by Tim Kabel
June 27, 2023
***
The Yankees had yesterday off. They remain in third place in the American League East, 9 1/2 games behind Tampa Bay, but only one-half game ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays. They are in the second wild card position but, are closely bunched with the Blue Jays, Astros, and Angels. They had a good weekend, winning two of three from the first-place Texas Rangers. However, this team still has a lot of questions and issues. One of those became prominent on Sunday.
I loved the HBO series, Game of Thrones. My favorite character was Sandor, “the Hound” Clegane. He was an extremely cantankerous and belligerent fellow, much like me. In one of my favorite episodes, Two Swords, the Hound addressed another character thusly, “You're a talker. Listening to talkers makes me thirsty and hungry." The Hound proceeded to tell him in so many words, that if he had to listen to this fellow any longer, he would need to eat every chicken in the tavern because he would be so hungry. Had the Hound been in Aaron Boone's office on Sunday while Boone was talking to Josh Donaldson, he would have consumed a truckload of chickens.
When Josh Donaldson discovered he was not in the starting lineup for the third consecutive day on Sunday, he marched into Boone's office, carrying a bat, after telling reporters he was unavailable to talk. Donaldson then proceeded to talk to Boone for 45 minutes, making Boone 30 minutes late for his press conference. This raises several questions in my head:
What could they have possibly talked about for 45 minutes?
How long does it take to say, “You are washed up and are not helping the team. You need to sit.”
Why would Donaldson need to bring his bat into the manager's office? Was he hoping for instructions on how to use it? Did he think that it was a hot day, and his ice-cold bat might make things more comfortable in there?
Was Boone's press conference more enlightening and informative without him there?
After Boone's lengthy chinwag with Donaldson, he said the following, “Obviously the batting average since he's come back has not been great, but the underlie is that he is hitting the ball hard." That my friends, fits the dictionary definition of drivel. Boone added, “I feel like there's a ton in there for him offensively. I know he can be a key figure for us.” Boone's conclusion was that he expects Donaldson to get consistent at bats and play regularly.
So, essentially what you had on Sunday was an aging, washed up player near the very end of his career being disgruntled with his lack of playing time and confronting the manager. Not only did the manager humor him and coddle him by talking for 45 minutes, he left the meeting saying that Donaldson would play regularly and would be a key figure for the team.
Josh Donaldson is not Don Mattingly or Mickey Mantle. He is not a lifelong Yankee whose career is winding down. He is not a beloved figure in Yankee Stadium. He is a mercenary who has played for several teams. He has a poor attitude and seems to be selfish and churlish. He does not deserve deferential treatment. Even Aaron Hicks had a longer and better tenure with the Yankees than Donaldson does. He is batting 125. He has eight hits all season. He has less hits than Tiny Tim, for goodness' sake. Boone should have simply sat Donaldson down and told him that at this point, he would not be playing regularly as he was not contributing. Boone should not have allowed Donaldson to hijack the afternoon and the press conference. It was just one more situation that Boone mismanaged.
There are two basic conclusions regarding this meeting on Sunday:
Donaldson is finished as a player but, he doesn't realize it and will be nothing but a negative force on this team moving forward.
Boone has absolutely no leadership ability and will once again allow this process to drag out endlessly.
Ultimately, we should be looking at the final days of the Yankee careers of both Donaldson and Boone. Whether that is the case remains to be seen.
