"If we were gonna go win a World Series, we needed Anthony Volpe on the team," Aaron Judge said after the Yankees were eliminated from the playoffs.
That's your captain speaking ladies and gentlemen, read more HERE. I've been sitting on this one for a few days and shaking my head repeatedly. We all know he can't handle shortstop. We watched him struggle for five seasons. Finally this season the Yankees figured out they couldn't ignore it anymore and George Lombard Jr took over but the Yankees gave Volpe a shot at second base also. Things are about to get interesting....
The Yankees are not expected to give Jazz Chisholm a qualifying offer, so he should be playing for another team next season (please!) so that leaves a hole at second base. The Yankees have no one waiting in the wings as a logical person to promote and there are few enticing free agents to target. So here we go again, after Aaron Judge gave his vote of confidence, does that mean the Yankees try a Volpe refresh at second?
It could be. If there is anyone on this team Yankees leadership is going to take feedback from seriously, it Judge. He's pulling for Volpe big time, and while I admire a leader standing up for his guys there's a line. You can still be supportive without putting both feet in, especially if it isn't best for the team. But he's going all in and might not be asking the questions a leader should.
"To handle that type of adversity, not only from the game, not playing your best, and then hearing it from fans, hearing from everybody and then for him to go down to Triple A, work on what he needed to and then come up here with a bang like he did, it just speaks volumes to his character," Judge said.
I can appreciate how Judge stands up for Volpe and speaks to his adversity. New York is not an easy place to play and he's right fans have been brutally honest about Volpe. But it is just that....honest. We've seen four full seasons of mess ups at shortstop. He had a short trip down to Triple-A and you know what, he should've busted his butt to get back to the big leagues. Someone is always waiting to take your place. Just because you want something bad enough doesn't mean it's just handed to you. It should be no different here. Earn the spot you want and continue to perform at a high level to keep it. That is what he has failed to do.
I will say character is important. Clubhouse chemistry is important. Everyone is going to root for the guy that everyone likes and gets along with. People rally around the guy with the good attitude as opposed to the arrogant guy who thinks he is better than everyone else. Character is important, but a spot on a team is not earned with just good character without consistency and productivity. It can't be one or the other. If it was just character everyone reading this blog could be a candidate for the Yankees, but we're not.
So I'm sorry Judge, but a player on this team needs to have a complete package. Character is cute, five years of errors with failures isn't. This is a business with a legacy, not a charity. It's time to move on.
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