I got to tell you, Tiki, I heard Brian Cashman before the game, and I know he doesn't know,

but his words around Aaron Judge just does not instill confidence that we're going to see him anytime soon.

And that is a major, major worry moving forward in my book.

It's a major worry because of what we've seen over the last 20 games, not counting this one,

which was a 21st game, where they were horrendously bad, hadn't scored over five runs. your worry because of what we've seen over the last 20 games, not counting this one, which

was the 21st game, where they were horrendously bad, hadn't scored over five runs

in any of those games since going back to June 17th against the Chicago White Sox where they

scored 10. Other than that, their offense has been anemic. They just haven't been able to get

anything consistently going. And now it was not only the Aaron Judge

news, it was the John Carlos Stanton news as well, where apparently, even though he's hurt and not

playing, he re-injured in a different way. His other cat, whatever it is. His calf is requiring

plasma-rich platelet injections in order to get better.

Once you start getting into that realm, it's kind of like desperation, and it doesn't give

you any hope that John Carlos Stanton is going to be back any time before mid to late

September and hopefully even in the postseason.

So it's, yes, it's Aaron Judge, but I think Aaron Judge, honestly, Evan, he'll play through some pain. I think he'll come back out and play. But John Carlos Stanton with soft tissue injuries, they don't, you can't play through that. You just can't, you can't do it. I think the reason, at least for me, and I certainly don't speak for everybody on this, the reason that the Stanton stuff hit differently for me is that I kind of view Carlos Stanton as a luxury item. Like he's that awesome thing to have, especially come post-season time, but he is such a walking injury and has been such a walking injury that I almost, when I think of the Yankees before season, I think of him as, you know, this luxury

item. I hope he plays. I hope I get him. I know that when he's out there, he's going to give it us all. I know that when he's out there, he's got that ability to get the big hit and change a game, but I don't view him as this necessity. Like, I'd like him back. I think we all would, but when I hear him or Brian Cashman describe, oh, yeah, it was same calf, new injury. I just kind of had the same idea I had two days earlier, which is, man, I hope I see Stanton again, but I don't expect it. In the case of Aaron Judge, and we talked about this yesterday in regards to why the Yankees go through a swoon every year, and it's tough to figure out why. And at least my theory on it is that they are so reliant on one player.

Like watching baseball over the years, I've never seen a team as reliant on one player as the Yankees are with Aaron Judge. And so you need them back. Like I think we all know that. And the other thing Cashman said that was worrisome is he said,

okay, there's going to be imaging at the All-Star game.

So we got our first piece of, I guess, positive news. And the other thing Cashman said that was worrisome is he said, okay, there's going to be imaging at the All-Star game.

So we got our first piece of, I guess, positive news that, all right, they're going to image him at the All-Star break and we'll see how things are healing.

But he also throws in this quote, he can't do a lot of things in the upper body that puts any stress on his ribcage.

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