The Yankees aren’t winning, and it’s easy to blame the team’s brain trust. But the game is played on the field, and that’s why superstar Aaron Judge is under the microscope.
Not long ago, the Yankees were the best team in baseball at 50-22. But since losing to the upstart Baltimore Orioles on June 19 in a 7-6 extra-inning loss at Yankee Stadium, they have fallen apart to the point where we are talking about a collapse. That happens when a team has the major’s worst MLB record, 7-18 over the last 25 games, including 3-7 in the last ten.
Because of the team’s swoon, it’s open season on general manager Brian Cashman, manager Aaron Boone, and owner Hal Steinbrenner, and those three certainly deserve criticism. Cashman built another flawed team by building around “big, hairy monsters” (his words) that would hit for the fences (rather than play fundamental baseball and a pitching staff that doesn’t scare hitters). Boone has shown once again that he has no answers to stop a team from freefalling. Steinbrenner tried so hard not to be his father that he created a country club rather than an environment that would hold guys accountable.
But here’s another guy who should no longer have sacred cow status: Aaron Judge. Yes, Yankees fans. He has been more of a problem than a solution and hasn’t had answers to get the Yankees out of their mess. When was the last time Judge had a Yankeeography moment? Answer–a long time.
Sure, he is hitting towering home runs. Guess what? So did Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire in that 1998 sham of the Home Run Chase, in which both players used steroids to break Roger Maris’ record. Like Sosa and McGwire, Judge’s home runs have meant diddly-poo. They haven’t been difference-makers.
I want to see what Judge does in a big spot. The Yankees would love to see him lead by example for the money he is getting paid. It’s about time he started doing that. He had a couple of opportunities this past weekend to prove he could get it done against the Boston Red Sox, but he failed in both of them. He also couldn’t get the big hit Thursday night against the Rays, which could have tied the game in the ninth inning.
After Yankees closer Clay Holmes failed to finish off Masataka Yoshida with two strikes by allowing a game-tying two-run home run, Yankees reliever Tommy Kahnle allowed a two-run home run to Ceddane Rafaela, giving the Red Sox a 5-3 lead in the tenth inning on Friday night. Then, the Yankees had the heart of their lineup up for a chance to tie the game. Ben Rice served as the ghost runner at second. Juan Soto’s single moved Rice up to third.
Aaron Judge (photo, Newsday)
On Sunday night, Judge had a chance for redemption in the seventh inning after Rafael Devers homered to give the Red Sox a 1-0 lead. He was in the right spot with Juan Soto hitting a leadoff double. Instead, he struck out, setting the tone for another lousy offensive output as Verdugo grounded out to second and Anthony Volpe lined out to end the inning, leaving Soto stranded at third.
With one out and runners and first and second against Rays closer Pete Fairbanks in the ninth inning on Thursday night and the Yankees trailing 5-3, Judge failed once again to be the panacea for the Yankees’ woes by popping out to first rather than get the big hit. That set the tone for Fairbanks to get out of a jam by getting that second out, and eventually, they closed the game by getting Gleyber Torres to pop out.
It was Judge’s spot to shine here. Instead, he fouled out on one pitch. He tried to hit a three-run home run rather than work the count here. It was an undisciplined, foolish at-bat that set the tone for the Yankees to lose after Alex Verdugo popped off to first and Oswaldo Cabrera grounded out to end the game, leaving the Yankees two runners stranded.
That outcome is all too common for Judge. Yes, he’s great when things are going well, but the Yankees are paying him a fortune to get them out of this mess. So far, he has been slumping as much as his teammates.
These days, Judge is becoming like Mark Teixeira was, focusing on hitting the ball out of the park rather than putting the ball in play or using the field to get a base hit. It would be nice if he could learn to bunt and move up runners.
The bottom line is that the Judge needs to be a complete player rather than a one-trick pony. The Yankees slugger can’t just rely on home runs here, especially when he faces good pitching. He has to be more creative at the plate with his approach. If hitting home runs is all he can do, he is as useless as Teixeira was as a Yankee. Home runs are hard to hit when the weather gets cold in October.
Judge’s stats are the eyes of the beholder. Yes, he is hitting .304 with a .422 on-base percentage, .664 slugging percentage, and 1.085 OPS with 32 home runs and 83 RBI to show for it.
But in clutch moments, Judge has played more like Teixeira than Tino Martinez, a clutch hitter in his own right.
The Yankees need Judge. He has to play better, and that includes in the clutch. Outside of Soto and Ben Rice, it’s hard to trust the rest of the lineup. There is still time for him to get it done. As bad as the Yankees are, they have time to snap out of it. It starts with Judge.
