in November. That should be a felony in the Bronx.

Even as the Yankees stumble and bumble, you’ve got the usual suspects running interference for Boone. Michael Kay, for one, seems to think Boone is just misunderstood. Why do fans hate him so much, he wonders?

Gee, Mikey—maybe it’s because the Yankees have been underachieving for years, and you’re more concerned about keeping your YES Network paycheck than speaking the truth! And that IS the truth! Kay will never talk about of turn against Boone... because he doesn't have balls. So what does he do? He picks on the fans. 

On the other end, you’ve got Evan Roberts on WFAN telling it like it is—Boone needs to go now. Finally, someone with a mic and a pulse. That God someone else is calling for Boone's firing that Bleeding Yankee Blue.

And so, if the Yankees won't fire Boone. Maybe Boone needs to look in the mirror and recognize that maybe he needs to walk away from the team.  Even in the loss to the Rangers tonight. Boone has Mark Leiter and Dave Bednar up in the pen and Williams pitching to Tellez with the bases loaded. He had an opportunity to take out Williams, but he froze.  Well, Williams pitched and gave up 2 runs. Is it Williams fault? Negative. It's the manager's fault for not reacting and not using his gut. He thought with his stupid iPad.  

I often think about the Ted Williams blueprint.  In 1969, Ted Williams took over the lowly Washington Senators and dragged them to 86 wins, earning AL Manager of the Year. But when things soured and his team nosedived into a 54-100 record in 1972 and they became the Texas Rangers, Williams didn’t hang around like a barnacle. He left. No fuss, no delusion, just dignity. He understood... the leader of the club, him, wasn't doing his job. Ted Williams had the self-awareness to walk away when he knew he wasn’t helping. Boone? He’s clinging to this gig like it’s the last churro at a ballpark stand.

Look, after tonight's loss and just awful managing once again, Aaron Boone must know it's time. Either he needs to be fired, or he needs to walk away.  You don’t need to wait for Hal Steinbrenner to grow a spine or for Brian Cashman to stop rearranging the bullpen like it's fantasy camp. Do what’s right. You’ve lost the clubhouse. You’ve lost the fans. You’ve lost total control and much like I've been preaching here since 2020... you're a terrible leader. You manage in fear.

Just leave. Because leadership isn’t about buddy-buddy relationships. It’s about winning, demanding greatness, and knowing when the team needs something different. And the Yankees, right now, need something very different. So go Boone... go away.

HOW IN THE WORLD DOES THIS GUY STILL HAVE A JOB?

He is literally the softest Yankee manager in history.

You know what’s more consistent than the Yankees making early playoff exits? The Yankees front office defending Aaron Boone like he’s a national treasure. It’s July 2025, and somehow we’re still here—watching this team unravel under the leadership of a guy who should be managing a Little League team in suburban Ohio, not the most storied franchise in baseball history.

Let’s make one thing crystal clear: here at Bleeding Yankee Blue, we've been banging the drum about Boone's lack of leadership since Day One. Not Day One of this losing streak. Not Day One of his tenure. I’m talking about the day he strolled into the Bronx and took over for Joe Girardi, like some fanboy who wandered onto the field and never left. We saw the red flags immediately. You? You’re just catching up.

Tonight’s 12-5 embarrassment against the Blue Jays wasn’t just a bad night—it was the kind of humiliating loss that would’ve had George Steinbrenner breathing fire and Boone cleaning out his locker by sunrise. THAT'S THE WAY IT USED TO BE! But alas, Big George is gone, and now we’ve got Hal "Soft Hands" Steinbrenner at the helm, where instead of action we get tweets and press conferences full of empty platitudes. It’s like watching a house burn while someone politely asks the fire to chill out.

This is what Boone does: he smiles, claps, and talks about “turning the page” while the team melts down. The Yankees are 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position. They’ve lost 7 of 9. Once up seven games in the AL East, now barely hanging onto a one-game lead. It’s not just bad baseball—it’s mismanaged, uninspired, lost baseball.

