Aaron Boone sleepwalked through Game Four of the ALDS, and it sent the Yankees packing

Following yesterday’s exercise in managerial malpractice, it figured to assume that Aaron Boone learned to use a quick hook in regards to his starting pitchers. Surely he couldn’t make the same mistake two days in a row, right? Unfortunately for the Yankees, Boone floundered again, and it likely contributed to their departure from the ALDS.

The trouble surrounded the long leash given to CC Sabathia. The veteran left-hander labored in the first inning, but escaped the frame unscathed. Sabathia issued a walk and gave up some loud outs in the second, leading to calls from fans and observers for Boone to get the bullpen warm. He made no such move.

Then the third inning arrived and the wheels came off for CC. Consider this line from the box score:

Sabathia got knocked around and not once did Boone move to bail him out. Like Severino yesterday, CC got left out to dry. The 38-year-old should have been out of the game after the first run scored. A team cannot let runs pile up in an elimination game. They did, however, and that placed the Bombers in a seemingly insurmountable hole considering the offense has run cold lately.

How did Boone let this happen again? Just like Monday, he should have pulled his starting pitcher in the third inning. There is no excuse for this. Keep the game at a one-run deficit and hand it off to the bullpen. The extremely well-rested bullpen. He managed this game like the Yankees were in the midst of a seven-game series. Like he needed to keep the ‘pen ready for Thursday and Friday. There was no sense of urgency, and it is impossible to comprehend.

Some Yankees fans defended Boone’s mishandling of Game Three by putting the loss solely on the offense. Sure, they lost 16-1. You don’t win many games where you only score one run. However, who knows what would have happened if Luis Severino had been pulled when the game was 1-0, or even 3-0. The problem here is that Boone showed no ability to manage the bullpen. The offense was awful against Nathan Eovaldi, but Boone made terrible decisions. Both things were bad.

He somehow didn’t learn from Monday’s mistakes, and opted to make the same errors last night. This time, the offense actually made a game of it, and brought the go-ahead run to the plate in the ninth. Would the Yankees have won the game if Boone had gone to the bullpen when it was 1-0? We’ll never know, but the offense did show signs of life at the end. You have to put your team in the best position to win, and he did not do that.

Unbelievably, Boone still doesn’t think he did anything wrong.

Were we watching the same game? Did he forget what decade he was in and think 2008 CC was on the mound? Has anyone told him that the series is over now?

These are the questions we’ll be contemplating all offseason.