THE AARON JUDGE UPDATE YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR!

Or should I say UPDATES as in plural? Because in less than 24 hours we got two updates from the New York Post from the same writer and boy am I confused and frustrated. So, what's the real story here?

Did you read the same stories I did? Check THIS out for July 3rd, a nice feel good story that at least gave some optimism before the holiday. It was an "important milestone" in rehab....directly in the headline. Previously, Judge was limited to playing catch in the outfield and now he has progressed to hitting off a tee. Sounds like encouraging news to me. Then we get Dillon Lawson's take on everything and as much as I dislike the guy it was nice to hear something good.

"His swing looks great," Lawson said. "It looks like he's not missing anything. He's able to turn on his back [right] foot and it doesn't look like it's bothering him at all. It's definitely a positive sign. His swing has looked exactly like it’s looked like every time he swung last year and earlier this year. I know there are progressions that have to be made, but this part of the progression looks as good as we could ever hope for."

Okay, love the "progression" there.... until July fourth we see THIS with the "alarming" update. This time we get it from Aaron Judge himself, "It doesn’t feel great," Judge said. "I don't think it will ever feel normal. I can move around pretty well, but any injury, [it can bother you for] a year or two or three years. You never know what it's gonna feel like."

Well there go my positive vibes. It doesn't feel great and he doesn't think it will ever feel normal. Great. Even Judge himself says surgery is being considered but "we're not doing that this year." At this point, I wouldn't even trust anyone the Yankees regularly use for medical advice on this. It amazes me that one of the most recognizable franchises in all of sports has the worst medical staff that money can buy.

So there we have it. A buzzkill and back-to-back headlines that make me want to pull my hair out. Who knows when we will get Judge back and what version of Judge we will have when he does return. I'm trying to think about how Judge is going to cope with putting 270 pounds on a toe with a torn ligament. It just doesn't paint a pretty picture.

This feels like a never-ending nightmare. I am really hoping for the best-case scenario here, but whatever it is please keep Dillon Lawson out of the equation. He shouldn't be evaluating anyone and has zero credibility with anyone not being paid by the Yankees.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj