Yesterday afternoon, the hiring of Craig Counsell by the Cubs cast a media shadow across MLB. This caused other announcements to take a back seat, including that of the hiring of Carlos Mendoza with the Mets.
It’s still rare that an announcement involving the Mets is relegated to the background, but yesterday, that was the case.
Who is Carlos Mendoza, exactly? In fact, we’re talking about the man who was the bench coach of the Yankees last year and whose name has been circulating for various managerial positions throughout the MLB for several years.
Zack Scott, who interviewed him in Boston in 2020, also had very good words about him.
But clearly, if there is one who is well placed to know Mendoza, it is Aaron Boone. The latter was able to rely on Mendoza’s services last year as bench coach and clearly, he appreciated his experience.
In any case, he didn’t hesitate to praise the new Mets manager openly, noting how Mendoza is a guy who is smart and on his business.
Boone agrees that Mendoza deserved his chance, and while he’s definitely disappointed to lose him, he’s very happy for his friend. The Mets are getting their hands on an extremely loyal and educated guy, as Boone pointed out.
That’s actually a positive thing.
Speaking of Boone, by the way, Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner gave him a nice vote of confidence earlier today, noting that there had been consensus that Boone deserved to return this year. year.
However, he did not want to advance the idea of having his manager sign a contract extension.
Steinbrenner, who especially defended his entire staff (from the baseball operations staff to the medical staff to the strength and conditioning staff) today, also claimed that all options are on the table for the autonomy market.
It’s a cassette that has come up often in the Bronx for several years, even if big signings are relatively rare. There was the return of Aaron Judge and the agreements of Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon, but otherwise, it’s quiet.
And if Steinbrenner ever takes out the checkbook to look for a big hitter, the latter will be able to benefit from Aaron Boone’s new offensive approach in 2023, he who wants to focus on… cushioning.
Because when you have guys like Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Gleyber Torres, why take advantage of their power when you can (usually) give the other team a takedown?
Obviously, therefore, the two big changes to expect from the Yankees in 2023 are a new bench coach and a greater number of cushioning.
For an owner who is extremely dissatisfied with an 82-80 season, one might have expected a little more… but the Yankees seem to thrive on complacency.
