David Lennon: Yankees keep finding creative ways to produce without Aaron Judge
Yankees' Aaron Judge looks on during the first inning against the Boston Red Sox in Game 1 of their Wild Card series at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
The Yankees have moved beyond the question of Aaron Judge’s possible return date to an even more complicated riddle for these playoffs.
Can they win without him?
There’s no straightforward answer. Subtracting a three-time MVP and arguably the planet’s most dangerous hitter would leave any team with a serious crisis of confidence.
What the Yankees have displayed instead is a creative flair. The front office has assembled a number of versatile platoon options, giving manager Aaron Boone the chance to flip a starting lineup at will or switch gears mid-game depending on the matchup.
That includes the sizable gap left by Judge’s vacancy. As Judge was away at Double-A Somerset taking live at-bats Wednesday against minor-league pitchers, Boone & Co. penciled in a Game 2 lineup for the Wild Card Series that featured eight lefthanded hitters for the first time in MLB postseason history, according to YES Network researcher James Smyth.
Spencer Jones manned rightfield in Judge’s absence, hitting cleanup. Cody Bellinger took over Judge’s customary No. 2 spot, between Ben Rice and Luis Garcia Jr. (the latter a deadline trade specifically done to offset Judge’s lengthy IL stint).
The lone righty was shortstop George Lombard Jr., batting fifth, the only change of pace for Red Sox starter Sonny Gray. During the regular season, the Yankees were middle-of-the-pack against righthanded pitching, ranking 19th in OPS (.714) and 21st in runs scored (488), only two more than the Athletics.
As soon as Judge disappeared on June 1, so did the Yankees’ offense. But the Garcia acquisition provided a second-half boost, along with the maturation of Jones and Ben Rice’s late-season resurgence. And in a best-of-three series, like this wild-card round, the Yankees’ decision to go with 16 position players on their 26-man roster gave them a unique opportunity that doesn’t exist during the regular season -- or even later in subsequent rounds this October.
The Yankees rolled 9-0 in the Game 1 rout, powered by Ben Rice’s two-homer, six-RBI performance, and racked up a dozen hits overall. But the Sox going from lefty Payton Tolle in the opener to Gray for Game 2 prompted Boone to implement wholesale changes: Garcia for Paul Goldschmidt, Jazz Chisholm Jr. for Anthony Volpe and Trent Grisham for Heliot Ramos.
“This is how we’re going to do it,” Boone said matter-of-factly before Wednesday’s Game 2. “I feel like it’s going to take everybody. Sonny’s not necessarily that guy you want a ton of lefties in there -- but I want our lefties against him. Obviously having a full bench, and them having a lot of lefty relievers down there, there could be some really good situations for some of our guys off the bench, too.”
That’s the other half to this strategy. After Gray, the Red Sox have five lefthanders in their bullpen, notably closer Aroldis Chapman and the converted ace Garrett Crochet, so Boone figures to have plenty of bullets to fire, including Giancarlo Stanton, who hasn’t faced a meaningful pitch since April 24.
As for Boone’s emphasis on “our lefties,” it’s not difficult to see why he wanted them stacked again Wednesday night with the chance to eliminate Boston. In Game 1, the Yankees lefthanded bats were 7-for-13 (.538) with a homer, a double and four balls with 100-plus mph exit velocity, according to stat guru Katie Sharp. Much of that had to do with Rice, who dented Tolle for the double and ripped a towering solo homer off reliever Erik Miller.
“It was great,” Rice said. “Just a great team approach all around. The at-bat quality was so good, top to bottom. Willing to take some strikes, have good at-bats.
“And the communication was really good. Everyone talking about how guys' stuff looks. I think that's what these lefty hitters are capable of. It doesn't matter what arm they're throwing with.”
The MVP-caliber Rice is one of the rock-solid lineup mainstays, along with Cody Bellinger, the rookies Jones and Lombard, and catcher Austin Wells. But those are the only pieces Boone won’t mess around with during a short series. Everyone else is fair game for a Yankees’ roster that is leaning on its flexibility as an October superpower.
“Having Judge not be in the lineup, at the same time we still have a big responsibility to do our job,” Garcia said. “To go out there and do the best we can on the field.”
Meanwhile, over in the dugout, Boone is devising ways to outsmart his Red Sox counterpart Chad Tracy. In past chapters of this storied rivalry, most gave Boston’s Alex Cora the strategy edge over Boone, as he seemed to get inside the heads of his Bronx enemy. Plus, Cora had a World Series ring (to go with a season-long suspension).
But this October? Advantage, Boone. Tracy has only been doing this since late April, when he was promoted from Triple-A Worcester to take over for the fired Cora, and that insecurity showed Tuesday night with his relatively quick hook of Torre, who was pulled with two outs in the fifth after throwing 83 pitches (Miller then gave up the 423-foot bomb to Rice).
Not only does Boone have way more playoff experience -- Wednesday marked postseason game No. 54 for him (26-27) -- his varied arsenal of weapons for this Wild Card Series is a luxury that managers don’t typically have this time of year. He’s got no Judge, of course. But the Yankees feature a versatile collection of talent capable of making up the difference.
“It’s a confident group,” Boone said. “Knowing that if we play our game, we can beat anyone.”
And maybe never the same way twice.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
