HEY JUDGE - ENOUGH WITH THE HEADFIRST SLIDE!

Yesterday was scary. Aaron Judge might've been all smiles when he stood in front of his lockers yesterday talking to the press, but I wasn't. I was still exhaling. I'm still recovering over here.

Look, I like a good gutsy play just as much as any other baseball fan. They make the game more interesting and adds excitement to the game. The idea to steal third was all Judge's decision. According to him, that was not a call Aaron Boone made and I really hope Boone did not advise that. Look, I am not a big fan of the headfirst slide. 

When you are 6 foot 7 inches and 282 pounds, sliding headfirst is just an invitation for something bad to happen. The risk for injury is infinitely greater. When will these guys realize that fingers, wrists, elbows and shoulders are just too valuable to risk? The headfirst slide is always a dumb move in my book. It's only a matter of time until someone slides headfirst, a finger gets caught in a shin guard or spike and then tendons are torn. I cringe just thinking about it...

Good news is that even after a quick field exit, and trainers evaluating him, Judge did return to the game. I am not so sure we are in the clear though. Even when Judge returned to the dugout he was still receiving treatment from the trainers, and he was frequently flexing his right hand. I'm not 100% confident that Judge completely dodged a bullet here.

I just hope that in the coming days we don't hear about Judge going for an MRI because he is in pain. We don't need anymore injuries and we certainly don't need to hear that Judge needs to be shut down for a few days. Sure, shutting down Judge for a short time frame would not be the worst-case scenario, but the Yankees need all of the offensive power they can get right now. He's a bat we can't afford to lose.

Cross our fingers that Judge is fine like he says he is, but I'm not convinced yet. A headfirst slide will always be a dumb move in my opinion.... but especially for a player his size. By the way, birthday injuries are not cool. That's not the birthday gift Judge should want.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj