Yankees: A case of the All-Star blues? You be the judge.

The Yankees sent their All-Star right fielder to Miami last week knowing that he would be the main attraction with the media falling over each other in introducing him to America. A week later, are we seeing the fallout?

A week ago, Yankees right fielder, Aaron Judge, was probably looking at a microphone stuck in his face dutifully answering the same questions for the tenth time in twenty minutes, solidifying the Yankees brand and making New York fans proud to be sharing him with all of baseball.

Having weighed for weeks his decision to participate in the Home Run Derby, Judge took on the challenge the same way he does everything else, going all-in. And somehow, with the clock running down in the final round, he summoned his mind and body to take that one exhaustive swing that made him the winner of the contest.

In the game the following night, he was positioned to bat third in the lineup so it was ensured that he would come to bat in the first inning, amping up the television ratings before viewers left to watch their favorite reality show.

But this was reality too. And you ride the wave enjoying the high, and then you battle the undertow that threatens to sweep you out to sea. And then, as with Judge, you return to your day job face the Boston Red Sox in a critical four-game series your team needs to stay in a pennant race.

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Over the space of three days and four games, if Girardi starts him in both games today, Judge will have played a minimum of 43 innings, consuming about 17 hours of time in the field.

Including the All-Star Game, Judge is now hitless in twelve at-bats with four strikeouts. His batting average has dropped eleven points to where it now sits at .319 entering this afternoon’s game.

Reason to panic. No, not at all. But there are limits, even when you are 6’7″ tall and weigh 265 lbs, most of it pure muscle. And while the sheer law of averages said that Judge would not be able to keep up with the pace he set for himself over the first half of the season, a lull wasn’t expected this soon.

Nevertheless, the pressure on him would continue to mount as his 30 home runs become 40, then 50, and finally his assault on Yankees icon, Mickey Mantle, and the 54 home runs he hit in 1961.

And that doesn’t even count the pressure stemming from the Yankees being in the middle of a pennant race with all eyes set on Judge to carry the team, just as he did in the first half.

No man is Superman, at least not yet

If Aaron Judge is feeling a bit tired physically and exhausted mentally, no one should wonder why.

And before this thing goes any further, Joe Girardi, in spite of the importance of the Yankees upcoming schedule, should be giving serious thought to giving Judge at least one, but preferably, two days off in the next few days.

Leaving Boston tonight, the Yankees move on to play the Twins in Minnesota, followed by a back-breaking flight to Seattle, playing in seven straight games over seven days before they get a day off that isn’t exactly a day off because they’ll be enduring a coast-to-coast flight as they head home.

Next: Why staying the course makes sense

If asked to continue with no rest, Judge will not cry about it, and he’ll give the same all-out effort he always does.

But the salient point is that he shouldn’t need to be asked. And his teammates should be there to pick up the slack in his brief absence, just as Aaron Judge has done for them for four solid months.

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