And don’t give me the “Boone’s doing his best” speech. Managing is easy when you’re winning. A monkey could do it with a 7-game lead in June. The real test is when things go sideways. That’s when you need instincts. Fire. Strategy. Accountability. Boone has none of that. 

The only fire he’s shown is when he tweaked his knee playing pickup basketball after his 2003 ALCS walk-off. That’s the last time this guy was relevant in a positive way, and even then, he managed to screw it up. That wasn't just a boneheaded moment—it was a preview of the baseball brain we’ve been cursed with ever since.

And yet... we kept him. Year after year, excuse after excuse, blowout loss after lifeless press conference. Eight seasons of nothingness. Boone praising guys like Anthony Volpe even when they’re booting grounders and hitting .198, while throwing shade at guys like Jazz Chisholm for a defensive error tonight. The hypocrisy is nauseating. Boone coddles his favorites like a Little League dad whose kid bats ninth but gets the game ball anyway. Accountability? Never heard of her.

And here's the kicker—Yankee fans everywhere are finally starting to catch on. They're mad. They're frustrated. But if you’re just waking up to the Boone Disaster Era now? Sorry, you're late to the party. We've been screaming from the top of the Stadium since 2018. Boone isn’t just in over his head—he’s not even qualified to bag groceries. But sure, let’s keep handing him the keys to the Ferrari... he's gonna fuck it up.

This isn’t about a bad stretch of games. This is about a pattern—a documented era—of mediocrity. Boone is the king of soft excuses and postgame nonsense. And the front office? Equally guilty. The press conferences? Stupid. The softball interviews with Boone and Jomboy? No need for them, they're ridiculous anyway.  Many in the New York Media won't even attack this guy because they want access to the players. Screw the access, how about speak the truth. If you are a true, TRUE fan you cannot possibly be happy about Aaron Boone as your manager. We are fans and we are NOT! It's been an awful 8 years with this guy. And so, I say... you want to fix this team? Start with the manager. Fire Aaron Boone. Get a leader in here. Someone who isn’t afraid to get in a player’s face or speak the truth when things are crumbling.

Until then, the Yankees will keep spinning their wheels, wasting talent, and lowering the bar for what it means to wear the pinstripes.  We will never win a championship with this guy in charge.  It's plain and simple.

No, we're not panicking because of this recent losing streak. We're just tired of being right.

THERE ARE MUCH BETTER IN THE BUSINESS, ALEX CORA

I still can’t get over how absurd Alex Cora sounded when he suggested that Aaron Boone is "the best in the business." The best in the business? Are you kidding me? That has to be the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. That’s why I titled this article DUMB AND STUPID. Because that’s exactly what this statement is. If Boone is the best, then what does that make Bruce Bochy? Or Joe Torre? Prophets? Baseball gods? Maybe we should just start building shrines to them because, compared to Boone, they’re untouchable legends.

It’s as if Cora just pulled this shit out of thin air to make his buddy look good. But let’s be real—Boone sucks. He always has. And Cora, by making such a laughable statement, just proved he has no integrity. He’s out here playing PR manager instead of speaking facts, and I’m not buying it.

There was an interesting sentence, a take from ClutchPoints that bothered me when writing about Cora and Boone. They wrote, and I quote, "A lack of talent cannot fairly fall on the manager, but it often does." I mean, what? The Yankees have had plenty of talent for years. The problem isn’t a shortage of skilled players—it’s a manager who has no goddamn clue how to use them effectively.

I’ve been saying it for years—the Yankees weren’t going to win the World Series under Boone, and guess what? I am right so far. Sure, they made it further than I predicted last year, but that wasn’t because of Boone’s genius managerial skills. That was because of talent. The same talent that Boone consistently fails to utilize properly. When things get tough, when a manager has to make the hard calls like Boone, that’s when you separate the truly elite from the frauds and that's where Boone does not rise. That’s when the so-called "best in the business" proves their worth. And Boone? He fucking folds, literally every time.

If Boone were anything close to elite, he’d be able to maximize his team’s potential. He’d recognize strengths, adjust for weaknesses, and make the tough, smart decisions that lead to winning. But isn't managing, the front office is. Boone doesn’t have the guts, the intelligence, or the leadership ability to do it. Girardi did. Girardi won. Girardi wasn't asked back because Girardi had balls!  And so back to Boone... that’s why, after all these years, he still hasn’t won a single goddamn championship.

