Yankees manager Brian Cashman defends manager Aaron Boone against criticism from Joe Kelly

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman sounded like he intends to bring back manager Aaron Boone for an eighth season and defended his team against criticism from Los Angeles Dodgers assistant Joe Kelly for New York’s World Series defense.

“I’m a big fan of Aaron Boone. I think he’s a great manager and I think we’re lucky to have him,” Cashman said Tuesday at the general managers’ meetings.

Boone led the Yankees to a 603-429 record, three AL East titles and one shutout in seven seasons. After last week’s five-game losing streak to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series, Boone said he hasn’t thought about his future.

Boone agreed in October 2021 to a three-year contract that includes a team option in 2025. Cashman said the deadline for the election is 10 days after the World Series and he considered discussing both the option and the new deal.

“I’m not going to put the cart before the horse. We’re not there yet,” he said.

Cashman didn’t blame Boone for the additions he made during the season.

“The manager’s job is very unpredictable, so you can play the guessing game because even if you’re going to make a move it’s going to be right, you make a move and it’s going to be wrong and you do it. , right?” he said. “So I think he’s a really good manager. I think we’re lucky to have him. He’s done a great job.”

Cashman admitted that the World Series performance was a disappointment. The Yankees hit a 10-inning rally when Freddie Freeman hit a game-ending grand slam off Nestor Cortes. After losing the first three games and winning Game 4, the Yankees gave up a 5-0 lead in Game 5 in a five-run fifth inning when center fielder Aaron Judge and Anthony Volpe committed errors and the pitcher Gerrit Cole failed to close the field first. infield grounder. The Dodgers won 7-6 to take the title.

“First of all, I agree that we played poorly in the World Series,” Cashman said. “We all saw that and unfortunately our `A’ game didn’t show when it counted the most.”

Kelly was limited to 35 games this season due to right shoulder inflammation and did not play during the postseason. He criticized the Yankees on his “Baseball Is Not Boring” podcast.

“They got a bad ball. Yeah, it’s sloppy. Everybody knows that,” Kelly said. “We’ve been saying every single game: Let them throw the ball into the infield. They can’t make a play. I mean, you saw Shohei (Ohtani) get an extra base to third on Gleyber’s (Torres) sloppy play. We’re all Dodgers. We know all the details.

“It was just a clash from the start,” added Kelly. “If we were redrafted, they might be ranked eighth or ninth in the league. You know what I mean? You put the Padres ahead of them, you put the Phillies ahead of them, you put the Mets ahead of them, you put the Braves ahead of them — and the Braves come up he was unlucky because he had to play that double set that you put – I mean, the Rangers played like, but the Rangers played better, better D (defense), the best baseball around.”

“I heard that,” Cashman said. “I also know people with the Dodgers, so I’ve had internal conversations that I’ve gotten feedback from. I think it’s more representative of certain players instead of the whole team. And in Joe’s case, it feels like for some reason, it’s a little guy, the way he comes out and talks like him.”

Cashman dismissed criticism of the Yankees’ makeup, saying it’s natural that players are better on offense and less strong on defense or in the run.

“We’ve come across a lot of players who can’t play well. A lot of times if you ask them to bunt and you practice bunting or whatever, they just don’t do it well. So sometimes you can control the people you have,” Cashman said. “I remember having a conversation with one of my former managers: “At some point you have to stop asking someone to do something they don’t know how to do.”

It is reported by the Associated Press.

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