Isiah Kiner-Falefa took a shot at his former team this week, and Yankees manager Aaron Boone isn’t thrilled about it.
The utility man, now with the Red Sox, told The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey that the Blue Jays were actually happier to face New York instead of Boston in last year’s ALDS.
“One hundred percent. We thought it was a better matchup for us [Blue Jays] the other way (to face New York),” Kiner-Falefa said. “We were watching that (series), and we were watching (Garrett) Crochet just dice up.”
“I think we had just lost two out of three (to Boston), and it put us behind the Yankees or tied us with them for the AL East lead (in late September). We definitely felt (Boston) was a tougher matchup for us. Once we saw the other team, we were a lot happier. It was definitely a topic.”
Toronto backed up that confidence, beating the Yankees three games to one.
When Boone held his first spring training press conference Wednesday, he was asked about his former player’s comments.
His response was pretty blunt.
“I guess he was right,” Boone said. “Little surprising to hear IKF say that. But whatever, that’s fine.”
You can tell Boone’s trying to move past another disappointing October that extended the Yankees’ championship drought to 16 years. But hearing a former player essentially call his team the easier matchup? That’s got to sting a bit.
The way I see it, Kiner-Falefa’s comments aren’t exactly shocking from a strategic standpoint. Teams always prefer certain matchups in the playoffs. What makes this different is saying it publicly after joining a division rival.
Now that he’s wearing Red Sox colors, those kinds of comments are going to hit differently when the Yankees face Boston this season.
