Lets start with this: If the Yankees open the second half of the season with a victory against Tampa Friday night at Yankee Stadium, Aaron Boones lifetime record as a manager will be 318-212. If that happens, Boones lifetime winning percentage will edge up a tick, from .599 to .600. In the history of baseball, that would make Boone only the 10th manager to have won 60 DeAndre' Bembry Jersey percent of his games. And if you remove two managers who never skippered a game post-1900, and five others who won the entirety of their games in the Negro Leagues, that reduces the number to three: Dave Roberts (.618). Aaron Boones win percentage as manager will reach .600 if the Yankees defeat the Rays on Friday. Robert Sabo for the NY Post Aaron Boone and the Yankees will be in an AL East race throughout the rest of the season. Charles Wenzelberg Joe McCarthy (.615). And Boone, who will sit at an even .600 if the Yankees win Friday. Here is a partial list of managers who did not win 60 percent of their games: John McGraw, Earl Weaver, Walter Alston, Bobby Cox, Miller Huggins, Sparky Anderson, Leo Durocher, Joe Torre, Tony La Ru sa, Whitey Herzog, Tommy Lasorda, Dick Williams and Casey Stengel, all of whom are in the Hall of Fame. Also Dusty Baker, Terry Francona and Bruce Bochy, who will be, and Buck Showalter and Billy Martin, who should be. Point? More From Mike Vaccaro Sometimes, if you listen to enough chatter around town, you might suspect Boone was working somewhere under the Mendoza Line (Mario, not Carlos), and that whatever victories hes ama sed have either come as the result of a lottery or simply staying out of the way and letting all the talent do the job for him. (That latter argument is curious because many who think Boone ought to walk a gangplank think he should do so Butch-and-Sundance style with Brian Cashman, a belt tying their hands together as they leap. And if the general manager is doing a lousy job acquiring good players doesnt that speak well of the field manager?) Heres something else to remember, though: of those names listed above, only McGraw, Weaver, Alston and Lasorda never got fired. Good managers are fired. Great managers are fired, often multiple times. So Boone isnt invulnerable. He shouldnt be invulnerable. And if youre looking at this clearly, he hasnt earned a pink slip yet, even if the Yankees havent qualified for a World Series yet. I believe this 100 percent. I also believe this 100 percent: If the Yankees dont get on a horse and win the AL East or, barring that, make a spirted run to the ALCS then the sand in Boones hourgla s should officially be done. Maybe thats not fair, though if the worst-case scenario happens itll be hard to find a lot of Yankees fans to stand on that side of the debate. But these next 64 games are a unique challenge for Boone, and for precisely the reason he keeps giving for what you might on one hand call his eternal optimism and on the other his dogged delusion. All together now: Its all right there in front of us. The Yankees next 64 games will present a unique challenge for manager Aaron Boone. Charles Wenzelberg Some managers and coaches will forever be known for their pet phrases. For Tom Thibodeau its the game tells you what to do. For Buck Showalter it was nobody feels sorry for you; they want you to have problems. Rich Kotites old standby was we played haaaard . Bill Parcells was no medals for trying. Boone, on an endle s loop, goes with, Its all right there in front of us. And the thing is: hes exactly right. It feels like the Yankees have been sliding off a cliff for a month and yet you look at the standings and they are 17 games over .500 and two games behind the Orioles in the lo s column. Go beyond the box score with the Bombers Sign up for Inside the Yankees by Greg Joyce, exclusively on Sports+. Thank you By clicking above you agree to the and . Enjoy this Post Sports+ exclusive newsletter! He uses another one a lot: We have the guys in that room to get it done. And he should. The Yankees arent quite the team who was playing .700 ball acro s their first 70 games, and theyre not quite the team thats been .321 for their last 28 but they ought to be closer to the former than the latter. And thats without what you expect will be a fertile trading season for them. Now Boone has to back up his own words. And even if you walk into this argument as a strong Boone defender, the ominous history of the last two seasons is a legit concern. Because it has to be different this time around. Hal Steinbrenner and GM Brian Cashman will need to make an Aaron Boone decision if the Yankees dont in the AL East or make a deep postseason run. Charles Wenzelberg Aaron Boone and the Yankees for the month leading up to the All-Star break. Charles Wenzelberg By Oct. 1, if were pining about how much better the Yankees were before the break than after, itll be a brief or nonexistent postseason. And there will almost certainly be a vacancy sign outside the managers office. For cause. Evan Turner Jersey