Aaron Boone Live with Evan & Tiki

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here he is the manager of the first place New York Yankees Aaron Boon to remember that Bo good to see you again it’s good to see you guys how proud of you of your guy yeah M’s a stud man like that’s um yeah I was very you know the last few years kind of like going in the offseason kind of preparing because he started interviewing for these spots and knowing what I know like eventually somebody’s going to see it um in the right opportunity is going to be there so kind of like reading that day of losing him um but this whole offseason it felt like it felt like I I didn’t know where he was going to end up I knew and it just felt like he was going to get one of these this year yeah and um you know so uh I was I ended up just being really excited for him and even though it was even though it was the Mets yeah of course um yeah I mean he’s he’s so equipped to do it and he’s just a great person um a great friend and uh and and you know what we’ve we’ve moved on like Brad’s Brad osman’s come in as my bench coach he’s done a great job um and I’m I’m just excited for Mendy and his family what does this series mean to you you’ve been a part of a few since you took over in 2018 so you’re a veteran of the subway series like do you get extra pumped up when you know all right I’m managing the against the Mets City Fielder Yankee Stadium yes yeah I I think there’s things look the 162 is right the ultimate grind and you have have you just kind of blinders on and day by day and you just have that routine but there’s always things in the course of the Season that I think are just give you a little extra juice in the monotony of it all you know whether you know whether when we went to London or played in The Field of Dreams games or or a big series division wise or a big in League series you know we went out to LA last year and played the Dodgers and um the Subway Series has that kind of you know extra juice in the middle of the summer in the middle the grind and um I think our guys love it and uh you know I know the I know the city city loves it too your Ace is back finally after extended stin uh before the start of the season and pitched okay in his first outing he’s pitching tonight tell us what Garrett means coming back or being back for this team we see him in the in the Dugout he’s always there I mean he feels like the leader even if he’s not the vocal leader all the time but he feels like he’s the one that’s always directing managing talking to the the the starting pitchers that are out there what does it mean to have him back and actually on the mount I I think one of the things that I’ve really um shouldn’t say grown to appreciate because I’ve always appreciated but to see his level of commitment to the Yankees the organization the fan base his teammates like what it means to him and how invested he is in all of it how’s this going to look for us as a team how’s this going to look for my teammate like he he works at that and pours a lot into that and uh he’s been a great leader for us Carlos redon I think is uh to Yankee fans the guy that they have a tough time fully trusting he’s like the ex-girlfriend they’re like we kind of want things to go well but we’re not sure he got off to a great start this year he’s had two Bad To Mediocre starts in a row why do you think that’s happened any level of concern from you and should Yankee fans calm down about Carlos no because I think his stuff is very much still in line like you know the the the Red Sox jump them in in the first two innings and and got to some pitches and and put two good Innings on and then you even within that outing his last three Innings he kind of dominated pitch really well got us through five that night when we were a little short um and then the Braves jumped him right out of the gate and got to some heaters where he didn’t get him quite to where he wanted to go but I think stuff- wise he’s in line I think he’s got more pitch ability than he’s ever had in his career like he doesn’t just have to come and you know if if I don’t have my fastball slider what do we do like he’s got other ways to go and even within that last outing where where it was a struggle for him you know he almost kind of settled in and got through it and then and then the fourth inning Olsen got him with actually hit a pretty good pitch out on a slider so um he’s in a good place really good frame of mind his work has been excellent um and his stuff is very much in line to where he should continue to go out and play well let me let me get to the lineup here we we we don’t need to talk about vulpi and stto and judge because they’re doing what they’re supposed to do but things get a little bit shakier now that you’ve gotten uh some injuries John Carlos Stanton obviously Rizzo as well how are you going to navigate that and DJ’s been underperforming like what’s what’s the mindset for you going forward as you look at this lineup every day yeah so I mean I mean other guy you got to piece it together a little bit and and the The Season’s never going to go perfect um and and you know we had pretty much a really good bill of health the first couple months of the season now we’ve been nicked up a little bit obviously John Carlos presence um you know he’s he’s been what what the way I put he’s been a threat every single day and just having him in there behind whether it’s Verdugo or or against lefties behind stto and judge to have another real threat um you know we’ll miss that but you know we also got to you know it gives some other guys opportunity we’ll play a little bit of matchups in the back half of the lineup depending on who we’re playing you know I I still think labor Torres it’s is going