FIRING DILLON LAWSON WAS SYMBOLISM FOR YANKEELAND & A MESSAGE TO BOONE

The Yankees are 8 games back... fourth place going into the All-Star break.  While it seriously is NOT the end of the world and there's plenty of baseball to be played, Yankee brass knew something had to be done to make Yankee fans feel, well... a little relieved that maybe change was coming. And so, the worst hitting coach in the league, Dillon Lawson had to go.  A symbol to the fanbase, that yes, "We acknowledge that you are unhappy, and yes, we will try and fix this."  

Will the firing of Lawson work?  Who knows, meaning ultimately it does come down to these professional hitters, all capable of hitting a baseball. But for some reason, all caught up in some type of habit or hitch that won't allow them to move forward.  But for me, there is no question as a Yankee fan that the end of Lawson came when Aaron Hicks found new life in Baltimore. Coupled by alittle Chicken Parm and adjustment made by Anthony Volpe with the help of Austin Wells.  When it was revealed that these players were finding quality at bats elsewhere, that really should have kicked Dillon Lawson's ass in gear to start to do his job.  Bottom line, it was too late and with the Yankees losing to the Cubs 7-4 yesterday, Steinbrenner had seen enough and good for him.

And so, this is the reset portion of our Yankee season.  

But more importantly, Yankee brass will be looking a lot closer at how to fix the struggling offense.  Dillon Lawson is partially to blame sadly.  Many of the pros are adults and can't seem to make adjustments on their own, but we also have had plenty of injuries.  That being said, now we need to move forward to the second half of the season. And yes, if things don't get better, Boone should be worried. That's how it works.

The Athletic writes:

"Boone has to be on alert. Sure, the three-year contract the Yankees gave him runs through next season and comes with a team option for 2025. But so what? Firing Lawson was a drastic measure, and the heat has been turned all the way up in the Bronx. Boone knows that all eyes are on him to turn this around. The next hitting coach, whoever gets the job, will be starting from a deficit. He won’t have an offseason and spring training to prepare. It’ll be up to Boone to not just make sure players are on board with the new guy’s message, but he’ll also need to make sure the players maintain trust in the front office. Players will be looking for leadership, and leadership has decided that one of its own had to go."

There's that word. Leadership.  Bleeding Yankee Blue has preached the word Leadership ever since Aaron Boone showed up.  This isn't a guy that can actually manage a winning Yankees team. This is a guy with a baseball pedigree that like the 1996 movie Multiplicity, got worse from Ray Boone to Aaron Boone.  

In other words, guys like Ray, his son Bob Boone were from that old school mentality of really understanding this game. I'd even give some credit to Bret Boone who had a pretty decent career.  But something went wrong with this other Boone. 

Aaron is just not capable or experienced enough to hold the Yankee reigns and cares more about arguing with umpires over balls and strikes than he does of actually molding players.  I equate Boone to the Yankee fan boy. He loves hanging with the Yankee players... but doesn't really understand the amount of responsibility he has. And it's enormous.  Boone has never said much in press conferences.  

His anger is only truly demonstrated on the field yelling at umps, and let's be honest, no one gives a crap about that. It's theater, not leadership.

And so, firing Lawson was a warning shot, symbolism to not only us frustrated Yankee fans who want a quick fix, but a turn-around in the second half. But it's more than that.  It's Hal Steinbrenner finally understanding why his dad was a lunatic all those years before.  

Winning in baseball is important, especially if you're the Yankees.  Boone can preach that this is a marathon, not a sprint all he wants, but since he came to the Yankees in 2017, he's preached "marathon".   So listen to me carefully... we're going on a 6-year marathon now.  Sooner or later you better start sprinting.  And that's what Steinbrenner is seeing these days.  Boone's being complacent, not showing urgency as the manager of the New York Yankees and it is disturbing to do this for this amount of time. Remember the last time we won? It was 2009.  

Good ol' Steinbrenner made it a point to demonstrate what urgency really is.  It's time.  Time for change and time to get off your ass and make this team competitive, Mr. Boone.

We can only hope.  It won't be easy, however. It starts with Boone, but we also have to deal with a new hitting coach, unfamiliar with the players and not coming into spring training, but instead halfway through the season.

