Pete Caldera on Boone's Return with Craig and Big Mac

Craig Carton (0:00)

Yeah, yeah, 338

You know, since Big Mac and I can't figure out our little disagreement here, I figured, let me bring in a guy that covers the Yankees, that also was the first guy in America to have the story yesterday that Aaron Boone was coming back for his 10th season as manager of the New York Yankees, Pete Caldera, with the Bergen Record. Join us for a quick second here today. Pete, it's Craig and Big Mac. Good afternoon, thanks for a couple seconds of your time.

Chris McMonigle (0:27)

Hey, Pete.

Pete Caldera (0:28)

Thanks for having me. Appreciate it, guys.

Chris McMonigle (0:30)

Thank you.

Craig Carton (0:30)

So I'm just trying to figure out, and you don't have to tell me the exact person. Do you put it in a phone call and say, hey, by the way, Boone, are you coming back?

Or does somebody say, Pete, I got the goods for you, Boone's coming back. How's that work?

Pete Caldera (0:44)

You could have, I mean, you have got a great relationship with Boone too. I'm surprised you didn't have this one.

Craig Carton (0:50)

You know what?

Pete Caldera (0:52)

Listen, I think we all kind of anticipated this outcome, right? I don't think this was anything that surprised anyone. I think if it had gone the other way, it would have surprised people. And certainly, I mean, I've got no right to tell any Yankees fan that their frustration, disappointment, if they have with this decision or even their anger is misplaced. This is New York.

It's a team that's won two pennants, one World Series since 2009 And this manager's been here nine years and one pennant. So yeah, all that. I don't think that...

Craig Carton (1:31)

I also think, Pete, because of the pending work stoppage, lockout, whatever we want to call it after December, I guess, first or second.

Chris McMonigle (1:38)

December 1st, yeah.

Craig Carton (1:39)

Is it the first? Okay. That to actually bring in a new manager and then that manager, although I'm sure they do talk, they're theoretically not allowed to speak to their players. Yeah. Until the thing gets settled, this could go on for a while. It just seems like an awkward time, a weird time for the Yankees to have made that decision, don't you think?

Pete Caldera (2:00)

Well, there's a lot of uncertainty, right? I mean, you mentioned it with the impending lockout and if teams that are hiring new managers after December 1, you're not going to be able to talk to your players. Does that impact assembling a coaching staff? All those things that go into it, you have a truncated spring training where you got a quick run up to next season, whatever that begins. Maybe that's all a factor.

But I think the underlying thing is that we all know that Cashman and Hal have a very great working relationship with Boone, and that has maintained itself throughout this nine-year run. And I don't think it's a surprise that they're going to run it back with one year left on this contract. And then you think about what else was out there. Would you have wanted to pass it to one of his coaches, like a Rojas or an Ausmus, and maybe get the same result? Or there's no Alex Cora right now out there.

But it's not to say that the manager doesn't make a difference, but I think he's got two of the best in the game that are going to play in the World Series now.

Craig Carton (3:20)

So let me ask this, why do you think the Yankees seemingly are always so tight in the postseason?

Pete Caldera (3:29)

Well, I don't know if it's tight. I think maybe it's more that, you know, and I don't want to say I really dislike the whole crapshoot element to the postseason, because I think that that that discounts someone's championship, right? I mean, you wouldn't want to if you won a World Series, I wouldn't want to say it will happen. It was a crapshoot, right? I mean, it does matter. I don't think it's playing tight, but certainly it's the, you know, it's the accountability factor of your personnel. It's, you know, I think the Yankees have two really terrific young players that have that sense about them, and Cam Schlittler and Ben Rice, and that bodes well for the future of this team. But, you know, I don't think it really, you know, can point to a veteran, a mostly veteran team and say they're playing tight. It's just, it's the whole, you know, width and breadth of, you know, how they got there and, you know, putting it together at the end, and they just haven't, they haven't done it. If the manager gets blame on that, the GM gets blame on that, the 26-man roster gets all the blame on that. Yeah, I think, just, I don't think he really can pinpoint one thing.