Is Aaron Boone and/or Brian Cashman a big reason why the Yankees didn't get out of a Division Series this year? NJ Advance Media baseball writers tackle this issue in our latest roundtable.
It’s time for some Yankees postmortem. A lot of people had a feeling that their season would last longer than it did, but the Blue Jays ousted them in four games into a best-of-five Division Series.
What the heck happened to this team and whose fault is it?
The night the Yankees were eliminated last week, franchise great Alex Rodriguez blamed his old GM Brian Cashman, but not manager Aaron Boone on FOX’s post-game show.
“Honestly, from the entire organization, (Boone) is the one guy that I would circle that has the least to blame,” A-Rod said. “He has a lot of talent, but for me personally (it’s) one of the worst constructions of a roster I’ve ever seen. You have three left-handed catchers. You have five DHs. You have a first baseman in and out.
“It’s just a very, very difficult hand for Boone, and honestly they were exposed against a much better Jays’ team.”
Is A-Rod right?
Yankees beat writer Randy Miller and baseball columnist Bob Klapisch discuss Cashman and Boone in their latest roundtable:
Klapisch: I think Alex was exaggerating for the sake of the camera. Remember, he’s not on the inside anymore. He’s not privy to any information. Alex hasn’t been in that clubhouse in a decade. I doubt he talks to Cashman. There’s no real relationship with Boone. God bless him, he’s got a thriving TV career going now, but that’s exactly what he comes off as, a talking head. This year’s Yankees team was not perfectly constructed, but what team is? If you’re going to compare the ‘25 Yankees to the ‘98 Yankees, of course they’re going to come up short. But the ’25 Yankees had enough weapons. They had enough pieces that they should have done better, but it’s not because of poor construction. Worst roster construction ever? Worse than the Rockies? The White Sox? Calm down, Alex.
Miller: This Yankees did have flaws. They had too many left-handed hitters. Their bullpen wasn’t deep enough. But when I look at the American League this year, I viewed the Yankees as the least-flawed team. I didn’t think the Blue Jays had enough pitching to get to the ALCS, starters or relievers. I didn’t think the Mariners had enough hitting to get there. I was wrong, but I’m not blaming Cashman for this. The Yankees had a team that could win a second pennant in a row by August with all the summer imports … Ryan McMahon upgrading the defense at third base, Jose Caballero and Amed Rosario on the bench, David Bednar closing. They also brought up rookie pitcher Cam Schlittler and gave him playoff starts when he earned them.
Klapisch: What about the manager, Randy? If you think the Yankees had the best team in the league and didn’t win the pennant, are you blaming Boone?
Miller: I know a lot of fans want Boone gone. I disagree. I’ve been covering baseball since 1996, the Phillies for 17 years and the Yankees for 10 with a couple years of hockey in-between. Terry Francona and Boone are the best two managers I’ve been around on a daily basis. All these years later, if was ranking all 30 managers in 2025, Francona would be No. 1 on my list and Boone would be in my top five. Boone’s winning percentage is tied for 15th best all-time and second among active skippers. I know he hasn’t won a World Series, but his teams made the playoffs seven times in eight years. Beyond stats, he’s a great communicator. His teams are prepared. The Yankees lost in the playoffs to a Blue Jays team that beat them all year in Toronto. I still think the Yankees are the better team, but they got beat. I’m not blaming this on Cashman or Boone. They lost. It happens. The Giants beat the Patriots in two Super Bowls. Was it roster construction? Was it coaching? No, the Pats got beat. I know they won a bunch of Super Bowls with Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, but the best team doesn’t always win the championship.
Klapisch: I’ve often said that Boone would be the perfect manager for a 100-win team because he’s very good at maintaining harmony in the clubhouse, keeping players from stabbing each other in the back. Those petty rivalries can ruin a season unless a team has overwhelming talent. The Yankees were a very good team that won 94 games, but for that kind of team to win you need a different kind of manager. Boone probably could apply a little more pressure to these players at certain times this season. He needs to hold them accountable, but to lay it all at his doorstep is a lazy take that’s more suited for talk radio. It’s more subtle than that. The Yankees don’t have the philosophy that perhaps the Blue Jays did. The Yankees have a lot of talent and if you catch them on the wrong night, they’ll hit five home runs against you. But let’s face it, there will always be enough bad AL Central teams for the Yankees to win 90-plus games. People don’t give the Yankees enough credit for that. But is this the manager’s fault that they only tied for first in the AL East or didn’t advance beyond a Division Series? I refuse to blame this entire shortfall on Boone.
