Boone brings receipts from Blue Jays broadcaster to ALDS

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone fired back at Toronto Blue Jays broadcaster Buck Martinez, who in September declared the Yankees are "not a good team."

"I feel like the last couple months (we) really started to play really well," Boone told reporters Friday in Toronto on the eve of the ALDS opener, courtesy of SNY. "Contrary to some thoughts up here, we're a really good team."

Martinez, a TV color analyst for the Blue Jays, aired his criticisms of the Yankees on a Sept. 9 broadcast, right after the Yankees had taken two of three from Toronto.

"The Yankees, they're not a good team," Martinez said. "I don't care what their record is. They have a lot of wild pitches, they make a lot of mistakes in the field, and they don't run the bases well. If they don't hit home runs, they don't have a chance to win."

The Yankees and Blue Jays finished the regular season tied for the best record in the American League at 94-68, but Toronto won the head-to-head series 8-5. As a result, the Blue Jays claimed the AL East title, while the Yankees were forced to host the Boston Red Sox in the wild-card round. New York won that series in three games to advance to the division series.

"I know Buck had some thoughts, that's all I was responding to," Boone said. "He's wrong."

New York will send Luis Gil to the mound to open the series, while Toronto will counter with Kevin Gausman. Boone has already named Max Fried his Game 2 starter, whereas Blue Jays manager John Schneider hasn't announced his pitcher.