Klapisch: It's time to move Aaron Judge out of the No. 3 spot
BOSTON – Joe Girardi has continued to back Aaron Judge ever since the rookie home run machine vanished into a deep second-half slump. That support shows no sign of wavering, even as Judge looks more lost than ever. Loyalty is one of Girardi’s signature assets, but at some point the desire to prop up a struggling player turns into a blind spot that has a corrosive effect on the rest of the lineup.
That’s where Judge is today: a near-automatic out who was a non-factor in the weekend series against the Red Sox. He was 0-for-4 in the Yankees’ 5-1 loss, and a dismal 1-for-12 with five strikeouts over the three games. Judge, once the American League’s most feared hitter, is batting .169 with 58 strikeouts in 124 at-bats since the All-Star break with no hint of a break-out.
Girardi has faced daily questions about Judge’s progress, or lack of it, continuing to praise him for being “still dangerous,” an ability to draw walks and aggressive swings that the manager said are just missing the sweet spot. But Girardi knows better than that. He sees how quickly Judge has been buried in unfavorable counts and how overwhelmed he becomes with two strikes.
Girardi dismisses suggestions that it’s time to drop Judge in the order with a default response. “It’s not like we have a lot of guys who are hitting the ball, either,” he said after Sunday’s game. Again, the manager is too smart to believe all hitters are the same. In the No. 3 spot, traditionally reserved for the batting order’s most well-rounded threat, Judge has a unique responsibility to drive in runs. Yet with runners on base this weekend he was 1-for-8 with four strikeouts.
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As Judge goes, so apparently do the Yankees. The rest of the lineup was all but invisible against Rick Porcello and three Boston relievers, against whom the Bombers managed just three hits and only one – Brett Gardner’s solo HR – after the fourth inning. Losing 2-of-3 at Fenway dropped the Yankees five games out in the East, effectively turning the stretch run into a battle for the wild card’s top spot. If the Yankees have any eleventh-hour hope of catching the Sox, they’ll have to take at least 3-of-4 from them at the end of the month at the Stadium.
That’s no small chore, considering the Bombers lost 4-of-6 in back-to-back series against Boston in the last week. In doing so, the Yankees managed to uncover a few flaws they’d hidden for most of the summer, including Gary Sanchez’s defense and Aroldis Chapman’s mysteriously flat fastball.
At least Girardi took action with his Cuban closer. Despite vowing not to make any changes in the bullpen, Girardi finally demoted Chapman over the weekend and bumped him down to seventh-inning duty on Sunday. The result? Chapman's four-out appearance won’t be memorialized at Cooperstown, but it wasn’t a disaster, either. The Yankees hope this was the first step in restoring the former closer’s fastball and, more importantly, his confidence.
So what about Judge, then? If Chapman can be relieved of his duties, what’s keeping the 25-year-old rookie so firmly entrenched? Girardi’s insistence that dropping Judge would begin a game of “roulette” in the order and, more critically, undermine the organization’s faith in him. That’s what the manager says today. But sooner or later he’ll understand Judge is no superman and that despite his seemingly impenetrable wall of confidence, he is showing signs of anxiety.
Judge did, after all, misplay a fly ball against the Mets last weekend, and was twice tricked into lazy throws by the Sox. First by Xander Bogaerts on Saturday, then by Mookie Betts on Sunday. Those were telling lapses for a hard-nosed, laser-focused player like Judge. It should suggest to Girardi it’s time to lift some of the weight off his young slugger’s shoulders.
The problem, it seems, is Girardi’s notorious blind spot – he seems to have a particular affection for Judge and his work ethic. It’s not hard to understand. Judge is a manager’s dream, as diligent and prepared as anyone in the Yankees’ clubhouse. If there’s anyone who’s guaranteed not to dissolve into excuse-making or say the wrong thing to the press, it’s Judge.
And, true to his nature, Judge has done his best to maintain an air of optimism.
“I’m a little disappointed because I'm not getting the job done, but you can’t pout, you can’t cry,” Judge said. “But I feel like I’m moving in the right direction. It’s taking me a little longer than I expected, but I’m getting there.”
The Yankees braintrust has spent hours dissecting Judge’s swing, looking for reasons why he looks a millisecond slower since mid-July and why the strikeout rate keeps climbing. Judge now holds the record for consecutive games with at least one K, but says he’s “not at all” burdened by it.
“Every day I came to the ballpark, my average is .000 and I feel like I'm starting over,” he said. With that pronouncement comes the characteristic coast-to-coast smile and the accompanying what-me-worry vibe.
Clearly, Girardi doesn’t want to admit defeat in his estimation of Judge as the offense’s centerpiece. Loyal as he is, the manager can be just as stubborn. But the Yankees’ sprint to October has to take precedence over rehabilitating Judge’s swing. It’s time to rearrange those priorities.