Yankees manager Aaron Boone had an interesting description of his lineup in the first game of a doubleheader on Thursday against the Tampa Bay Rays.
In the second inning, Brett Gardner struck out and was none-too-happy. The same can be said for Boone and he went to bat for his dugout, giving home plate umpire Brennan Miller a piece of his mind from the bench. That didn't last long, as moments later Boone was in the rookie umps' face.
While complaining about the strike zone, Boone unleashed his true thoughts on the umpire's calls and his own hitters.
"My guys are f------ savages," Boone said while waving his finger in the air. "Tighten it up right now, OK? Tighten this s--- up."
Boone's game didn't last much longer. Miller initially didn't respond to the tirade, but as Boone continued his extracurricular activities in the dugout, he was ejected from the game. It was the third time Boone was ejected from a game this season.
"It's just a big game just felt like some things weren't going our way early and I just wanted it to be... I just felt like it needed to be known. Nothing more than that," Boone said after the fact.
While Boone downplayed trying to fire up his team with his actions, he was asked about the game about his specific "savages" comments. Boone must have speaking through pure emotion, as he appeared to forget his exact comments.
"Oh... no," Boone said thinking back with a smile. "Sometimes in the heat of the battle you just feel you just utter some things, but I feel that way about our guys, no doubt."
"(We try to) make it hard on the pitcher all the time and that's something that those guys take a lot of pride in," Boone continued.
Earlier in that same inning, the Yankees tied the game at two as Gio Urshela hit a two-run home run. A few frames later in the fifth, the "savages" in pinstripes then plated three more runs en route to eventually winning the first game of the day, 6-2.