With Judge's decision, the 2022 Yankees can add another win: The Home Run Derby

The Judge has issued a ruling: Rather than risk injury to chase a plastic trophy and facetime with a drooling Chris Berman, Aaron Judge will ditch the 2022 Home Run Derby.

I believe I speak for the Yankiverse in saying, HOORAY!

The derby has been so inconsequential for so long that I cannot pinpoint when it turned into a cross between the NFL Draft Party and Battle of the Network Stars.

The MLB All-Star game is already lame enough, with fans breathing relief when their players are removed, so they won't get hurt in meaningless farce. This year, Nestor Cortez - with his wide smile and feelgood narrative - will probably be a featured character. Thus, the Yankees will do their part in selling the cornpone. But Judge should not subject himself to the stresses of such a night. Junior Guerrero, she's all yours...

I believe the derby first Fonzied the shark in 2015, when - in a clash of titans - the immortal Todd Frazier topped the eternal Joe Pederson. Did you know that Yoenis Cespedes - aka Humanus Centepedes - won two derbies? I looked it up - not because I'd forgotten it, but because I never fukking cared about it, to begin with; you can't forget what you refused to take in. 

Jogginson Cano won in 2011. Great night for the Yankees? Nope. Missed it. As a Phillie, Bobby "the Wall Flower" Abreu won in 2005 - displaying power he would never show in pinstripes. That night, Abreu blasted 41 HRs, a new derby record! Over three years with the Yankees, he hit 43.

I associate the Derby with two images:

1. Chris Berman's insane attempts to manufacture excitement by wailing "Back, back, back... GONE" 100 times per half-hour. I believe Berman's keepers must lock him in a sensory deprivation tank for 12 months, then taze his balls, give him magic mushrooms and a Vulcan mind-meld with Ryan Seacrest, and set him loose. 

2. Aaron Judge in 2017, egged on by the electrically reanimated Berman, straining his shoulder and suffering a second-half slump. Until now, Judge's brilliant rookie season has never been repeated, and I - for one - don't want him near the derby that night. If he needs air time, do The Masked Singer. 

Last night, Michael Kay suggested Judge's resurgence stems from his ability to lay off curves outside of the strike zone. I'd say it's because of his ability to lay off diversions like the HR derby. 

The Yankees might send six players to the All-Star game: Judge, Cortez, Clay Holmes, Anthony Rizzo, Michael King and Luis Severino. (They'll probably do fewer,  three or four.) Whatever. That's enough. Let our players rest. 

Quick thoughts:

1. We must not sleep on Tampa. Last time we played the Rays, we won the first two, and they stormed back for the final two. We hit Tampa next week. Nothing has been decided here. We'll see.

2. Fourteen home wins in a row: With the final at-bat, you always feel this team will win.

3. I'm starting to feel pathos for Joey Gallo. Guy seems a good person, a fine teammate. But how long does this go on? Even when Gallo's "hitting," he's not hitting. Last night, Marwin Gonzalez made a great catch in RF to save the game. Gallo is competent out there, but would he have caught  it? We'll never know. Boone pinch hit for Gallo, because he's not delivering. It's a gaping hole. 

4. So... how is it that the Yankees had Ryan Weber stashed away in Scranton, for no other purpose than to shut down our nemesis for one night and then get released? (They DFA'ed him after the game?) Let's hope Weber signs with somebody outside the AL East. And let's hope he gets a Yankees world series share for Christmas. Seacrest, out.