Aaron Judge is not spinning it. After the New York Yankees closed out June with a six-game losing streak and nine losses in their last 11 games, the captain gave one of the bluntest assessments you will ever hear from a player of his stature.
The specifics are ugly. The Yankees got swept in four games by the Boston Red Sox. They lost two of three to the Detroit Tigers heading into Wednesday’s series finale. What was supposed to be a comfortable division lead has been eaten away, and the fanbase is nervous.
Judge did not blame the schedule. He did not blame injuries. He did not blame the umpires. He said the team was not playing well, that the results were the result of the way they were playing, and that everyone in the clubhouse had to be better. That is captain talk.
It also happens to be true. The Yankees have been losing games in every way possible. The bullpen has blown late leads. The offense has gone quiet with runners in scoring position. The starting rotation has been decent but not dominant. Baseball is a long season, but when everything goes wrong at once, it can spiral fast.
The good news is that the calendar still favors the Yankees. They have four more months to right the ship. Their roster is talented. Judge is still Judge, which means he is still one of the two or three best hitters on the planet.
The bad news is that the American League East is loaded. The Orioles are as talented as ever. The Blue Jays got serious pitching help at the deadline last year and are still buying. The Red Sox are on fire. The Rays are somehow always in the mix. There is no room for a monthlong slump.
Brian Cashman is going to have to make some deadline moves. That is obvious. Whether he goes big for a Tarik Skubal type rental or plays it safer with bullpen additions is going to define the second half. Judge has essentially put him on notice that the team as constructed is not getting it done.
The pressure is now firmly on Aaron Boone. He has been on the hot seat for three years running. Another October miss would probably end his run in the Bronx.
Judge saying the team needs to play better is not news. Judge saying it publicly, in the language he used, absolutely is. He almost never does this. When he does, it usually gets attention in the clubhouse.
The Yankees can still win the division. They can still win the World Series. But the path to that outcome runs through the next 30 days, and the way they played in June is not going to cut it. Judge said it. The team knows it. Now they have to prove it on the field.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
