ORLANDO, Fla. — Earlier this week, New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone had a thoughtful response when asked about how to close the gap between his team and the Toronto Blue Jays.

“Well, I mean, playing better against them is the real simple answer,” Boone told New York-based reporters at the Winter Meetings. “At the end of the day, we ended up knotted with them. But in the head-to-head, they kicked our butt, and especially in those summer months. In that stretch where we were scuffling a little bit, they beat us up, including a four-game sweep up there, and that obviously ended up really hurting us.

“We got them two out of three at home late in the year, when we were in a better place,” Boone continued. “And, obviously, they were on fire against us in the playoffs. Look, it comes down t

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