JUDGE GOT HIS GROOVE BACK!

Sept. 13, 2017 - Source: Abbie Parr/Getty Images North America

We need Aaron Judge right now, and like we have said all season here at BYB, slumps happen, but you gotta understand something... we all knew that even though he was young, he would make adjustments, because he's a smart player.

Many compared him to Kevin Maas, to Shane Spencer, but why? Every player is different. One thing you do see in Aaron Judge is drive.  The kid knows what he's dealing with as a hitter, knew that after the All-Star break there would be changes from pitching staffs, and while there was a bump in the road for him, he seems to have figured it out.  I love that.

Bob Klapisch has a great piece about Judge. I wanted to share some of that content:

Photo: New York Daily News

"While the Yankees were nervously waiting out Judge’s mega-slump, American League pitchers bro-hugged and high-fived. They’d found Judge’s cold zones – sliders off the plate, fastballs above the hands – and used the data to shave 56 points off his average. Judge was the victim of superior scouting and an old-fashioned case of nerves. Question was: Would he rebound? Ever?

The Bombers may have gotten their answer Thursday night in a 13-5 blowout of the Orioles. Judge hit two massive, three-run HRs, drove in six runs and otherwise emerged from the black hole that’d swallowed him during the pennant race.

Is the siege over? It’s too soon to know, but the possibilities for October are suddenly enticing. Joe Girardi still wants to have a conversation about winning the East. Fine, we’ll go there, but in either scenario, wild-card or Game 1 of the Division Series, the idea of a healthy, productive Judge sitting in the cleanup spot is Girardi’s definition of heaven.

'I felt Aaron was getting closer to what he was in the first half,' the manager said, before delivering the line of the evening. 'Maybe he’s there.'

Judge isn’t biting just yet. He said, 'I’m feeling all right' but retreated to the safety of his boilerplate answers.

Like this: 'It’s a process. It’s a long season. You’re going to have some ups and downs. I’m trying to stay the course.'”

I love this kid. I literally used that last sentence on my kid a month ago.  He was slumping, and telling him that reminded him just how hard this game is.  You get hot, you get cold, but never get frustrated and always continue to work.  Sooner or later, you figure it out.

And if you don't? Well... then you're Kevin Maas.

Yanks win again.  Aaron's back, folks.