Look at the history of baseball—managers get fired for far less. Some are let go after missing the playoffs. Some lose their jobs after a 10-game losing streak. The reason? Because they fail to manage, lead, motivate, and problem-solve. Yet somehow, Boone continues to skate by doing the bare minimum. The Yankees have embraced mediocrity, and it’s embarrassing.

And let’s talk about that mediocrity for a second. It’s not just Boone—it’s the entire Yankees front office. This team used to have a standard. A fire. A demand for excellence. But now? Now it’s all about participation trophies and "we’ll get ‘em next year." This isn’t Little League. This is the New York Yankees, the team that built a dynasty on winning. And here we are, stuck with a manager who embodies the very definition of "just enough."

Alex Cora’s statement was complete nonsense. That's why everyone is writing about it today. But we here at Bleeding Yankee Blue are going to be the only Yankee fan site to be honest about it. It's stupid. And ClutchPoints wrote in their piece was wrong, love you guys, but it's not accurate. Talent matters, but what a manager does with that talent matters even more. If this were the 1980s, Boone would have been fired a long time ago. If George Steinbrenner were still around, Billy Martin would be back in the dugout replacing Boone because, say what you will about Billy, he knew how to lead. He wasn’t a puppet. Boone? He’s nothing but that. A puppet controlled by an organization that has lost its way.

So, before we start throwing around empty praise, let’s remember what baseball is really about. It’s not just about trying—it’s about winning. And as Derek Jeter once said if a team doesn’t win the championship, the entire season is a failure. 

Well, Yankees fans, we’ve had plenty of failures. And it all comes down to one thing—we have a failed leader as our manager. F Cora. F Boone.

COMPLACENCY & MEDIOCRITY WIN THE DAY WITH STOOGE BOONE'S EXTENSION!

We as the Yankees are no longer are the team of grit, passion and championships.  We the fans are just feeding the Yankee piggy bank because of successes of years past.

These days Hal Steinbrenner has become complacent, plain and simple. The Yankees are no longer a team obsessed with winning championships—they're a brand, a massive, money-printing empire where the past is more valuable than the present. The merchandise flies off the shelves, the memorabilia from the glory years keeps the cash registers ringing, and as long as the Yankees logo is still a global icon, actually winning? Well, that’s just a bonus, not a priority. That’s why Aaron Boone—the puppet, the king of empty October appearances—has been handed a contract extension through 2027.

Oh, you didn’t hear? The Yankees just announced this morning that they’re extending Boone for two more years beyond his current deal, which was set to expire after 2025. Why? Because mediocrity is now acceptable in the Bronx. Yes, Boone has a winning record, but since when did that make someone a great manager? MLB Trade Rumors tried to defend him, stating:

"Boone is a divisive figure in the fanbase but there’s a lot of good stuff on his track record. The Yanks have made the postseason in six of his seven seasons at the helm, with the aforementioned 2023 campaign being the lone exception. They have had some tough postseason losses but, as mentioned, just went to the World Series a few months ago. As skipper, he has a regular season record of 603-429, a .584 winning percentage."

Okay, and? So, Boone padding managerial wins is important? WTF. We've all gone soft.

Getting to the postseason and failing isn't an achievement—it’s just prolonging the inevitable. So Boone is what, the best loser in the league? Give me a break. The Yankees lost the World Series last year. Before that, they missed the playoffs entirely in 2023—the worst season in three decades. They’ve been second place in the AL East more often than not under Boone and have exactly one World Series appearance in his tenure.

But sure, "the manager isn’t responsible for that," right? Tell that to Billy Martin. Tell that to every manager who’s ever been fired after a bad season. The reality is Boone isn’t qualified, he isn’t good under pressure, and when the moment is biggest, he panics. Just ask Nestor Cortes and Freddie Freeman—Boone made one of the worst managerial decisions in World Series history, and it cost the Yankees everything in a must-win game.