Miller: Fans are on Boone for everything. They don’t think he’s tough enough on players. Trust me, Boone is not a pushover. He’s been tough on me and other writers at times. I’ve heard plenty of stories on him being tough on players. We don’t see that in the dugout, but there are no Billy Martins managing in 2025. Boone is as tough as he’s allowed to be. People forget that one of the reasons the Yankees hired Boone after a decade of Joe Girardi was Cashman wanted less discipline. Why? Because that’s the way it is for every team nowadays. That’s the way is in the real world. Kids aren’t paddled in school anymore and players aren’t screamed at by managers.
Klapisch: The Yankees aren’t firing Boone.
Miller: This isn’t Boone’s fault. A lot of Yankee fans would love to have Don Mattingly as manager. There are people who would like Buck Showalter or Bruce Bochy managing. I don’t care who you bring in, if the analytics department is going to have as much say over lineups and pitching moves as it does, nothing’s changing lineup and pitching wise. Boone’s job is to get the Yankees to play hard, and with few exceptions they do. They missed the playoffs one time in his eight years. They’ve won seven playoff series, so it’s not like they’re getting bumped year after year in the first round. This organization hasn’t had a losing season since 1992.
Klapisch: That no longer seems to matter.
Miller: Yankees fans dismiss that as if it’s nothing, but it’s something because no one has done that. They’re significant every year. I tell fans that and they call me a Yankees homer or a Boone apologist. I grew up in Pittsburgh. I’m a 1970s Pirates fan, not a Yankees fan. I judge objectively. I know they haven’t won a World Series since ‘09. This year, even though Max Fried has had some hiccups in past postseasons, I didn’t see him getting lit up in Game 2 of the ALDS, not after going 19-5 in the regular season and throwing 6.1 shutout innings in his Wild Card Series start. Is that Boone’s fault? Is that Cashman’s fault? Fried had a bad day against a good-hitting team. The Yankees had a bad year winning in Toronto. It happens. I still think that this is a really good team going forward no matter what happens this winter. I’m still convinced the Yankees are going to win a World Series with Aaron Judge.
Klapisch: The Yankees won all the games they had to down the stretch. They tied for the most wins in the league. They don’t get enough credit for that. The Blue Jays finished in last place last year. They’ve come a long way in one year. Does that make John Schneider AL manager of the year? Of course not. His players simply played better. Same thing with Boone. His players came up short when it counted. As for Fried, his seven runs over three-plus innings in Game 2 of the Division Series was a shocker that changed the entire chemistry against Toronto. I think that the Yankees realized that they were facing a much, much better opponent than the Red Sox. The Yankees realized, “Wow, these guys are tough. They are ferocious, they are relentless, and they do not allow themselves to be intimidated.” Those are the little things that are decided by the character of players, their intensity, and only so much of that can be influenced by the manager. So I don’t blame Boone for that, the same way I don’t give all the credit to Schneider.
Miller: I don’t know if the Blue Jays had more intensity or if it just looked that way because they had a ton of momentum scoring 23 runs in Games 1 and 2. The Braves won 14 straight division titles from 1991-2005 with Greg Maddux, John Smoltz and Tom Glavine in their rotation, all Hall of Famers. Chipper Jones and Andruw Jones were in their lineup, Hall of Famer and probably a 2026 Hall of Fame inductee. Bobby Cox was the manager and John Schuerholz, both Hall of Famers. They won one World Series title, 1995. It was really hard to win a World Series title in the 1990s and 2000s, and it’s even harder now. I know fans don’t want to hear this, but I think the Yankees have just had some bad luck.
Klapisch: I think luck has a lot to do with it. Mattingly is the Blue Jays bench coach. I called him this week before the start of the League Championship Series. I spoke to him about what it was like playing for the Yankees and not getting to the playoffs year after year. He got there one time in 14 seasons. He only got there in 1995, his last year. The frustration that Yankee fans are feeling right now is not unlike the frustration from a generation ago when Mattingly was playing. Do you know what he told me? He said fans have to be realistic. He went on to explain how the industry has changed. There are more rounds of playoffs. These short series make it almost impossible for a superior team to be guaranteed a win. You can stumble at any time.
Miller: Look at the 1960 Yankees. They had 16-3, 10-0 and 11-0 wins in the World Series, but lost to the Pirates in seven games. The Pirates weren’t as good as the Yankees. They got lucky.
Klapisch: Bad luck has become more of a factor than at any point in the game’s history. Any team can get hot. Any team can catch a break and knock off the superior club. When Mattingly and I spoke, he told me, “The Yankees always have a window to win and that’s pretty impressive because in my years we had a couple of windows to win but three or four years in which we had no shot. You can’t say that about these Yankees. They haven’t won yet, but all you can do is prepare for next year. There’s no other way to deal with this kind of disappointment except to try again next year.” All great points. Mattingly also told me. “Fans who think there’s something fundamentally wrong with the Yankees are mistaken.” I couldn’t agree more.
Stories by Randy Miller
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Category: General Sports
