Captain Aaron Judge calls out Yankees' 'lack of focus' before team drops 7th straight game
New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge may not be able to play for his squad right now, but that doesn’t mean he’s looking away from the poor performances they’ve had of late.
Judge was straight-forward with his response to the Yankees dropping six games before their series finale against the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday afternoon in the Bronx.
"Well, it’s not great," he said after his team’s woes. "Just a little lack of focus. We just gotta dial it in. Our ultimate goal is to win a World Series. I think guys have to remember that every single day they show up here, we’re here to win a World Series."
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Judge didn’t specifically go into what the lack of focus is, but he followed up by saying, "I think you guys see it."
Judge, who has been on the injured list with a rib injury, believes getting that elusive 28th world championship for the franchise should be enough motivation to right the ship.
"That should motivate you every single day you step on that field, no matter what happens, no matter what happens the day before," he added. "I got a job to do. We’ve got an important sign when you walk out on the field. It’s the last sign you see before you’re out there: it says 'do your job.' Guys are here to do their job."
Unfortunately for the Yankees, Judge’s pre-game speech didn’t result in snapping that losing streak on Wednesday. They fell to Detroit 6-2 in 11 innings, where four runs were scored in the top of the 11th by the Tigers.
The Yankees have dropped seven straight and eight of their last 10 games to fall three games back of the Tampa Bay Rays for the lead in the AL East.
Yes, the Yankees remain in clear playoff position, sitting atop the American League Wild Card standings despite the skid. But, while the AL has been mediocre this season, it’s still a tight race as other teams are starting to get right.
New York could certainly use their captain back on the field, but there’s no timetable for his return and he didn’t have anything positive to say about his rehab in terms of putting the pinstripes back on soon.
"You know how it goes around here — guys can feel good, feel bad, but you’ve got to wait on images," Judge said about his rib. The Yankees said when he was diagnosed with the injury that they would get additional imaging done roughly four-to-six weeks later.
"There’s no need to talk about this now," Judge said. "I know it’s an important topic and a big issue, but I want to give you guys the full story."
The story right now for the Yankees is a bleak one, but there’s a lot of season left to play. Perhaps the All-Star break, which begins July 13, could be a good reset as they look to get back to their winning ways.
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