PAIN, NO GAIN
Boone: Judge ‘not yet’ ready to swing
CHICAGO — The Yankees’ hope that Aaron Judge could begin taking dry swings this week in Chicago won’t be fulfilled.
“He is not [there] yet,’’ Aaron Boone said of Judge who is on the DL with a fractured right wrist. “With Aaron it’s going to be one of those things the pain has to be all the way out of there.’’
What that means about when Judge returns to the lineup can’t be assessed until the pain subsides. When Judge suffered the injury July 26 the Yankees felt he would miss at least three weeks. Tuesday was Judge’s 11th day on the shelf. Since he won’t dry swing on Wednesday that’s almost two weeks without taking any swings, even ones with no impact.
Even though Boone doesn’t know when the pain will exit Judge’s wrist the manager thinks Judge will progress quickly.
“Once [the pain is out] I think it goes fast potentially because he is in great shape and has been able to do all his conditioning, lower body and even upper body,’’ Boone said. “Once that’s out of there I would expect it to go pretty fast but we are going to be — and Aaron is going to be — smart about making sure he is pain free when he is making those movements throwing and obviously swinging the bat.’’ Gary Sanchez’s second stint on the DL due to a strained right groin started July 24 with his average at .188 and his defense not much better than it was a year ago. But he did have 14 homers and 42 RBIs in 66 games. Yet, Brian Cashman and Boone said on Tuesday the Yankees have missed a quality player.
“We think he is a great player and obviously when he is not available to us we miss him,’’ Cashman said of Sanchez who isn’t expected back until the end of this month or the beginning of September. Boone echoed his boss. “We miss what we know his production will be over the long haul which is probably the best hitting catcher in the sport,’’ Boone said of Sanchez, without whom the Yankees are 7-7 after Tuesday’s 4-3, 13inning win over the White Sox. “Even though he obviously has his ups and downs you know a guy of his stature over the course of a long season can do all kinds of damage.”
Marlins CEO Derek Jeter won’t make the Aug. 18 celebration of the 1998 World Series team at Yankee Stadium. Instead the centerpiece of that team will send a video tribute to the fans. Orlando “El Duque’’ Hernandez also won’t attend. Up until this past winter when Kevin Reese took over the player development depart- ment from Gary Denbo, El Duque worked in the Yankees’ minor leagues. He now works for ESPN. World Series MVP Scott Brosius, the Mariners’ third base coach, and Joe Girardi aren’t on the list of those attending.
Fan favorites David Cone, Tino Martinez, Paul O’Neill, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, David Wells and Bernie Williams plan to attend. So do Joe Torre, Chris Chambliss, Willie Randolph, Jose Cardenal and Don Zimmer’s widow, Soot.
J.A. Happ threw a bullpen session in Yankee Stadium on Tuesday. If that went well, the lefty is slated to come off the DL and start Thursday night against the Rangers at Yankee Stadium. Happ, who has made one start for the Yankees, is on the DL with hand, foot and mouth disease, but on Monday was declared no longer contagious.