As a Yankee icon, Aaron Judge could be ascending into Jeter Territory

Over the last month, Aaron Jeter - (whoops,  sorry, I meant Aaron JUDGE) - has barely resembled the giant who batted second last spring. Physically, of course, Judge looks like Judge, the colossus. But over the last few weeks, Judge has produced in big game situations, and - frankly - in his early years, clutch hits were not always found on his Bingo card. 

Since Aug. 1, Judge has hit .300 with 18 HRs, vaulting into the upper tier of MVP candidates. (He won't win, but deserves Top Five.) Since his HRs into the cornfield,  he's become the guy you want up in critical situations. Back in May, he was a DP grounder, and you even heard whispers that the Yanks would pull a Mookie Betts and include him in a massive trade overhaul. Now, he's an untouchable Yankee icon. If anyone thought the Yankees might deal him this winter, that notion is gone.

Clutch hitting is hard to quantify and harder to keep up. Last year, nobody came through more bigly than DJ LeMahieu. This year, when DJ steps in, you cringe. Right now, the Yankees' ascension has come via the two towers - Judge and Giancarlo. For Stanton, September brought rebirth, the chance to be known as a great hitter, rather than the contract that tanked the next decade. For Judge, it's meant perhaps a future role as Captain and the certainty that he must be a lifelong Yankee. 

Other stupid thoughts: 

1. With a dapple of luck - thanks, Baltimore! - the Yankees will hit the one-game Wild Card carrying the torch for all of NYC sports. What a cesspool. The Giants and Jets suck, the Knicks are the Knicks, and even a fire hose full of money could not save the Nets. And then there is the Mets. Wow. Steve Cohen must be shaking in his hot tub. Baseball sure brings genius titans to their knees. 

But why is NY sports so fundamentally awful, so perpetually broken? I think it's the distractions. Jason Giambi once compared playing for the Yankees to being a rock star. Last time I looked, Springsteen still has never won a pennant. (Note: Freddie Mercury did sing WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS. That's almost a ring.) 

2. If there was such a thing as "Coach of the Year," Matt Blake would be a top candidate. He's a refreshing no-name after the Yankees for decades burned through the Larry Rothschilds and Billy Connors of Creation. Last night, Blake came out to settle Mean Chad Green (who last month seemed ready for the glue factory), Luis Severino (who nobody foresaw being here in October) and Michael King (who has become a huge part of this staff.) In each case, whatever Blake said, it worked. 

3. If Jonathan Loaisiga is really back - fingers crossed - we might hit the playoffs with the best bullpen of any team, that is, after the endless cavalcade of rifles in Tampa. For now, we're so deep that Lucas Luetge - with a 2.73 ERA - is the last name called. Of course, one of these days, Sevy will give up a run - (he's thrown six scoreless, thus far) and somebody will blow. (Holmes has been iffy, lately.) And - gulp - then there is El Chapo. I still suffer from PCSD: Post-Chapman Stress Disorder. Until we win a World Series, when Aroldis comes in, all I see is Jose Altuve. (And we will probably see him for real.)   

4. Bad luck for Luke Voit, who strained something while striking out. For the last week, YES cameras showed Luke stewing in the dugout - not malevolently, clearly rooting for his team, but with frustration simmering. Now, he's out with a bum knee and - let's face it - he'll probably never come back. Luke's problem was a porous infield that required a Mattingly at 1B to squelch throwing errors. Luke plays 1B like a linebacker. The Yankees needed Andrew Rizzo -as the band America once sang - "like the flower needs the rain." And I don't think there's a place in our future for Voit, an otherwise lovable lug.  

5. I'm not here to malign Gary Sanchez, whose been fan-whipped like a rented mule all year, and yet is still throwing runners out at second. (Way to go, Gary!) But coming to bat in a game situation, I see little difference between him and Kyle Higashioka. In 376 at bats, Gary has driven in 54 runs. In 190 at bats, Higgy has 29. Do the math. You find a better RBI ratio with Higgy. Again, Gary has been holding his own. But in the wild card, no matter who pitches, I'd go with The Higster.