"I despise this loser manager"- Fans trash Aaron Boone as skipper 'protects' Marcus Stroman after dreadful performance 

New York Yankees skipper Aaron Boone was targeted by Yankees fans on Friday as the team slumped to a disappointing 9-1 defeat to the San Francisco Giants in their home series opener.

Boone's choice of going with Marcus Stroman to start the game proved to be a disaster as the 33-year-old had one of the most difficult outings of his career. Giving up five runs and failing to see out even the first inning, Stroman was hooked after retiring only two batters.

Speaking to the press after the game, Aaron Boone revealed an underlying knee issue that Stroman had been dealing with, causing the dip in his performance.

Several fans ripped into Boone, claiming he was trying to 'protect' Stroman.

"Boonie is the classic “Captain Save a H*e”!" a fan wrote

"Lmfaoooo I despise this loser manager" another fan shared

"Another excuse. How about he sucks," another fan posted

"Why start him if he's got an injury? Cause he definitely didn't look like he had a knee thing out there tonight. More like can't miss the bat problem," another fan replied.

"The old “pretend it’s an injury when he’s really sh*t” routine. yanks have perfected this under boone. he will do anything but admit one of his players just played bad," another fan responded

"Phantom injury to excuse the disaster we had to watch," another fan commented

After sweeping the Milwaukee Brewers in the opening series, the Yankees have struggled of late. Currently 7-6, the Bronx Bombers have lost four of their last five games.

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Aaron Boone backs Marcus Stroman to continue to be a 'viable starter'

Having struggled in his latest outing and having been involved in plenty of controversy over the past few months, the future of Marcus Stroman is a hot topic with many believing the pitcher is no longer a good fit for the organization.

However, speaking about Stroman, skipper Aaron Boone backed the starter to get back to his best, and continue to be a "viable starter" for the franchise.

"Yes, I do [think he can be a viable starter for us moving forward]. I think the movement qualities are there, again, it's less margin for error. There's probably some adjustments we can all make, we can make with him, that hopefully allow him to go out there and be effective." Aaron Boone said, via SNY

"The stuff's not much different than the first half of last season, to the second half, to now, so we got to execute a little better." Aaron Boone added

As the Yankees look to deal with injury issues to two key pitchers in Gerrit Cole and Luis Gil, fans will hope Marcus Stroman can get back to his best soon, if the Bronx Bombers are to have any hope of retaining their NL East crown.