"This is Gimmicky Baseball" A-Rod Ripped Apart The Idea That Aaron Judge Should Continue Leading Off For The Yankees

I'm sure nerds are gonna shit on A-Rod here, but the fact is that he's dead on. The analytics won't back this up because they want the best hitters maximizing the amount of at bats humanly possible. That would mean Judge leading off. The problem with that is two fold. 1) Judge looks uncomfortable up there 2) Judge hasn't had a single at bat with a man on base in the ALDS. Two big issues if you ask me. Here's A-Rod's thoughts in written form. 

Advertisement

Throughout the course of the season Judge batted leadoff just 34 times, while hitting 2nd in 112 games. His splits are off the charts in both slots, but in terms of being comfortable and hitting with men on base, slotting him 2nd or 3rd is the move. It'll benefit Judge to see a few pitches in the on deck circle before coming up to the plate to begin the game. He hit leadoff all September as he tried to get as many ABs as possible trying to catch Maris. Right now I just need him going back to basics and trying to drive the ball. 

Now the question then becomes who leads off? I brought this up in my blog yesterday and without the likes of DJ LeMahieu and Andrew Benintendi that answer becomes difficult to figure out. It's crazy how much Benny is missed in a series like this.

Your realistic options are Gleyber Torres and Anthony Rizzo. If Oswaldo was hitting right now I'd throw his name in the conversation, but that's not the case. My gut tells me go with Rizzo. Just move Judge back to where he's comfortable, shake up the lineup a bit, and let's take back control of the series. 

My ideal lineup for tonight (this won't happen)

Rizzo 1B

Judge CF

Gleyber 2B

Stanton RF

Donaldson 3B

Carpenter DH

IKF SS

Trevino C

Bader/Oswaldo LF