The New York Yankees might have a winning record as we get set to close out the month of June, but the once proud Bronx Bombers have largely underachieved this season.
The good news for baseball betting enthusiasts is that you could potentially cash in big on manager Aaron Boone’s now-questionable job security.
If you can correctly predict whether Boone will be fired by the time Aug. 1 rolls around, then you could add to your annual baseball betting haul, thanks to the MLB specials odds that are up and running in the BetUS online sportsbook right now.
Let’s find out what could lie ahead for Boone and the Yankees as we get set for the start of July and the dog days of summer.
Will Boone Be Fired By Aug. 1?
Yes +110
No -150
The Good
Since taking over as manager of the Yankees prior to the 2018 season, Boone has led New York to a solid 276-185 record (.599 percentage). The Yankees won 100 games in his first season as skipper and won 103 games the following year while claiming the American League East title.
Last season, however, the Yankees went 33-27 in the COVID-19 shortened campaign to finish second to eventual American League champion Tampa Bay, seven games behind the Tampa Bay Rays. While a lot can be forgiven in what was arguably baseball’s strangest season ever, make no mistake about it, New York’s uneven start this season has Boone on the hot seat.
The Bad
Despite his successes, Boone and every other manager that dons a Yankees uniform will always be measured by whether the Yankees win it all – or at least come close to doing so. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case during his tenure.
New York has made three straight playoff appearances under Boone, but the Yankees were knocked out of the postseason in the divisional round in 2018 and 2020 while coming up short against Houston in the 2019 ALCS. Yes, we all know that Houston was caught cheating, but that still doesn’t soften the blow of their playoff ouster.
Postseason
Overall, New York is just 11-10 in the postseason (.524) under Boone with no World Series appearances – and that’s just not going to get it in a city where all seasons are again measured by postseason excellence.
The Yankees are currently 40-37, but have lost seven of nine and 13 of 18 after getting swept in Boston.
“We’re going to find out what character we’re made of,” Boone said. “We’re clearly in the midst of incredibly tough times. We’ve faced it throughout this season. And we’re going to find out what we’re made of and if we’re the team we think we are. It gets no easier as we have to go to Buffalo and play an outstanding offensive club in Toronto (on Tuesday). And we need to step it up. Period.”
The Bugly
If you’re scratching your head about what “bugly” means, don’t. It’s simply butt ugly. The fact of the matter is that managers – and all head coaches not named Mike Krzyzewski or Gregg Popovich – are hired to be fired.
With that said, I’m thinking Boone could get the ax sooner rather than later in New York. Let’s answer a few questions to find out why.
Are the Yankees the best team in the American League? Hell, no.
Are the Yanks the best team in their own AL East? Again, that’s a no.
Is New York the second-best team in the AL East? Um … nope. How about the third-best team? Possibly, but don’t think so.
Better clubs
Tampa Bay, Boston and Toronto all look like better clubs than New York at this point. The Rays have an absolute wunderkind in Wander Franco and a plethora of other home-grown talent on the horizon. The Blue Jays are definitely one of the most exciting teams in the majors and have one of the brightest futures, thanks to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette, among others.
Outside of their division, Houston is still really, really good, cheating scandal aside. Oakland is a perennial pennant contender. The Chicago White Sox are loaded and Minnesota is as well, despite their own underachieving ways this season.
With all of this as food for thought, I think it’s quite possible Boone could be gone by the time Aug. 1 rolls around. However, I think the more plausible scenario is that New York stays within striking distance of the AL East leaders and Boone makes it through the end of the regular season. After that though, I’m expecting New York to go in a different direction for 2022 and beyond. The butt ugly truth is that it’s only a matter of time before New York cans Aaron Boone as manager.
