The Yankees Just Lost Because They Put a Guy With Zero Confidence In a Big Situation

I've never been one for actively critiquing the moves of major league managers. It's an incredibly tough job, and the truth is there's a ton of information they have that we as fans simply don't, which can influence certain moves in ways that are hard to predict. But there are times when something so egregious happens that all we can do as relative casuals is point and ask, why? Why on earth would you make that move? And that's what we saw yesterday with Aaron Boone's decision to put Devin Williams into an extra innings contest when his confidence seems very obviously to be at an all-time low. But before we get there, let's go over the entire game, which got off to a fast start for the Houston Astros. Seeing one of their most hated players by New York fans everywhere, Jose Altuve gave them a 2-0 lead one out into the game. But from here, rookie Cam Schlitter would settle down, not allowing another run over his next 4-2 innings. However, in that time, Hunter Brown, Houston's ace, wouldn't give up anything either. In fact, it wasn't until the 6th that New York would get anything going, with Ryan McMahon taking a lead-off walk before Austin Wells grounded a curveball down the line, putting runners on 2nd and 3rd with nobody out. One out later, it was Ben Rice's turn to line a fastball on one hop into right, scoring a run and pushing the tying 1-3rd. This meant that after Aaron Judge came through with an RBI single of his own, the Yankees had managed to not only tie the game, but put runners on 1st and 3rd with still only one out. This also forced Brown out of the game, with lefty Bennett Sousa entering, and he would execute his job to perfection, striking out Cody Bellinger and getting Jazz Chisholm to fly out softly. Nothing much would happen until the 10th inning, with neither club really posting a major threat. It was at this time I'm sure most Yankees fans probably expected manager Boone to send out somebody like Tim Hill, who has a .263 ERA this year, or Mark Leiter Jr., who struck out almost 12 batters per 9 and hasn't given up an earned run in his last 4 appearances. But no, instead of either of these solid options, Aaron decided instead to trot Devin Williams back out there, who had given up more runs in his prior 4 appearances than in all of his 22 games pitched in 2024. But even more than the hard numbers, it was his body language, to me, following his last appearance that really stuck out. The dude just looked defeated and definitely lacking a bit in confidence, and things would not get any better in this appearance, as on his very first pitch, he would fire a fastball to the backstop, pushing a go-ahead run in Altuve to 3rd, after which he was scored shortly after on a soft single from Carlos Correa. Even still, this is extra innings in 2025, complete with a ghost runner. The Yankees still had a shot in this one. Devin just had to keep it close, and he did bear down to force Christian Walker to bounce a routine grounder to 3rd, with Ryan McMahon getting the lead runner Correa at 2nd. But the next batter, Yainer Diaz, would not go down so easily, crushing a fastball to right field, where it clanged high off the wall out there for what probably should have been a double. However, because Walker didn't know it had fallen in, he ended up getting forced out to 2nd, giving New York a huge break. This put them one out away from escaping with just a one-run deficit. But as you'd probably expect, based on how I've been talking about things, it wouldn't end there, with Taylor Trammell then crushing a high flyball to right, with Williams knowing immediately that it was on its way out, with the homers saddling in with another two earned runs, and his team now with a much larger hill to climb of three. Mercifully, he would then punch out Mauricio Dubon to end things. And while his guys in pinstripes tried to fight back, registering quite a few tough at-bats in the bottom of the 10th, it wasn't enough, with the final score coming in at 5-3 after Trent Grisham lined out hard to center field. What really was the icing on the cake for me in terms of my judgment when it comes to the bad decision-making was hearing Devin talk after the game. I'm not making pitches. It's pretty simple. I stink right now. So, yeah, I mean, you know, they give me the ball, I try and do my best. Um, I don't know. That's a player that just sounds defeated, and is in dire need of some low-leverage appearances to get his mind and execution right. Not someone who needs to be trotted out there in the biggest moments of a playoff race right now, not only because he'd had a major hand in blowing the game in three of his prior four appearances, but also, obviously, for just the simple mental health of his player. Now, thank you so much for watching, and please remember that if you ever see anything you'd like to see detailed in the Made the Cut video, whether that be a specific play, player, or narrative surrounding a team or something, feel free to reach out to my email, basebepoet at gmail dot com. And if I do end up using your idea, I'll of course give you a shoutout. Thank you so much once again, and I'll see you in the next one.