The Yankees cornerstone outfielders Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, are days away from the team’s lineup. Is it a mirage or real?
The Yankees, without the services of Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, have been masquerading as the team picked almost universally as the one to be facing the Los Angeles Dodgers in this year’s World Series.
The Yankees lineup, without the presence of these two giants, and no matter what Aaron Boone‘s “replacements” can do, fall short of those predictions, leaving the team in a predicament they are currently in as the season winds down.
Both Judge and Stanton are currently engaging in their final tune-up at the Yankees alternate training site in Scranton, Pennsylvania – the home of the team’s Triple-A franchise in regular baseball seasons.
Reports on the two remain optimistic, but it remains to be seen the first time what happens when Judge or Stanton is called on in a situation to run from first to third on a routine single to the outfield in a close game.
Optimism, or belief the glass is half full and not empty, is one thing. However, having the pair through the remainder of the 2020 regular season, and on into and through the postseason, is another thing.
Yankees Lineup Needs Their Juice
There is no question the Yankees offense needs a boost. Except for DJ LeMahieu and Luke Voit, the team offense has been absent from most games.
Players you thought you could rely on to have big seasons like Aaron Hicks, Gary Sanchez (!!!), and Gleyber Torres are struggling, at best.
Only four teams have a lower team batter average than the Yankees (.237), and their on-base percentage of .331 puts them square in the middle of the MLB pack.
No, let’s face it – the face of the Yankees and the player the Yankees most need in their lineup and clubhouse is Aaron Judge (video). Giancarlo Stanton is a worthy co-star, but it’s Judge who propels the team – when he is healthy.
Until Judge went down from a reoccurring injury, he was leading the American League in home runs with nine and had driven in twenty -and on his way to the monstrous season, the Yankees knew he was capable of having.
Judge And Stanton: Is it A mirage Or Real
The looming question for the Yankees now is – is it real and lasting – or is the return of Judge and Stanton a mirage that will evaporate the first time baseball skills require either or both to perform?
If it’s the former, and both are indeed healthy to weather the storm of the remaining regular season, and the early crapshoot playoff stages, then the Yankees indeed have a date with the Dodgers in the 2020 World Series.
“This week” is the expected date for the return of both All-Stars. Most likely, that means both Judge and Stanton will miss the home series with the Blue Jays at the Stadium beginning tonight.
The Replacements will carry (hopefully) the Yankees through those games, meaning the duo will join the team for the Boston three-game set at Fenway, before traveling to Buffalo to meet the Jays again for what is bound to be a critical four-game series.
After that, it’s “prep time” for the Playoffs with a three-game set to close out the regular season with the Marlins at home.
Yankees Game Changers – Or Else
If the Yankees remain where they are in the standings, they face the prospect of either meeting their “new found Daddy,” the Tampa Bay Rays, or the A.L. West Division winner Oakland A’s. Neither of which is an enticing scenario for the Yankees or any other team that draws them.
It’s a roll of the dice as to whether or not the Yankees can weather their way through the remaining thirteen games.
Not to mention the initial crapshoot phases of the playoffs without Judge and Stanton in their lineup – and producing the way Yankees fans know they can.
Unfortunately, though, it’s also a roll of the dice as to whether or not either, or preferably both, can make it through the remainder of the 2020 season healthy.
Talk about game-changers – they’re both “it,” and the Yankees better be hopeful both Judge and Stanton are in Aaron Boone‘s posted lineup for the (just announced) Game 1 of the 116th World Series on Tuesday, Oct. 20, at Globe Life Field in Arlington. A potential Game 7 is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 28.
This one can’t be a tease – the Yankees need both – not next year – now!
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