to really step up and be the hitter that he is it’s a guy in the prime of his career that has always hit you think he’s pressing because it’s a contract here I don’t know I mean I think look it’s the nature of it I I I don’t necessarily think because it’s a contract year it is a contract year you want to do well you’re a good hitter you get off to a slow start and it doesn’t come you and actually may was fairly normal for him but it was on the heels of where he struggled in April so you’re like waiting for him to get hot right he hasn’t gotten hot yet and and I still believe that’s in there for him um but I’m sure there’s there’s days where you know you’ve done this you’re done it well and you’re like man why aren’t I unlocking so um I’m sure that maybe factors in a little bit but I still believe that he’ll get through it what about DJ because I was a believer in him because of the way he finished last year like he started to look a little bit like La machine over the last couple of months of the season and then this year obviously star and stop with the injuries he’s off to a bad start is it simply he’s just getting you know trying to get going because he missed all of spring training and missed so much time or is there a level of concern that we may just never see lashin again well here here here’s the tough part about it is he had such a good winner and he was in such a good place physically this winter with the work he did and it showed in spring training right away was like oh there it is there’s that life in his swing and in his legs a little bit and the body and then I I I can see him fouling the ball off his foot you know late in Spring and his reaction to it he he you know cuz obviously it doesn’t show a lot of emotion he’s not like a rolling on the ground but I I could tell it hurt him yeah and uh he stayed in finished the at bat went out and I was like we got him out of there and um and then we find out you know it’s another whatever it end up broken or Bru whatever it whatever it ended up being it’s like man after all the things he’s overcome um you know from a foot standpoint tow the last couple of years like to where I thought his foundation he laid in the winter was so good and it looked apart in spring training now all of a sudden we’re shut down and it was a long you know took a while right um so I think he’s still working back from that and and you know you know you have all those things and you’re man you’re you’ve you’ve been DJ this two-time batting champ like expect and it it’s not coming right away and you feel that a little bit yeah I almost feel like you’d rather break your arm then get a lower body injury like that whether it’s a knee or foot or something like that soft tisue is different bone because you can’t do anything yeah so we lose strength yes so we got to just you know we got to have some patience there and and allow him to to work through it and hopefully gets back to that point of you know where he’s you know a real factor from a that bad standpoint let me Circle back to John Carlos Stanton did he do it rounding third base because that’s where you saw that little look on his face that that kind of caught yeah and how bad is this hamstring it’s it’s not bad which is good um um it’s just a matter how long it takes them to get get right so hopefully you know I know excuse me he came out and said four weeks so hopefully hopefully that is the case I mean the that’s what it should be around four weeks till he plays again or four weeks till he can get kind of ramped up again no till he’s back with us okay yeah yeah so but we’ll see you know it’s like you know these soft isssues especially for him have have well it’s been recurring with this left hand scene I speculated yesterday and it’s pure speculation because that’s what we do uh Christian Watson who was a wide receiver for the Packers he had a he did De CeX test and he realized it was an imbalance yeah right he had muscular imbalance and he spent this whole offseason trying to correct that I remember I used to have hamstring issues when I was young and it was an imbalance is that could it be that I mean it sounds simple yeah and it’s an easy fix but maybe it is simple I I think one of the things that served him well is because he’s he’s obviously you know played half the season and had hasn’t had issues is you know he made the decision I got to play at a lighter weight you know that’s not to say he’s always in shape like John Carlos a physical specimen but you know that size and wound tight and you start to get north of 30 like it’s hard for your body to take that pounding of a 260 70 pound whatever right weight it is so I think the decision he made to to go at a lower weight obviously served him really well and we we saw the results of that um but you know this is hopefully just a little bump in the road it is a minor injury and you know but with his history of of the soft issue and the hamstring you know we got to make it make sure he’s right we’re talking Aaron Boone manager of the Yankees son remember when you guys had all these big meetings during the offseason we were all kind of mocking at like oh let’s see what they come up with and my answer was always like let’s just see the season let’s see what’s different here’s what feels really different it feels like not that you ever punted games I always hated that phrase when people would say it but there would be a lot of double off days a lot of hey let’s rest this guy let’s rest that guy it feels like you’re you’re running guys out there every day is that was that something talked about was that an Aaron judge recommendation and was that a change that you guys make no it’s Health like a lot of times like I know double off days Jud just like judgy maybe banged