Yankees fans who claim Aaron Boone never holds his players accountable might have to change their narrative slightly. They received exactly what they’ve been begging for on Monday night – in the public square — and it only made things worse.
Midway through Monday’s classic Yankees performance on the road against an AL East rival — build slim lead, squander it through sloppy play, fight back less than needed, leave Aaron Judge stranded on deck — Boone was spotted in the dugout reaming out backup catcher JC Escarra, teaching the particulars of the position to him at an inopportune time. In the moment, it didn’t help; the Yankees were still nursing a lead, which quickly dissipated when Mark Leiter Jr. proved that his last name should be spelled differently, as he melted down in flames at the tiniest hint of a spark.
Want to criticize Boone for picking on easy targets rather than effecting real change? Totally valid; lambasting a rookie backup catcher in full view of every camera in the building felt like a foolish show. But, factually, Boone took a player to task for sloppy activity, something his critics claim he refuses to do. And, after he did it, said player made another catastrophic mistake; Escarra’s catchers interference set up the tiebreaking bases-loaded situation for Vlad Guerrero Jr.
Got any more brainbusters?
Yankees plummet further after Aaron Boone calls out potential trade deadline casualty JC Escarra
The Yankees should love Escarra. They’ve thinned out their catching depth and made him essential. He’s caught all four 1-0 victories for the Bombers this season, and his offense has recently climbed above league-average in a moderate sample size (105 OPS+). It’s difficult to tell how they actually feel about him, though, and Ben Rice’s reps during Escarra’s paternity leave might be an important dividing line as New York approaches a pivotal midsummer.
If the Yankees see the reliever they desire dangled in trade talks, and Escarra is standing in between, they likely won’t hesitate to pull the trigger, especially after the long-term loss of Fernando Cruz. Monday’s bizarre public shaming only added fuel to that fire.