Let’s be real: Boone is still here because Steinbrenner doesn’t care about winning, and Brian Cashman keeps feeding him nonsense. Cashman even had the nerve to say this, per MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch:

“I think that is a strength, that is a benefit. I know that if he wasn’t the Yankee manager, it would be a feeding frenzy for him to be a manager that’s coveted elsewhere, objectively. That’s how we see it.”

So, let me get this straight: the Yankees kept Boone not because he was the best option, but because they didn’t want another team to have him? That’s the logic now? That’s the standard in the Bronx? What an absolutely ridiculous take.

And let’s not forget the Yankees marketing machine still playing that 2003 Boone walk-off against Boston like it’s some iconic championship moment. Do they forget what happened after? The Yankees lost the World Series. That homer meant nothing. Just like Boone’s entire tenure.

Great managers are carried off the field. Why? Cause a good manager will LEAD YOU TO A WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP.  That has never happened to Aaron Boone and with the amount of talent around him... it should have happened at least twice by now. But the reason is simple... Boone is not a great manager.

This extension is a joke. I will apologize if—and only if—the Yankees win the World Series under Boone. But let’s be real: they won’t. Because Aaron Boone doesn’t have what it takes. Joe Torre won four rings and was let go. Joe Girardi won a championship and was cut loose. But Boone? Still here, with zero titles to his name. Why? Because Hal Steinbrenner doesn’t care about championships. The money is still rolling in, even if the Yankees keep coming up short.

Pathetic.

HAL CAN'T BE SERIOUS ABOUT EXTENDING "NO CHAMPIONSHIPS" BOONE...

The mere fact that a contract extension for Aaron Boone is even on the table is an absolute disgrace. The New York Yankees, once the gold standard of winning, are now being reduced to a joke under the feckless leadership of Hal Steinbrenner and his incompetent front office.

Boone has won nothing. Not a single meaningful accomplishment to his name. Oh wait, he hit a home run against the Red Sox in the ALCS over 20 years ago... then busted his ankle the next season. But here we are, watching Hal Steinbrenner seriously consider extending his tenure as if failure is now the standard. Boone has had teams capable of competing for championships, but his tenure has been marred by playoff collapses, baffling in-game decisions, and a complete inability to inspire urgency or accountability. And yet, instead of cutting ties with this loser, the Yankees’ leadership is thinking about rewarding him. It’s beyond absurd.

Steinbrenner recently admitted that the Yankees will be speaking with Boone "in the days and weeks to come" regarding a contract extension. This would be his second extension despite his repeated failures in October. The fact that Boone has lasted this long is already an indictment of the Yankees’ current state. Extending him further? That would be sheer incompetence at its peak.

Boone initially signed a three-year deal in 2018, followed by another three-year extension in 2021, which included an option for 2025. Why? Because under Hal Steinbrenner’s soft and clueless leadership, the Yankees value familiarity over results. Brian Cashman has openly stated that the team envisioned Boone being a decade-long manager. For what reason? Joe Torre got 12 years and won four championships. Joe Girardi got 10 years and delivered a title while enduring the toughest post-dynasty era. And yet Boone, who has consistently failed when it matters most, is somehow being given the same treatment as if he’s earned anything.

Let’s be honest: Joe Girardi was fired because he wasn’t a pushover. He challenged the front office, held players accountable, and demanded excellence. That was the kind of manager George Steinbrenner would have respected. But Hal Steinbrenner, in his infinite mediocrity, would rather enable Boone—a man who makes terrible in-game decisions, refuses to hold his team accountable, and believes brushing off failure with empty platitudes is acceptable.

The Yankees used to be synonymous with excellence. Now, under Hal, they are just another team content with regular-season wins and postseason embarrassments. Boone was never the right guy for the job, and he never will be. But Hal Steinbrenner, the most inept and spineless owner in Yankees history, seems dead set on doubling down on failure.

Us Yankee fans deserve better. They deserve a front office that prioritizes championships, not one that continues to enable mediocrity. If Boone gets extended, it will be the final confirmation that winning is no longer the Yankees’ priority—because under Hal, it’s clear that failure is perfectly acceptable.

Yuk.