The fans and most of the MLB players will be relaxing this break, all doing their own type of reset. But the Yankees front office will be working hard, and they should.  They have no choice.  Enough of the "one game at a time" and "marathon" mentality.  Urgency needs to be seen and leadership needs to step up.  Do that and we have a shot this year.  Yelling at umpires over balls and strikes and talking about "hitting strikes hard" means nothing in the second half.  

We are the Yankees. We just need to do better, that's it.

FIRE BOONE! HE BROKE HIS YANKEE TOY!

 

Aaron, you might be the worst manager in New York Yankee history. You make bad lineups, you rest better players too often and play the wrong guys all the time. And when it comes to the bullpen, you have managed to dismantle it, hurt it and put in guys that don't belong there.  You have ZERO urgency, are more concerned about how you look than how to win and are truly unqualified to lead any major league team.  Just because Ray Boone, Bob Boone and Bret Boone all played the game and were praised for years during their time doesn't make you a good manager. You're a Beta. You wanna be an Alpha. You wanna be part of that elite Boone liniage, but you just fall short, in the family tree... and in Yankee history. In short, you've fooled no one. You're awful.

Gary Sanchez should never play the field! I don't care how much money we're paying him. He has no grit. He can't catch, he can't block and he cannot call a game. 

You've managed to strip Andrew Heaney of any confidence he's ever had on the mound because you're trowing him into roles he's not accustomed to and not prepared for. If you want quality, you need to build this dude up because you've happened to ruin everyone else out there in the pen.

You can't rest guys like DJ LeMahieu and play Tyler Wade who's been hanging on to the Yankees for way, WAY too long. He's just not good.

What the hell are you doing?  We're supposed to win games, especially down the stretch, but your moves have jeapordized that.  You can come back at me and say "Hey, what about that 13 game winning streak?" I can say, I only care about the next game, and last time I checked... we're losing alot.

Hey Boone... You need to be gone when the season concludes. You have no command of respect... it's clear these players don't wanna play for you. You don't have that THING.  The thing that players look up to. You're a pal, not a leader and that's a major problem. We were supposed to beat the Mets last night, not look like them.  You are embarassing.

I have to tell you Boone, you're soft. Not only that, you know that you're protected by your friend Brian Cashman, but I have news for you... if this was the 80's, you'd be gone. The Yankees have fired people for less in previous decades. Your problem is you cannot command respect from these players and you continually make the wrong moves.  

Phil Nevin's an Alpha. Phil Nevin knows how to win. If I'm Phil Nevin right now, one of the only truly seasoned coaches on your staff, I'm finding a way to off you. The dude has the heart of a lion and wants to win! But he's looking around and he recognized that he's the most qualified on your inexperienced staff... and that includes you. I mean think about this... you have no true veteran except Nevin and Harkey and if you think for a second that these guys and you can come up with a solid, strong winning strategy, you are sadly mistaken.  

Hitting is a major problem these days for the Yankees and all Marcus Thames ever did was hit a few dramatic home runs for us when he was in pinstripes.

P.J. Pilittere? He's a career minor league player. What the hell does he know? Reggie Willits played as a part time player for the Angels for 6 years and he's a first base coach. Why? He's got some experience, find a better role.And this about Tanner Swanson's job. He's quality control and catching coordinator. QUALITY CONTROL!!! 

Did anyone see Gary Sanchez last night? There was ZERO quality and no control. WHAT ARE YOU AND YOUR STAFF DOING TO HELP BETTER THIS TEAM? Did you surround yourself with young bucks so you could look like a prophet or something? Cause you're failing.

My advice? Take a walk. Leave... don't do this gig anymore, you're bad at it. 

We need a manager who's more in tune with playing the best and winning than worrying about feelings and giving bad players chances.  If I see Joey Gallo in that damn lineup again I'm going to scream. He cannot hit a god damn thing. I said it before we got him, I'll say it again... he's not a hitter. He's what I call ONE FOR 15. That one he might hit a homer... or not, but that's about it. If he didn't play good defense he'd be in AAA. 

Work harder or leave, Boone. 

Be dedicated to winning and stop making stupid decisions and setting this team up for failure. You're the worst manager I have ever seen. Even if we make the playoffs, we have no drive to get to the finish. Hey... maybe that's a good thing... maybe then they'll fire you and that incredible inexperienced staff. 

