WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – As someone who has played the game himself, Aaron Boone knows that diagnosing and fixing a hitter’s slump is easier to do from the dugout than it is from the batter’s box.
But as Austin Wells continues to sink deeper into an offensive rut, Boone thinks he knows what the Yankees catcher is going through.
“I feel like he makes a conscious effort to go the other way a lot,” Boone said. “When that happens, sometimes you end up waiting, and you don’t start, and you don’t make your move. Everyone is a little different in how they load and things like that. But sometimes, you can get stuck and it’s just ‘go.’ So I don’t feel like it was as accurate as it should have been on some pitches.”
“From my perspective, and sometimes it gets easier on the side or whatever, I feel like it’s that simple. I feel like if he starts and gets there on time, he’s going to have the potential to be impactful. That’s my expectation and I’m hoping he can string some shots together where he starts to feel it and he can go.”
Boone took Wells out of the lineup on Friday — with JC Escarra still eating up some of his playing time late — after the team’s day off on Thursday, with the hope that the double day off would serve as a reset of sorts.
Given Wells’ importance behind the plate and in calling games for one of the best pitching staffs in the major leagues, his lack of offense has become increasingly troubling.
Going 1-for-2 in Saturday night’s 6-4 loss to the Athletics raised his average and OPS to .180 and .568 respectively over 43 games.
Wells’ basic metrics don’t suggest he was unlucky either. He was hitting balls hard and getting his fair share of walks through the first month of the season, but both areas saw a decline in May.
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“As a hitter, you have to get going, you have to have movement, you have to have an obstacle or a carry that allows you to be aggressive,” Boone said. “I’m getting ahead in the weeds and it won’t make sense, but you’ve got to be able to stop and brake, as I call it. He’s got that ability, but I feel like he was a bit old-fashioned and also trying to say, ‘Wait, look, go the other way,’ and then just, ‘Go,’ and you end up winning.”