On the Hot Seat

Aaron Boone swapped the comfort of a broadcasting career for the stress of being a big league manager. Not just any job, but the highest profile position in his new
profession, as he replaces Joe Girardi with the Yankees. While he's spent his life in an around baseball, it's a challenge like none he's ever encountered.
Sitting behind a screen during the March 8th with the Phillies, you don't see the pressure. Handed a ballclub with such high-profile names as Judge, Stanton, Sanchez, Severino and Chapman, he's probably feeling some of that even in an exhibition.
It's a high-wire act, making stretegic decisions, massaging egos and dealing with unexpected obstacles. And no skipper will receive more scrutiny than the man who delivered one of the Yankees' greatest post-season home runs -- but until now has never managed a game on a pro level.
There's also a new man running the Yanks' forever arch-rival.
Alex Cora is in a similar situation to Boone. He takes over the Red Sox, who finished first last season in the AL East, two games ahead of the wild-card winning Yankees. But a Division Series loss to the Astros weighed heavily in Dave Dombrowski's decision. And unlike Girardi, whose Yankees teams never finished below .500, some of Farrell's clubs were clunkers. Boston finished last twice during his five-year tenure. That 2013 World Series championship could only bring so much good will. Now Cora, another former broadcaster and advocate of analytics, faces the challenge of keeping ahead of the Bronx Bombers and claiming Boston's fourth title of the century,


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