BRONX, NY – I took my girls to the blistering hot Yankees game on Saturday. Oy oh boy, was it hot. But my kids can say that in the first Aaron Judge AB they ever saw live, he went yard. It’s a good thing he did, too because we didn’t make it much longer. We kept venturing upward, to worse seats and more shade. We stayed long enough to see Volpe’s dinger and then tried to beat the traffic. Spoiler Alert: We didn’t. We also got nailed by a thunderstorm. Good times. Anyway, what have we got today? How about the Three Biggest Yankees Questions for the Stretch Run? I should be able to come up with three, right?
Number Two
We’re just going to have to assume that Cole returns to form in the next two months. But then, who is their game 2 starter? Rodon has been better but hardly dominant, and he gives up dingers aplenty. Nasty Nestor has turned quite pleasant, and Stroman has been ice cold. Could they go with the youngster, Luis Gil, who is on pace to go way beyond the most innings he’s pitched in a season? They might rabbit, they might.
Protect The Judge
The Jays intentionally walked Judge on Sunday with two outs and the bases empty in the second inning. That never even happened to Barry Bonds. The Yanks obviously need someone threatening behind Judge to make them pay. I like young Austin Wells but I’m not sure he’s ready for this assignment in the playoffs. Boone wants to have a lefty in there between Judge and Stanton. But Rice and Wells are super green, Verdugo is too inconsistent, and Soto is locked in to the two spot.
Where’s The Martian at?
He hasn’t exactly lit it up in Triple A since coming back from injury, but Dominguez could be the answer.
Who’s On First?
Big Ben Rice has showed some potential and a purty Yankee Stadium swing. He’s gone deep 7 times and driven in 22, but has only hit .200. Do the Yankees go back to the uninspiring Anthony Rizzo, who is getting closer to a return, or stick with the kid? Does DJ LeMahieu, who has shown signs of life lately, get a shot for at least some platoon action?
There are plenty of others, but those are my three for today. One of these days I’ll get to talking about the biggest story in New York this summer – Jalen Brunson giving up a cool $100 million so he could play with his college buddies as long as possible. Man, I love that guy.
I also love Angry Ward, who’s in this spot Wednesday. Check him out.
