New York Yankees: Aaron Boone better not break what was not broken

It is official, the New York Yankees have hired former MLB third baseman and ESPN analyst Aaron Boone to be the franchise’s 35th manager.

This is no doubt a dicey move by GM Brain Cashman, swapping a successful veteran skipper like Joe Girardi with a guy who has zero managerial experience at all.

Boone is inheriting a young, talented team that just proved themselves able enough to win now. Finishing the 2017 season one game shy of a World Series berth reminded Yankees fans what playing deep into October feels like again, so the pressure is on.

The trouble many Yankees fans are having with all this is too many unanswered whys.

Why did Cashman stick it to Girardi in the first place?

Let me start by saying that the reason Girardi got sent packing after such a successful season is money. Hal  Steinbrenner loves shedding payroll like he owns the Mets and Girardi would have commanded $5-$6 million a season.

Why Boone over experienced applicants like Hensley, Rob Thomson or Eric Wedge?

Other than being etched in Yankee lore for his historic Game 7-winning homer in the 2003 ALCS, only to test positive for PEDs that same season, Boone has never managed anything except the ESPN broadcasting booth.

Boone is a third generation MLB player, so baseball runs in his veins. He is personable, well-liked by his colleagues and obviously loves the game.

But is this enough?

Meaning….enough to successfully manage a team to the World Series in his first year as a manager.

Maybe, maybe not. Only time will tell, and that is something Boone doesn’t have much of.

But I can promise you that if it is the latter, Cashman’s head is going to roll for this one. So it seems that the GM might want more control over his manager and hiring Boone allows him that.

Bottom line is, if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it.

I am not sure why the Yankees felt the need to cause any drama in the first place. Especially now with the fanbase finally making the new stadium rock like the old one.

But honestly, whatever is going inside the Yankees front office is being kept very hush-hush, and is nerve-racking to have no concrete answer.

For now, there is not much else to do but welcome Aaron Boone, and hope that Cashman has not over played his cards here.