HOUSTON — No sane manager would ever move the chess pieces to get to Aaron Judge in the ninth inning with the game on the line. It’s madness even discussing it, right?
But what if your only other option is to deal with the unbelievable, unstoppable Juan Soto?
Plan A (Judge) means pitching to MLB’s leader in OPS, OPS-plus and slugging percentage among active players. Not just Yankees hitters. All of them.
Plan B (Soto) means signing your death notice.
That was Joe Espada’s dilemma as the Yankees were on the verge of a sweep at Minute Maid Park on Sunday. Espada, the Astros’ rookie manager who replaced the legendary Dusty Baker, knew he was in a bad spot with the score tied 3-3.
He went with Plan B (Soto) and got smoked, as the Yankees sailed to a 4-3 victory. That made it 4-for-4 against the Astros, who are off to their worst start since 2011.
But it wasn’t just the result that sent a message of Yankees dominance. It was the way they boxed Espada into a corner with their new, super-charged lineup.
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It won’t be the last time the Yankees intimidate opposing managers into bad decisions. In just one weekend series, Soto has made for a “night and day” difference from 2023, according to Judge.
“You can just feel it,” he said. “Something really good is going on here.”
Consider Espada’s predicament when he allowed closer Josh Hader to face Soto with the Yankees’ go-ahead run on second base. First base was open. Forget sanity, Soto should’ve been walked. Instead, the slugger was allowed to do what he does best — break pitchers’ hearts.
“I always want to be up in that situation,” is what Soto would later say. “That’s what we play for.
Granted, it would’ve taken guts for Espada to wave the white flag at Soto: a) it would’ve signified a lack of confidence in Hader and b) it could’ve been seen as a lack of respect for Judge.
But this isn’t the 2022 or even the 2023, and Judge hasn’t been himself. The current slump (2-for-16) is so deep he hasn’t hit a home run yet, including spring training.
The Yankees insist there’s nothing wrong with Judge that can’t be fixed with more at-bats. Despite suffering an abdominal strain last month, the club says No. 99 isn’t hurt, just making up for lost time in spring training.
Judge himself said, “It’s like early March for me at this point. I’m close but not there yet.”
That’s why Judge has no problem ceding the stage to Soto, who’s batting .529 and reached base 12 times against the Astros.
Judge, in fact, said it should’ve been a no-brainer for the Astros to avoid the new Terminator at the moment of truth in the ninth inning.
Referring to Soto, Judge said, “I don’t see why you would ever want to pitch to that guy.”
Deep down, the Astros must’ve sensed their imminent doom. Hader would later tell reporters, “It’s a good team, right?” as he assessed the damage inflicted by the Yankees.
Who knows, the ending might’ve been different if Hader had been allowed a one-on-one with Judge. He got Soto instead. The two former Padres matched velocity against bat speed. Classic power versus power.
Soto ran the count to 3-2, then launched a fastball that was up and over the plate into left field, scoring Gleyber Torres with the decisive run. It was clean, efficient, devoid of emotion. It didn’t matter to Soto that he and Hader were once on the same side.
“When you’re in there, there’s no mercy,” Soto said. “I know you and I like you. You were my teammate, but when we’re in there, there’s no friend anymore.”
That’s the savage instinct the Yankees have been missing for years. A longtime observer of the team told me in 2023 too many players had gotten comfortable as also-rans.
The softness was partially hidden by Judge’s five-tool skills and clubhouse leadership. But GM Brian Cashman knew he needed more.
That’s why he gambled on Josh Donaldson, thinking his edgy personality would rub off in the clubhouse. The experiment failed after teammates quickly discovered how weird and off-putting Donaldson was. It didn’t help, either, that his skills had vanished.
The exact opposite is happening with Soto, who is serious without pomposity, clearly the Yankees’ best hitter but respectful of the clubhouse’s hierarchy.
Soto has nothing but respect for Judge, which was evident when I asked about the Astros’ decision to pitch to him and not the struggling captain.
“I really didn’t think they’d walk me,” Soto said. “Hader is tough on lefties. You put me on base, now you’ve got two runners (including Torres) for Judge.”
It was the right answer, or at least the polite one. There was no mention of the performance gap that separates Judge and Soto. But at least one Yankee, Clarke Schmidt, said, “I was sure Soto was getting walked.”
I suspect most of the Yankees believed that, too, and were glad Espada couldn’t bring himself to think outside the box. Instead, the Astros started their season in a four-game sweep for only the second time in franchise history,
As for the Yankees, they’re taking their lead from Soto himself — unbreakable and unstoppable. After stomping the Astros, Soto and his posse are sending an early warning to the rest of the league:
You’re next.
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Bob Klapisch may be reached at bklapisch@njadvancemedia.com.