The 2024 World Series was odd for Red Sox fans, but the sight of the Yankees’ misery was welcomed.
New York and the Dodgers have multiple former Boston players, but if Red Sox fans had to choose a lesser of two evils, Los Angeles arguably is the team for them to root for. That’s why it was a cathartic feeling watching Freddie Freeman hit a walk-off grand slam to take Game 1.
Aaron Boone was the target of Yankees fans’ criticism after Friday night. Derek Jeter panned his former teammate on the FOX postgame show for pulling Gerrit Cole in the sixth inning after 88 pitches. Jeter noted it was a “domino effect” for the game and the rest of the best-of-seven series.
The biggest decision came in the bottom of the 10th inning. Boone called upon Nestor Cortes to face the Dodgers’ fearsome trio of Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freeman. The left-hander hadn’t pitched in a month due to an elbow injury, which he chose to fight through to help his teammates. What made the decision even more perplexing was that southpaw Tim Hill had been excellent for the Yankees in the postseason. It was why Michael Kay didn’t let Boone off easy.
“I don’t care what the numbers say about Nestor Cortes (against Shohei Ohtani),” Kay said on the YES Network postgame show, per the New York Post. “He hadn’t pitched since September 18. Those numbers against Ohtani were every five days (with Cortes as a starter).
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“Tim Hill has been lights out for the Yankees. That’s the guy you bring in. I don’t care about sim games. I don’t care how he looked in the bullpen. That did not seem to be the move to make.”
What made the decision even worse was that Freeman told Ken Rosenthal on the FOX broadcast that he was seeking out a first-pitch fastball, which Cortes handed the Dodgers star on a silver platter.
The Cortes decision also made its way during an NBA game.
“You think Bradley Beal was wondering why Nestor Cortes was in there and not Tim Hill?” Ryan Ruocco, who calls Yankees games on the YES Network, said on the Phoenix Sun-Los Angeles Lakers broadcast on ESPN, per Awful Announcing.
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Former Yankees manager Joe Girardi also threw a shot at Boone, and fans even brought back Anthony Rizzo striking out Freeman to roast the New York manager.
All of the Yankees’ panic about Boone will continue to be the delight of Red Sox fans.
Featured image via Kiyoshi Mio/Imagn Images