So Aaron Boone, apparently, is not a Swiftie?
All jokes aside, the Yankees decided not to fly to Kansas City for Games 3 and 4 of the ALDS until the middle of the off-day Tuesday, in part because the Chiefs had a big game on Monday Night Football at the same time the Royals were playing Game 2 in the Bronx.
“I think some of it was with Monday Night Football going on, there was some hotel stuff that was a little bit of an issue,” Boone said Tuesday, “but kind of just weighing getting in at 3 a.m., or knowing on a playoff night it could be a late night, and going home and sleeping in your own bed. We decided let’s sleep in our own bed and get off in the afternoon, and it was a chance for our guys to really take advantage of our facility here as far as just treatments and recoveries and things like that.”
Marcus Stroman, who is not on the ALDS roster, threw a live BP at Yankee Stadium Tuesday, before Boone spoke from the press conference room ahead of the team’s flight, so that was one of the other benefits of staying home for an extra 18 hours or so.
Well, that, and not getting caught circling the KC Airport or stuck on the tarmac because Travis Kelce’s lady friend was on her way out of town after her man’s win.
“Yeah, I don't know about that, but I know Monday Night Football came up with a lot of the hotel situations,” Boone laughed when asked if Taylor Swift had anything to do with it. “But I don't know if it's as much that as things we could take advantage of here.”
Hopefully, come Wednesday, the blank space next to Game 3 in the Yankees’ ledger will add a W, or else they’ll be set for Thursday’s Game 4 needing to win two in a row to avoid having a cruel summer.