up good enough to play but but I know he’s banged up and playing through something so sometimes I would do that with him but by and large we we’ve been really healthy um um our guys are Rec recovering really well um they’ve invested a lot into recovery um you know things whether it’s modalities we have available to us just just all the things that go into recovery now for an athlete um I feel like these guys have gotten really good at and really invested in and it’s shown up with guys being able to go out there over and over why do you think Jose trino has struggled a little bit throwing base runners out this year and his miles per hour on throws to second base which by the way I don’t even know if that was a thing like 15 years ago I’ve heard about it in the last year or so why do you think that number has ticked down yeah it makes us speculate injury yeah no no he’s he’s good um arm strength’s never been his thing right but you know the running game is so much on all of us right the catcher obviously is the last line of defense and that’s what we see but it’s on pitchers infielders Us in The Dugout um varying looks and and some pitchers are very capable of handling things obviously the pitch clock makes things different and and the disengagements make things different um controlling the running game I feel like has been a strength for us over the last few years it’s something that but you know obviously we had the game in in Boston where you know they ran wild which is part of their team and one of those nights where the situation presented itself over and over I think we allowed 13 singles and like six walks that night so and we’re chasing you know they were they had the lead so it was like kind of The Perfect Storm um but you know we’ll we’ll we’ll get better at it and and hopefully be more in line with who we’ve been the last couple of years than than this snapshot of a couple of games that went arai right the start of the Season it was Series win after Series win after Series win the last few have been challenging right you just can’t get that series Victory is what what are you saying to the club or you not saying anything nothing right now we are this room is look I I feel like we’ve had some really good Clubhouse situations since I’ve been here this to me feels really really special and this group is cut out for this and we we feel like we have a chance to be a great team we know we’ve had a rough week week 10 days whatever it is right now we also understand that’s kind of part of it that’s the inevitability that’s why teams don’t win 115 games or 110 games like you’re going to take your lumps at some point our starting pitching has been so good all year we had a couple in a row where you know we got knocked out early we’re playing catch up in the bullpen a little bit um but at the same time it’s also shined a light on some of the areas where you know we’re a little deficient or shine the light on things that we need to address whether it’s internally externally whatever it may be um but I do feel like this group even through this little stretch of a week of games is is locked why why do you think the room is so different is it Soo ver Dugo something else I don’t know so different because I do feel like we’ve had good rooms in the past but um I think part of what we went through last year of of you know not getting to the playoffs and you know that the the the I don’t the terribleness of that the unacceptability of that like it it you know I I do think it it it put us in more of a guys to a man where like hellbent on like I’m not this ain’t happening again and it started in the winter it started with you know as corny as it seems like guys getting together in the winter and being in Tampa together and you know our minor league Camp a month before spring training was filled with guys on our team and veteran players coming down there and like let’s make sure we’re in a good spot going into this year and um I feel like the foundation that that was laid in the winter with our group and these players um and the purpose to which um they’ve had since day one of spring training has been really really strong and you know these guys are on a mission to do something great can you quantify those additions because I look at Verdugo and he seems like a little bit unhinged sometimes and it’s like dude you need you need guys like that on your team or SoDo with his plate discipline I feel like it’s it’s infectious yeah Aaron judge has leading the team in walks this year right and it’s crazy cuz you didn’t think that that but it feels like that’s an influence from of these guys that you got that you brought in well first off Juan like he’s been everything we could have hoped right I mean and and to see the up close of bats day in and day out it’s like this battle meets theater like I’ve never seen a reaction to a ball or to a strike well means it’s important in his at bats that’s like you can feel in the crowd and in the stadium um I I do think that’s had a outstanding effect he’s been excellent Doogie coming in has just been like I don’t know this perfect guy to shove in our clubhouse and the edge that he brings and the guys have loved him and he’s loved them back and he’s been a guy that frankly I’ve wanted here for a couple years like I’ve had my eye on like I I just have always felt like this guy would be perfect for our team and he has you know and you know he’s in a he’s in a little stretch where he’s grinding a little bit this week um but he’s gotten ton of big hits you’ve seen the Outfield play he made has made over and over again and um he’s just I think I think a a real winning in ingredient to to to our team it feels like Aaron judge is different since he got the C on his chest like even I think