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New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge raised eyebrows and generated headlines when he said this past Wednesday that he felt the team was dealing with "a little lack of focus" amid a losing streak that extended to seven games later that day.
For a piece published on Friday, Brendan Kuty of The Athletic suggested that those comments should sound off some alarms for Yankees fans.
"It wasnt just bad that Judge had to point out to his teammates their lack of focus," Kuty wrote.
"It was also alarming that he had to call them out publicly.
Judge is a quiet leader.
For Judge to say that, it must have felt undeniable to him.
Judge knows whats going on with the team.
He has been in the dugout for all these games.
Hes had a front-row seat to the errors, the mental mistakes and the bad at-bats.
It must drive him crazy not to be able to lead by example and show everyone how its done." The Yankees improved to 36-23 on the same day that Judge took his last in-game swing of a bat before he began missing time due to a stress fracture of the first rib on his right side.
New York will enter Friday's series opener against the Minnesota Twins (42-46) at 48-38.
According to StatMuse, the Yankees slashed .221/.285/.388 with a .673 OPS over their first 27 games since Judge's injury.
They allowed 23 unearned runs over 12 games from June 20 through July 1.
In six contests played from June 26 through July 1, the Yankees recorded 23 total hits.
"The lack of focus became apparent after starting pitcher Ryan Weathers put the Yankees in a 5-0 hole over two innings Monday," Kuty continued.
"Immediately, his teammates seemed flat in the field and at the plate, and Detroit Tigers starter Casey Mize wrecked them.
Asked if it felt like the deficit had taken the air out of the Yankees at the time, manager Aaron Boone tried to talk around it, but his team looked deflated." "The Yankees had an opportunity to end their six-game losing streak on Wednesday, and Boone failed to use a pinch hitter for Oswaldo Cabrera, who likely will be optioned to the minor leagues when Ryan McMahon is activated off the injured list," Chris Kirschner of The Athletic added.
"Those are simple moves that need to be executed; instead, the Yankees are in the middle of their longest losing streak since 2023." Kirschner was referencing how Cabrera was permitted to enter the batter's box when the potential winning run was on third base in the bottom of the 10th inning of Wednesday's game against the Tigers.
Cabrera went down swinging, and the Yankees ultimately suffered a 6-2 defeat.
Most worrisome of all for the Yankees is that Judge seemingly won't return to the big-league lineup before the middle of August at the absolute earliest.
Kirschner mentioned that the Yankees need upgrades at catcher and shortstop, but big-time MLB trade deadline moves aren't expected to be made until after the All-Star break wraps up on July 15.
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