BOSTON _ Anyone can see that Aaron Judge is not the same destroyer of baseballs that he was during the first half of this season. All you need is eyes to make that evaluation.
What has been more difficult to determine is just how much this fall from Olympus is affecting Judge, and also the steps the Yankees should take while the rookie is trying to straighten himself out.
For as many questions as we ask of both Judge and Joe Girardi, their responses unfailingly point to a turnaround. They're not providing answers, only dispensing optimism. But sometimes, it's the little things that tell you what you need to know.
Take Sunday, for example, when Judge's slump deepened with another 0-for-4 in the Yankees' 5-1 loss to the Red Sox at Fenway Park. The attention mostly focused on Judge extending his strikeout streak to 37 games, already the record.
One of the better clues to Judge's mindset, however, came an inning before, in the seventh, when he lollipopped a throw to the cutoff man on a shallow fly ball, a mental lapse that allowed Mookie Betts to sprint from second base to third. Evidently, Betts remembered the same glitch by Judge earlier in the series.
So as soon as Judge caught the ball and lazily flipped it toward the infield, Betts tagged up and bolted for third. Betts was stranded, but that doesn't excuse Judge's brain cramp. And begs the bigger question: is Judge starting to take his offensive worries to the field with him? If true, that would be a significant red flag.
"That's a legitimate question," Girardi said after the loss. "Is it weighing on him? You try to get a feel for that."
We ask this because such behavior is nothing like the Judge we came to know in the first half. Not only did he put up historic numbers for a rookie _ hitting .329 with 30 homers, 66 RBIs and an 1.139 OPS _ but Judge was an alert baserunner and aggressive defender. He was praised for doing everything right.
What's happening now, however, looks like Judge is being distracted by the grind of an especially frustrating period. He's human, too. And just because he was Hercules in the first half doesn't mean this post-break tumble is automatically going to reverse itself.
Judge's decline has been steep, and despite flashes of power, he's not producing like a No. 3 hitter is required to do for a team with playoff aspirations. He's hitting .169 (21-for-124) in 35 games after the break, with seven homers and 14 RBIs. Judge also is batting .143 (4-for-28) with runners in scoring position and .031 (1-for-32) against left-handed pitchers in the second half. Judge knows that's unacceptable for someone in the No. 3 spot, regardless of Girardi's persistence at putting him there.
"I'm not getting the job done as a three hitter," Judge said.
We've said repeatedly that Judge has handled his rookie experience near flawlessly, including the All-Star circus in Miami, a two-day stretch where he was essentially the sun at the center of baseball's solar system. But Judge has been under extreme pressure that has only multiplied since his performance nosedived, and it's got to have an impact, no matter the brave face he puts on after another 0-fer.
"It's a little disappointing," Judge said. "But there's nothing you can do about it. You can't pout. You can't cry. You've got to move on."
There is something. Just like with Aroldis Chapman, whom Girardi demoted Saturday, the smart move would be to drop Judge in the order, just to get the burden of that No. 3 off his broad shoulders.
Girardi maintains that Judge needs to stay there because plenty of other guys are struggling, as well. But with the Yankees not playing again until Tuesday in Detroit, the manager has two nights to sleep on it. As the team was packing up Sunday at Fenway, Girardi suggested he was sticking with the status quo for now.
"That's my plan," Girardi said.
If so, it's about time for a change, for the benefit of both Judge and the Yankees.
