It took almost no time for Yankees fans to rage against Anthony Volpe after return

With Aaron Judge officially out for the foreseeable future after having not played since Sunday, the New York Yankees simply aren't delivering offensively. They scored 12 runs over their past four games, and the cracks in the foundation are beginning to show.

In an unfortunate turn of events, Anthony Volpe is rapidly approaching public enemy No. 1 because the honeymoon phase in wake of his return has already expired. It took almost no time for him to become a black hole on offense.

He's back to hitting .222 with a .667 OPS which is ... almost exactly his career averages of .222 and .662. His defense has been iffy, as his arm strength and ability to field ground balls cleanly continue to be issues. At this point, he's here out of necessity. His roster spot was salvaged when Spencer Jones was demoted a few weeks ago because Volpe was swinging a hot bat, but he's been unable to sustain it.

And it all reached a boiling point on Friday night when Volpe stepped into the batter's box in the bottom on the ninth with a runner on first and no outs. He was a statue against Aroldis Chapman, staring at three fastballs right down the middle. We're still trying to comprehend what happened.

Anthony Volpe's egregious at-bat has Yankees fans furious after loss to Red Sox

There's no better way to become the butt end of the joke among Red Sox fans than this. The Yankees still fail to learn. Even when it seems they've taken the momentum right back after sweeping the Sox in Boston, something inexplicable like this happens.

It's not lost on fans that Volpe is working his way back from shoulder surgery. He needs time to get more comfortable since 16 big league games isn't nearly enough. But he was completely floundering at Double-A and Triple-A before he was recalled. Plus, moments like this coupled with inconsistent defense have nothing to do with his injury. That's just baseball instinct and wherewithal.

Volpe's presence at the bottom of the lineup will more than likely reveal the team's biggest problem while Judge is on the shelf. The Yankees have the worst production in the league from their 7-8-9 hitters and it'll only worsen without the team's most prolific sluggers.

The fact of the matter is this: Anthony Volpe is Anthony Volpe. We have his first two seasons as hard evidence. Even if we gave him a "pass" for last year due to the injury, it doesn't take away from the various concerns that had already been present.

If there are more viral moments like this supporting Yankees fans' arguments in the coming weeks, the front office might be forced into another headline-grabbing move (Jasson Dominguez?) since there's little room for error with Judge missing at least two months.

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