it was a few weeks ago when he kind of told the fans hey I really didn’t like that we want sto Chan I thought that was badass because that was a guy basically saying hey what are you doing and no one criticized him because he’s Aaron judge do you see a difference in him maybe taking more a leadership role since he’s gotten that se um look I think I think he takes it serious like he is without question the leader of our team and guys look to him and but I’ve seen that for years now now I’ve seen it evolve to the level now of where you know I feel like he’s this really refined outstanding leader um he’s always kind of had that presence to him but that’s something that he’s continued to get better at and grow in that role over the years do you think this team’s going to change come deadline um I mean I I think I think we’ll be we’ll we’ll be playing in in smile says yes I mean I mean we still got a ways to go and and you know this this is that time of year where you kind of all right getting an idea of your team you know injuries uh where you need to fortify you know hopefully hopefully there’s a a move or two that that we make that that’s impactful and and helps us kind of complete ourselves as a team I think from a Yankee fan standpoint the closer clay Holmes feels trustworthy until he’s not and he doesn’t have that Elite stuff he’s just gonna throw ground balls and some of those going to get in the holes and yeah he’s going to give up a run and so it gets really um I I guess frustrating come Extra Innings especially in the regular season Once the playoffs starts it’s different because there’s no ghost Runner but talk about clay Holmes and your confidence in him as your closer yeah a ton of confidence Kay Holmes has been so consistently good now for a few years and I would push back on the stuff part of it I mean that’s it’s as good at Power Sinker and and now the slider to go with it and like you know closers give up runs like the best of them give up a run give up the lead and it’s maybe a guy that gets swinging Miss I hear a lot about that with like or the guy that gives up a bleeder like it happens every now and then what I would say about Clay is his Body Works been excellent he’s been really really consistent and he’s got the makeup and mentality to handle the inevitable successes and failures you face as a closer especially a closer in this market um he’s so equipped to to deal with all that and and even through where he’s given up a you know a couple here over the last few weeks like it’s not far off from the dominant CL so your confidence hasn’t wavered on no well you know you know what the problem is cuz I had this debate on air with Tiki and Yankee fans we are victim to the Mariano syndrome right that well he’s not Mariano no kid nobody’s Mariano well when I got traded here in 03 um at the deadline Mariano gave up a couple you know Mariano was getting booed at the stadium it did happen CU I went I was there in 03 and it’s September and he’s getting I’m like wow that’s a right of passage for a New York athlete you know but obviously he’s the greatest to ever do it right he is um which and he didn’t get all the swing and miss that everyone no and he also blew some saves in some big bullets not that we want to bring it up it’s like you know what sometimes a pitcher gives up a run yes and sometimes as a closure you don’t have that leeway so um Clay’s really equipped for this and and and I’m I’m glad he’s our guy do you ever at some point speaking of glad someone’s your guy do you ever Maybe it’s tonight you put your arm around Wan sto and say you ain’t leing this I mean look at this we’re the New York Yankees half this building is going to be rooting for the Yankees tonight don’t I know it do you ever because look you can’t control the money you can’t control the business aspect of it he’s a free agent he has every right to go do that but you can control the emotional aspect put that arm around them ah Juan ain’t it great here don’t you like me aren’t I a wonderful manager do you do like the little uh recruiting throughout the year not like you not like you’re describing you do better I I mean look I’m trying to you know I try and create an environment do my part in create an environment to where he can Thrive and uh uh I would say just from my um view of it like obviously he’s thrived but I I also think he’s really enjoyed being here and being a part of this team and being part of this group and and the people he gets to interact with so that’s going to be for another day we don’t know where it ends up but right now I think he understands and we understand what we’re playing for right now and that’s what we’re focused on all right boony I know you are famously a non New York football fan so I’ll give you a second to gloat on taking our best player as your as your head coach got some you got in some hot water didn’t you I mean I just spoke I just spoke for fans what you say just dude you’re in Philly Aaron can I give you an example eag now and you can do this right now to a microphone if Juan SoDo leaves the New York Yankees and signs with you could take your pick could be my team could be the r could be the Orioles he’s dead to you correct yeah no no good luck you’re dead to me yes he is yes he is you know he is you’ll still shake his hand buddy are you are you excited to have our former best player on your team now I think he fits really well in the oh shut up now never mind I’m sorry I asked you the question I don’t even want to hear yes I’m I’m very excited congratulations good luck uh to a degree in these two games good luck throughout the season always good talking yeah great seeing you guys like great seeing you the manager of the first place New York Yankees Aaron Boone we [Music]