Should the Yankees abandon pretense and simply bat Soto and Judge, numbers one and two?

Yesterday, as his BA dipped its toes into Lake Mendoza, Benjamin Kimball Rice looked - as rice is known to be - rather cooked. He laid off a few tough pitches, battled to a 3-2 count, then watched Canseco-like as a fastball bisected the plate. He didn't protest. He just marched to the dugout, to solitude.  And somewhere in the sky, Rice's numbers clicked down to an even .200.

Frankly, it's been unfair to Rice, now with 95 MLB at bats, having him hit leadoff for a stumbling team mired in its personal misery dome.  

On June 17, Rice was still learning the lusty secrets of Scranton, where he'd hit 3 HRs in 11 ABs, mostly playing catcher. The Yankee brain trust noticed that he was hot, pushed a few buttons and brought him up to play 1B, a position he'd barely begun to learn. You could say they had no choice. DJ LeMahieu was floundering, and they had nobody else. Rice handled it well. He hit three HRs in one game and belted what should have been the game-winner HR against Baltimore, which - in an alternate reality - is a future Yankee Classic. Shoulda been, anyway. 

We knew he couldn't be Judgian forever, and now the slump is here. His next AB could put Rice below .200, a symbolic event that will haunt him on the Jumbotron in every turn through the order.

I wonder...  why are the Yankees even bothering with a traditional leadoff man, perched in front of Juan Soto and Aaron Judge? Right now, nobody else on the team shows a pulse. (Maybe Austin Wells, but he's no leadoff hitter.) Last week, Luis Severino made headlines by seeming to mock his old team, saying they only had two hitters in the lineup. Sevy wasn't ripping us. He was simply telling the truth. 

Right now, the bottom of the Yankee batting order is a shit show train wreck in a dumpster fire clown car. If anyone gets a hit, it only matters because it means the lineup is circling closer to Soto and Judge. Aaron Boone might as well bat them #1 and #2. Why lose a close game with a .200 hitter at the plate while Soto and Judge wait on deck?  

Of course, Giancarlo Stanton should return soon, maybe tonight, but I have to wonder: If the guy can't run, how much can he contribute? He's far more likely to hit a double play ball than a double. 

Yesterday, we scored nine runs. When the Yankees are hot, they certainly can pour it on. Not complaining - when the bullpen is as shaky as ours is - an eight-run lead might just be what it takes. 

But no matter what the line score says, Sevy put it quite succinctly: The Yankees have two hitters. They might as well get the most they can from Soto and Judge. They have nothing else.