Chris Russo rants how Yankees messed up not hiring…
Instead of hiring a 2003 ALCS hero as their supervisor, Chris “Mad Dog” Russo believes the Yankees ought to have tapped into one of the key figures from the 2004 version.
Russo, the ex-WFAN host now on SiriusXM and ESPN, ranted on “The Show” podcast with The Post’s Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman how the Yankees ought to have employed Terry Francona this winter instead of extending Aaron Boone, who he barely sees as a top-10 supervisor.
“You’re telling me that Boone is a better manager than Terry Francona? Are you freaking crazy? How did Francona end up with the Reds?” Russo said in the episode printed Tuesday.
“Did the Yankees put a call in to see if Francona — ‘Hey, Terry, we had a bad World Series, our manager killed us in Game 1.’ He killed them in Game 1 guys, that was terrible. And Francona ends up in Cincinnati. Everybody loves Boone and he’s not a unhealthy supervisor, but he’s been there a long time with one World Series win and, in my opinion, seven or eight managers are better than he’s. “
Russo’s takes comes a time while the Yankees are scuffling and attempting to maintain on for pricey life in the AL playoff race and many followers are pointing fingers at Boone and common supervisor Brian Cashman.
This is Boone’s eighth season on the job and the Yankees have received one pennant and one World Series recreation in that time, with their summer time malaises turning into routine.
Russo clearly believes the supervisor is a component of the issue, and he listed seven skippers he believes are better than Boone: Francona, Boston’s Alex Cora, Texas’ Bruce Bochy, the Dodgers’ Dave Roberts, Arizona’s Tory Luvullo, Detroit’s A.J. Hinch and the Cubs’ Craig Counsell, although he said Boone is only “probably not better” than him due to Counsell’s “spotty postseason.”
“How do the Yankees have a manager who’s the eighth-best — and now, you guys might think he’s higher than I, but I think there’s eight managers in this sport better than freaking Boond,” Russo told Sherman and Heyman. “I mean, I’m not going to give you (Brian) Snitker because he’s old, but he won a World Championship too. Hinch, Francona, Bochy, Roberts, Luvullo, Cora, there’s a lot of managers in this sport who are better than Boone. He is barely in the top 10. These are the New York Yankees.”
Aaron Boone is feeling the heat as the Yankee scuffle. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
Terry Francona has the Reds closing in on the Mets in the NL playoff race. AP
Francona, 66, led Boston to two championships in 2004 and 2007, and has the upstart Reds just two video games back of the Mets in the NL playoffs race.
He’s typically thought-about one of the sport’s better managers, particularly after a strong run with Cleveland despite restricted payrolls.
One major issue, though, with Russo’s concept is that the timeline and logistics for the Yankees to have employed Francona to exchange Boone this offseason would have not lined up.
Cincinnati employed Francona on Oct. 7, 2024, while the Yankees did not end their season until their Game 5 World Series debacle against the Dodgers on Oct. 30.
Boone still had one 12 months left on his deal before the Yankees gave him a two-year extension in February through the 2027 season.
Yankees’ brass has talked extremely of Boone — seemingly to the followers’ chagrin — and even said he believes there can be a “feeding frenzy” if he turned a free agent.
He also has the help of staff captain Aaron Judge.
Chris Russo (c) with Joel Sherman (top left) and Jon Heyman (backside left). @nypostsports/YouTube
“I think the No. 1 thing is the care and passion he has for everybody in this room,” Judge said after the extension. “It doesn’t matter if you’re first year in here in big league camp or 15-year vet getting a chance to come over and play for the Yankees, he’s going to make you feel like you’re the most important person in the room. When you do that, it equals a lot of wins when you feel comfortable.”
For all the nice will Boone has amassed with Cashman and proprietor Hal Steinbrenner, though, the calculus might change if the Yankees miss the playoffs for the second time in three years.
The Bronx Bombers only lead the Guardians by one recreation for the ultimate AL wild-card spot and poor fundamentals have plagued them as a big AL East lead has swung into a six-game gap behind the Blue Jays.
For a staff with championship aspirations, not making the dance two occasions in three years when 40 p.c of the league makes the playoffs is a powerful look.
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