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They entered 2018 as the two biggest risks of the Yankees.
They left, no doubt, with their status unchanged.
Will Aaron Boone and Giancarlo Stanton prove that they are better or worse for wear? This could only determine the fortunes of their team for 2019.
Neither the Yankees' rookie manager nor their imported slugger has distinguished himself, at least to say the least, during the team's brief playoff run on Boone and Stanton's inaugural trips in October. in their respective positions.
Boone's lack of urgency in pitching changes, including Luis Severino and CC Sabathia, who play for ALDS Game 3 and 4, hurt the Yankees, who lost to rival Red Sox in four games.
And the .222 / .222 / .222 Stanton unpleasant cut line ALDS served as an unwanted tribute to the Marlins' president, Derek Jeter, the man who passed it to the Yankees.
The results created a disappointment and worse, Yankees Universe. Let's look at the forward-looking part of the column – they could not have really created a surprise, right?
Boone went into this work, succeeding Joe Girardi, who was very successful, believed more than a filet mignon served before the discovery of fire. Of all the new skippers hired last winter (Mickey Callaway of the Mets, Alex Cora of the Red Sox, Gabe Kapler of the Phillies and Dave Martinez of the Nationals), only Boone has a resume without any experience in baseball operations.
His best attribute seemed to be his grace under pressure, the very domain that Girardi never mastered. This helped the Yankees weather their usual storms, especially when they won three of four balls at Tampa Bay in the final week of the regular season to keep home field advantage in the Wild Card match. Still, does anyone dispute that Girardi would not have let ALDS Games 3 and 4 get away from it as they did with Boone?
The Yankees' decision to pair the novice Boone with an inexperienced bench coach, former Boone teammate to the Indians, Josh Bard, was pivotal this week, especially after Boone spoke Tuesday of the lessons that he has learned. he had learned in match 3, to then repeat the error in game 4.
The growth margin obviously exists, and this is obviously not guaranteed. A year later, Boone clearly stands out from the dynamic Cora in her freshman class.
Then there is Stanton, who has not underestimated in 2018 as much as he reminds us of his reality: if it is a formidable talent and a real added value, it does not systematically produce Hall of Fame numbers despite his contract with him.
Consider that the 3.4 superior offensive replacement that he has offered to the Yankees this season, as reported in Baseball-Reference.com, put him on a par with Starlin Castro's Marlins, one of the players that the Yankees have traded for him and five other players. ; they finished 51st tied in the major tournaments in this category. And that value was in the middle – four years better, four less, for Stanton's career.
In terms of personality, it turned out a good surprise – low maintenance and jovial – and some of his best shots were obtained when Aaron Judge cured his right wrist fracture on the disabled list . He hit hard in the last month of the regular season, however, and this was in the playoffs. Can the Yankees really feel good about the $ 240 million they've left with him over the past nine years?
The 102 victories in the overall Yankees, fantastic on the surface, must be placed in the context of their contemporaries: this result has allowed them to rank third in the Food League and be eliminated by the match 160 to avoid boring A's . The diagnoses go further: "They just had a bad week in October."
Unless Bryce Harper or Manny Machado does not cross that door of George M. Steinbrenner, Boone and Stanton will report to Tampa as high-level question marks – even risks – once again. Even if the Yankees behaved well this year, their manager and the highest paid player fearing such doubts put the Hot Stove on the owner and the front office to turn these doubts into certainties.
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