My god!

THE YANKEES ARE DEAD BECAUSE OF POOR LEADERSHIP

It's the biggest disappointment in the Yankees 2021 season.... and all of it has to do with failed leadership.

Bleeding Yankee Blue is not the only ones that are piling on.  Several are out there voicing frustration, fans and media alike.  And you can try and blame the players all you want. We here at BYB are not. We go to the top. We blame the top! And I'm not talking about Brian Cashman or Hal. No. Those guys got us the right players to achieve greatness. But much like a bunch of Little Leaguers... motivation from a manager needs to be significant. I mean, these players have MADE it, they're in the MLB, but even players need motivation no matter what level you are.  

And where do you get motivation? You get it from your leader. In the Yankees case... lack there of.  

Aaron Boone needs to be fired. 

Enough of this "friends with my players" bullshit.  You can't be a friend and be a leader.  You need to seperate to 2 until your goal is achieved. And the goal? Winning. Let me rephrase... winning consistently.  

Everyone knows the Yankees can't win 162 games. No team can, but there needs to be some consistency.  There needs to be a guy at the top that knows what to say and when to say it.  No one loved Joe Girardi, but Girardi was competitive. Girardi IS competitive. He brought a loser Phillies team all the way up to .500.  The Yankees? 

They're better than the Phillies. They're one game above .500 and 9 games back.  Worst Yankee team since the days of Bobby Meacham? Probably.

But in the 2021 Yankees team, one thing is missing... leadership. Boone is not a true leader. Boone is the grandson of Ray Boone, son of Bob Boone and brother of Bret Boone and that's where his baseball experience begins and ends.  

Sometimes... sometimes it doesn't translate.  Experience isn't hitting a home run to beat the Red Sox in the 2003 ALDS. It goes much deeper than that.  It was exciting then, but do you notice that's all this guy has?

And so how does that transfer into leadership? How do leaders get respect? How do leaders lead? Well, it's about trust and not about friendship.  And Boone needs to dig deep and see what that means. I don't know if he needs to go to a Vegas desert and take some peyote and reflect or if he needs a nice stern talking to from Cashman and company. But one thing is certain... He needs to change his approach, because he's TERRIBLE at it.

This Yankee team won't play for him. This group of coaches he surrounds himself with don't believe in him.  This guy is on his own island and the team has left him whether they act like it publicly or not. Why you ask? He's not a leader... he's a friend.  That's a loser all day long, folks... especially if you're the manager.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes:

"The 1995 Yankees were 30-35, yet surged to be the first AL wild card in a 144-game season. The 2016 Yankees were 31-34 and for the only time in Steinbenner ownership were sellers at the deadline, yet actually played better after dealing Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller, Carlos Beltran and Ivan Nova.

But dig deeper. The 1995 Yankees obtained David Cone and rallied around getting Don Mattingly to the playoffs to have a historic season. The 2005 club received pretty much baseball miracles in Shawn Chacon and Aaron Small, plus the farm system gave that roster Robinson Cano and Chien-Ming Wang — neither of whom were viewed as an elite prospect at the time of promotion. The 2016 Yankees got a historic homer binge from Gary Sanchez after his elevation. The 2005-08 teams still were clinging to key pieces of a dynasty that had winning at the highest level in their muscle memory. The 2007 club received an MVP season from Alex Rodriguez."

Now while comparing teams to each other isn't exactly a good execise because talent and feel are different every season... there is one thing that is pretty signicant in what Sherman is trying to say.  Leadership WAS different. Showalter.  Torre. Girardi. These guys were battle tested. They understood competition. They weren't handed the keys with some blind faith... they used to drive the fucking car. ALOT. Boone didn't drive... he rode shotgun. And while he was supposed to be observing the way it all worked as a manager... he would get easily distracted looking at dogs and street signs as the drive to managerial stardom unfolded for him.

And so here we are.  He can fake it all he wants, but he just wasn't paying attention all these years... despite the pedigree.

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.

Fire the manager. 

Bring some new light and energy to this Yankee club and find a way to convince them that they are the shining light in the Bronx. Because right now... they don't believe in themselves or their ability. And adults or not... motivation is always vital. That starts with solid leadership. 

Boonie? You're finished.