NEW YORK – It was well past midnight on Saturday when Aaron Judge looked straight into the Zoom camera and pushed back on anyone – the Blue Jays, Red Sox, Rays, you or me or anyone – who thinks the Yankees are ready for the trash heap.
“I know when it comes playoff time,” he said, “a lot of teams are not going to want to play the New York Yankees.”
Judge was smiling but not kidding. Give him credit for audacity. It was, after all, an awfully bold statement in light of how fast the Bombers have shrunk in September. The slump had officially turned into a crisis after Friday’s 10-3 loss to the Mets – the seventh in a row, prompting an emergency meeting in the clubhouse.
Of course, players-only summits are no substitute for hitting with runners in scoring position or throwing strikes. Performance always trumps therapy. But the Yankees were unusually honest with each other after what was arguably their most embarrassing performance of the season.
It was Judge who had to remind his teammates “the world isn’t crashing down on us.” He wanted to reverse the growing unease in the dugout. The losses were turning into a blur and the Yankees were on their way to one of the franchise’s all-time choke jobs.
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So did the meeting work? Were the Yankees listening when Judge urged them to “go (make) some magic happen?”
We’re days away from an actual verdict. A few pockmarks notwithstanding the Bombers did snap the losing streak. The 8-7 win at least kept them in a tie with the relentless Blue Jays for the second wild-card spot. So there’s that.
But the Bombers have a difficult road ahead of them. The last two weeks have left them physically battered and psychologically shaken. As for the bridge to October, FanGraphs gives them a 56.4% chance to win the second wild card; the Jays are at 53.2%. The gap is statistically insignificant, which means you better hunker down. It’s going to be a heck of a finish.
That brings the conversational road back to a series of searing questions about the roster. Begin here: can any starter after Gerrit Cole be trusted? Will Cole be at 100% when he returns from a hamstring injury this week? And what about the bullpen, which is running on fumes and missing its most talented asset, Jonathan Loaisiga?
The rotation is Aaron Boone’s biggest concern. It’s never been this unstable. That much is obvious after Jordan Montgomery and Corey Kluber were responsible for back-to-back stinkers this weekend. Montgomery couldn’t get out of the fourth inning on Friday, and Kluber couldn’t hold a 5-0 lead on Saturday. The veteran right-hander was supposed to ride shotgun as Cole’s wing man in the playoffs but has instead lasted just 11.2 innings while allowing 11 runs since coming off the Injured List. Kluber barely resembles the pitcher who threw a no-hitter in May.
Jameson Taillon? He’s hurt. Luis Severino and Domingo German? Still playing catch and/or throwing bullpens. Time is running out for both. That leaves Nestor Cortes, a delightful, unorthodox No. 5 starter, as the second-most reliable asset at Boone’s disposal. That’s probably not good enough for a Game 1 nod in the Division Series, assuming Cole pitches and wins the wild-card game.
Yes, we’re miles ahead of ourselves. Who knows if the Yankees’ nightmare is over? It could’ve been just the law of averages finally giving them a breather. Point is, it’s impossible to know who the real Yankees are. They’re shape shifters with a profile that’s changed so many times this summer it’s impossible to identify them.
One thing is certain, though: at the Yankees’ lowest moment, when it’s time to perform a rescue mission, Judge has been and always will be that guy. Maybe it was the emotional pull of the 9/11 memorial service before the game. Maybe it was Judge’s sense of “privilege” to have been on the field during such a moving ceremony. Or maybe it was Judge simply living up to his responsibility as the Yankees’ leader.
Pick your motivation but Judge single-handedly saved the Yankees from their eighth straight defeat. He hit two home runs, including the game-tying blast in the eighth inning, and made a diving catch on Javier Baez’ sinking line drive that led off the ninth inning. The diving, full-extension grab spared Aroldis Chapman from what could’ve been a disastrous Mets rally.
Instead, the Yankees could only acknowledge what was obvious to anyone who saw how close the Bombers came to another catastrophe. Teammates have already gone through their Rolodex of adjectives for Judge’s talent. Kluber, in fact, said, “I don’t think I really have words” to describe what a locked-in, full-cylinder gift Judge is to the Yankees, both on and off the field.
He’s the one who reminded the Bombers that a pennant race’s 11th hour isn’t supposed to be the time to freak out. Brett Gardner hinted that a handful of Yankees started to lose hope during the Blue Jays’ sweep last week. “Sometimes guys feel sorry for themselves,” he said. “Sometimes it tough to see the light at the end of the tunnel.”
Judge doesn’t traffic in self-doubt, which is the calling card of a clubhouse boss. Small wonder the Yankees gravitate to him. Judge’s perspective of late-season pressure goes like this:
“When you’re in September baseball in New York, that’s when it’s fun.”
That Zen may or may not rub off on the others. Ask again after the Yankees have finished playing the Jays, Sox and Rays nine more times this month. In the meantime, everyone’s fingers are crossed tightly.
“Maybe it worked,” Gardner said of the meeting. He was smiling, but like Judge, definitely not kidding.
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Bob Klapisch may be reached at bklapisch@njadvancemedia.com.
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