All Rise , now take a seat.

The time finally has arrived for Aaron Judge.
“All Rise” has turned into “Take a seat,” and this is the right verdict even if it comes at the wrong time for the Yankees.
The skidding rookie was out of the lineup for Monday’s series opener against Cleveland, and Joe Girardi indicated that he plans to keep Judge on the bench for multiple games in the latest attempt to prompt the All-Star outfielder out of his strikeout-filled, second-half swoon.
“I’m probably going to give him a couple of days off to see if that’s something that helps him, try to refresh him and get him going,” Girardi said before the Yankees’ 6-2 loss. “He’s played in a lot of games. I’m probably going to give him a couple of days off.”


And make no mistake about this, when Girardi said “off,” he fully meant “off.”
Judge did not take part in pregame batting practice on Monday, nor was the manager even planning on using him as a pinch-hitter in the battle of aces between Luis Severino and the Indians’ estimable righty Corey Kluber.
As important as this home stand is for the Yanks as they try to nail down a playoff spot and possibly chase a division title, giving Judge multiple games off – especially against one of the stingiest starters in baseball – is the overdue call, particularly with another four-game showdown with first-place Boston slated to begin Thursday at the Stadium.
With the loss, the Yankees trail the Red Sox by 3.5 games after Boston beat Toronto on Monday night.
“I just want him to take a mental day and a physical day and just rest. Just rest,” Girardi said. “He hasn’t had many of those days and I think in the long run, this is going to help us.”
Judge, of course, emerged as a leading AL MVP candidate and Triple Crown threat in the first half earlier this season, ripping 30 homers by the All-Star break before taking over the Home Run Derby at the All-Star festivities in Miami with a prodigious singular power display.

And make no mistake about this, when Girardi said “off,” he fully meant “off.”
Judge did not take part in pregame batting practice on Monday, nor was the manager even planning on using him as a pinch-hitter in the battle of aces between Luis Severino and the Indians’ estimable righty Corey Kluber.
As important as this home stand is for the Yanks as they try to nail down a playoff spot and possibly chase a division title, giving Judge multiple games off – especially against one of the stingiest starters in baseball – is the overdue call, particularly with another four-game showdown with first-place Boston slated to begin Thursday at the Stadium.
With the loss, the Yankees trail the Red Sox by 3.5 games after Boston beat Toronto on Monday night.
“I just want him to take a mental day and a physical day and just rest. Just rest,” Girardi said. “He hasn’t had many of those days and I think in the long run, this is going to help us.”
Judge, of course, emerged as a leading AL MVP candidate and Triple Crown threat in the first half earlier this season, ripping 30 homers by the All-Star break before taking over the Home Run Derby at the All-Star festivities in Miami with a prodigious singular power display.
And the Yankees were more than willing to contribute to the hype/marketing machine, installing their fun — but too-much-too-soon — section known as Judge’s Chambers in the right-field seats in May. Still, he’s batted just .179 (26-for-145) since July 14, with seven homers, 16 RBI and 65 of his ML-leading 174 strikeouts in his past 41 appearances. “I just thought that he’s been missing some pitches that he usually was hitting in the first half,” Girardi added. “Sometimes just a couple of days away can refresh a guy and get him back on track. It’s not what you really want to do. We’ve tried a lot of different, other things. So we’re going to try this.”

There truly aren’t many other options here for Girardi, as shifting Judge around the top half of the lineup recently in an attempt to spark an offensive resurgence hasn’t really worked, either.
Judge, who notably has been receiving post-game treatment on his left shoulder for weeks, wasn’t spotted in the clubhouse following his manager’s pregame announcement. But Girardi stressed that the rookie insists the injury is not impacting him and that he did not ask for a rest.
In fact, Judge apparently resisted the move, reminding the Yankee skipper of one of his most stubborn former star teammates/players, Derek Jeter.
“(Asking out) is not something that Aaron would ever do. So it’s my part to watch him and do what I think is best,” Girardi said. “He never wants to sit…He’s a tough kid and wants to be out there every day for his team. So I’m figuring the rest will probably help all of his body. And that’s why I’m choosing to do it.
“But he’s got some of those character traits of Number Two. If you ask him how he is, he’s always good. Those are things that you have to read through and maybe being around “2” so often, maybe I’ve learned from it.”
Similarly, part of what makes the Yankees the Yankees, of course, is the historical figures of the sport that regularly float in and out of their universe, and Judge need to look no farther than Mr. October himself as an example of a slugger who went through something similar early in his career.
Organizational special advisor Reggie Jackson, who was in town and at Monday’s game, belted 37 home runs before the All-star break for Oakland in 1969, his second full big-league campaign. He finished the year with just 10 more for what still stood up as a career-best 47 among his 563 dingers overall.
“There’s not any difference in what he’s doing as what I did or someone else did,” Reggie said, adding he’s kept in contact with Judge throughout the season. “Sometimes it takes longer to get out of it. They figure you out and then you figure them out …and get on a roll again. Until the next time.
“But you have to keep going hard and realize what it is. That’s what the game does. This is not Aaron Judge’s first difficult time. Everybody has a time when they struggle. You just have to fight your way back.”
The Yankees clearly need Judge to fight his way back from this slump, from this benching, to have any chance to overtake the Red Sox this season. Sitting him for two games before Boston comes to town was the necessary call, and the right one.