Aaron Judge will NOT be donning the pinstripes against the Red Sox this week, as he is still recovering from a calf strain. Judge is unquestionably one of the greatest hitters in baseball history. It isn’t all that hard to argue that he’s the greatest right-handed hitter of all-time if you want to, actually. So this is a good thing for the Sox, right?
Well, maybe, maybe not. With a gimpy calf, there were serious questions about how effective Judge would be in the batters box. At 100%, Judge is a force
of nature. At 90%, he’s still a threat. But 80%? 70%? The margins between greatness and mediocrity are minuscule in the Majors, and it’s not at all clear that the Red Sox would need to worry about a diminished and rusty Judge.
Moreover, given the calf issue, Judge would almost certainly need to DH, and that would have a difficult ripple effect on the rest of the Yankees lineup. With the DH slot unavailable, Aaron Boone would have to choose between Paul Goldschmidt (who has destroyed lefties this year) and Ben Rice (who is one of the best hitters in the league) at first base. It would also have forced Giancarlo Stanton into the outfield if Boone wanted to get his bat into the lineup, making the Yankees already iffy defense even worse (yes, Giancarlo Stanton has somehow made it back for the playoffs, after not having played since April). Leaving Judge off the roster simplifies things for Boone, who, let us not forget, has had difficulty managing in the postseason before.
But, still… it’s Aaron Freakin’ Judge. I would never not be terrified to see him come up the plate in the late innings of a tight game. Great players do great things.
And you know who else is a great player? Garrett Freakin’ Crochet.
Crochet, of course, has not pitched in a competitive baseball game at any level since April 25. The Sox were just 10-17 the last time he pitched. It’s been so long since he stepped on a mound that the World Cup was still over a month away from kicking off (good god, the baseball season really is a marathon). But, unlike Judge, the Red Sox biggest star WILL be on the roster for the Wild Card series.
There is some risk in this, yes. As we just saw with Tanner Houck over the weekend, it can take a while for pitchers to shake off the rust. And the reports about Crochet’s side sessions haven’t always been particularly encouraging, as he’s struggled to get his velocity back.
Yet, I’m certain this is the right decision. Pitchers are easier to roster than position players, for one thing. While Judge’s presence would have made it hard for Boone to put his best team on the field, Crochet is merely pushing Jovani Moran off the playoff roster — and we wouldn’t have wanted to see Moran get into a game, anyway.
But, more importantly, Crochet is made for this. The big man spent the first few years of his career toiling in baseball obscurity, relegated to bullpen work and innings-capped seasons on one of the worst teams in baseball. He dominated the Yankees in his fist true postseason start last year and is no doubt hungry for more. It’s time for his Pedro-in-the-99-ALDS moment. Get after it, Pig.
Here’s the rest of the Sox’ roster, with the most notable moves being the inclusions of Nate Eaton, Wyatt Olds, and Alec Gamboa:
