Aaron Boone’s ‘love/hate’ for Yankees player comes full circle in one AB
· Yahoo Sports
KANSAS CITY — The Yankees scored a second-inning run on a Cody Bellinger leadoff homer off Royals starter Michael Wacha and were looking for more. With two outs, Anthony Volpe walked and J.C. Escarra singled, leaving runners on the corners for …
“Where’s Cabby,” manager Aaron Boone shouted.
Visit sportbet.rodeo for more information.
With Wacha back on the rubber and the 15-second pitch count ticking down Monday afternoon, Jose Caballero was still in the Yankees dugout in a panic search for his batting helmet. He eventually found it mixed amongst all of his teammates’ helmets, but his was in a different cubby hole.
By the time he found it, a pitch-clock violation cost him a strike.
Boone was mad.
Like second baseman Jazz Chisholm, Caballero often does things to test his manager’s patience.
Once again, however, Caballero quickly was out of the doghouse and being praised.
After falling behind in the count 0-2, Caballero laid off two outside sliders, then laced a mistake pitch into center for an RBI hit that made it 2-0 Yankees.
After the Yankees held on for a 4-3 Memorial Day victory with Caballero making a nice pick and throw to end the game while playing third base for the first time this season, Boone detailed his latest emotional roller coaster.
For Tuesday’s Yankees versus Orioles contest, the over/under is currently sitting at 8.5 total runs on DraftKings. Our complete DraftKings Sportsbook review will show you how to register and get started.
“Cabbie and I have a love/hate,” Boone said with a grin. “I think he was having a hard time finding his helmet, and it cost him a strike there. He’ll drive you nuts sometimes, and then you want to give him a hug when he gets a base hit and drives in a run. He’s our Cabby!”
Caballero laughed hearing what Boone said.
He wasn’t offended. On the contrary …
“I love that guy, man!” Caballero said with a gigantic smile. “He knows me and I’m wild!”
Caballero has been called a pest because he loves getting under the skin of opponents. He also can be a hothead who can lose his cool on umpires or go off on an opposing player.
Caballero admits that he needs to be reined in now and then.
“Yeah, that’s exactly what (Boone) said,” Caballero added with another chuckle. “He’s like, ‘Some moments I want to explode on you and sometimes I just want to hug you and give you some love.’
“That’s just me, man. I’m just wild, man!”
Caballero calmly handled losing a strike due to his misplaced helmet.
“I couldn’t find it, so I got a strike,” he said. “Not much I can do at that point. Every at-bat is hard, so I try to keep it simple. I already have one strike. It’s not the first time I’m going to have a strike and no balls.”
Don’t take Boone’s love/hate line too seriously. He’s one of Caballero’s biggest fans. He was thrilled last summer when the Yankees acquired Caballero at the trade deadline for long-time outfielder prospect Everson Pereira.
The Rays rarely lose trades, but this one has been a Yankees steal. Pereira already has been traded again and Caballero went from being a valuable super-utility addition last season to doing a whole lot better than filling in at shortstop until Anthony Volpe was back from offseason labrum shoulder surgery.
When Volpe was done rehabbing, he was optioned to Scranton because Caballero’s all-around game was so good through early May.
When Caballero hit the IL a week later with a broken finger, he was practically assured that he’d keep his starting shortstop job after an expected short absence.
Caballero was out only 10 days and started his first two games back at shortstop, but moved to third base Monday with Volpe at short and starting third baseman Ryan McMahon on the bench.
A first look this season with the Yankees using Caballero’s versatility worked. He made up for losing a strike with two hits and a dazzling game-ending play on a slow roller to third. Volpe’s ninth-inning hit turned a 3-2 Yankees deficit into a 4-3 lead that held up.
Caballero hadn’t played any third base since last season, but says he felt comfortable there right away.
“It’s like riding a bike,” he said.
Boone has been saying Caballero has earned future starts at shortstop, but he’ll probably also be in the lineup at third base, left field, right field and second base now and then, too, because he ranges from solid to adequate at five positions.
Here’s where some of that Boone ‘love’ comes in:
“It don’t really matter who plays what position as long as we all do it the right way and we help the team win,” Caballero said. “That’s what I care about.”
And here’s more:
“We just want to help the team as much as we can, and if (Volpe and I) both can be in the lineup and help the team, that’s great. If one of us can be in the lineup and help the team win, that’s great as well. As long as we win the game, it doesn’t matter who’s out there.”
That’s what Boone wants to hear because he thinks Caballero in the lineup almost every day and Volpe also in at times is the best path to winning that particular day.
“Look, it’s part of the reason I tell you I like our team so much,” Boone said. “I feel like our depth’s just in a better place, especially you start to get guys back in the mix, you get Giancarlo (Stanton off the IL and) back in the mix, or (injured outfielder) Jasson Dominguez back in the mix, there’s a lot of different things you can do on the diamond to win a game.”
Read the original article on NJ.com. Add NJ.com as a Preferred Source by clicking here.