The great Aaron Judge needs to be moved down in the batting order. Not all the way down to the No. 8 hole, a la slumping Alex Rodriguez in 2006. But down to the cleanup spot, anyway.
Hard to imagine Aaron Boone giving even the slightest of demotions to his favorite player (they are all his favorites but he’s his particular favorite, and for good reason). But it really should happen.
Judge just isn’t himself again this October.
In Game 1, Judge finished one for five with three strikeouts, is batting .167 this October and suffered the indignity of popping out after the Dodgers intentionally walked Juan Soto to get to him during the Yankees’ 6-3, extra-inning loss Friday night.
The even bigger reason this needs to happen is Giancarlo Stanton has become the terror of this postseason derby, homering in his fourth straight game.
While Soto and Judge were the dynamic duo of at least the decade in the regular year, it’s now Soto and Stanton who are that terrific tandem.
Stanton’s absolute bomb of a homer (with Soto aboard) provided the Yankees’ first runs in their 5-3, 10-inning Game 1 defeat.
Stanton wants a ring, as he said, and if you make a mistake to him he will not miss it.
Stanton is a Los Angeleno (from Panorama City) and one reason he’s a Yankee is he invoked his no-trade to the Giants because he didn’t want to play for the rival of his hometown team. He loved the idea of being a Yankee, and he thrives in October — in that way he’s the perfect pinstriped player.