The New York Yankees open a nine-game homestand Friday when they welcome the Detroit Tigers to Yankee Stadium.
The Yankees return to the Bronx after a 5-3 road trip which ended on a downer, losing Thursday to the Baltimore Orioles, 4-3 in 10 innings.
New York easily could’ve swept the series at Camden Yards, and for WFAN’s Mike Francesa, that’s a real problem, tweeting, “Splitting four games against O’s doesn’t cut it.”
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Indeed, the Yankees and Orioles are tied for last place in the American League East with identical 11-14 records. However one can’t help but wonder if things might be different had right fielder Aaron Judge been in the starting lineup Thursday.
Manage Aaron Boone held Judge out of the lineup for a second consecutive day with lower-body soreness. Boone said he was being “proactive” with the right fielder’s health “as opposed to reacting and something getting out of hand.”
“It is vague,” Boone said regarding Judge’s injury. “It is non-specific right now. Aaron and I have a really good dialogue and conversation about things and are pretty honest and direct with each other.”
However Boone went on to praise Judge, calling him “as tough as they come.” And that didn’t sit well with Francesa:
Hard to listen to Boone tell us that Judge is “as tough as they come.” Never plays.
Yes, Judge is injury-prone. But it’s an over-exaggeration to say the 29-year-old slugger never plays. Judge has seen action in 22 of the Yankees’ 25 games this season. And he’s second on the team with five home runs.
But Francesa does have a point. Judge hasn’t been able to stay healthy since his rookie season. And if he can’t find a way to stay in the lineup on a regular basis, Judge could see the Yankees low-ball him when he approaches free agency after the 2022 season.
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Mike Rosenstein may be reached at mrosenstein@njadvancemedia.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.
