Sal Licata has never been shy about his opposition to MLB managers being too reliant on the data and the “lanes” that Aaron Boone often mentions when discussing late-inning matchups, so Boone took time in studio with BT and Sal on Tuesday to describe the Yankees game prep process.
Boone illustrated the Yanks’ pregame meetings with his coaching staff, although he noted that sometimes, that pregame prep can be thrown out the window if circumstances change as the game unfolds.
“We meet probably an hour before every game, regular season and postseason,” Boone explained. “Postseason, you obviously have days leading up to it and even more advanced scouting reports that you dive into…you get to certain points of the game and get through certain innings, you can see how it’s unfolding. But an hour before each game, it’ll be me, myself, Blake, Harkey…and we kind of go through our matchup sheets and what matchups we like and kind of start to talk through scenarios. ‘He’s gone through five [innings], he gets an out in the sixth at the three hole hitter, we know it’s now possibly a sketchy matchup, he’s done. Who do we like next?’”
Once Sal mentioned his disdain for the “lanes” mantra, Boone stood by the need to still use his managerial gut and decades of baseball experience to lean on feel more than the data at times, although it always helps to be as prepared as possible for any scenario, and know the statistics that suggest the most favorable matchups.
“Honestly, it happens every night,” Boone said. “Every night, there’s the balance. There’s every night where you toe the line and say ‘No, we have to push a little bit here.’ Even though that might be the better matchup tonight, we’re gonna try to get another [out] here.
“The three-batter minimum has changed things…sometimes, I’ll take a starting pitcher out, and I could have gotten one more. I know I could have, but I hated the third matchup for the next guy I’m bringing in, and I know he has to face three hitters. A lot of times, that’s the calculus for pulling a starter sometimes.”