Yankees' bizarre exclusion of Aaron Judge in pregame intros sets odd tone vs. Red Sox

After much consternation (or at least some consternation?), the New York Yankees left Aaron Judge off their Wild Card Series roster against the Boston Red Sox.

"I just felt like he wasn't quite ready," Aaron Boone told reporters on Tuesday after huddling with Judge and the team's trainers after a Monday night BP session to communicate his final message prior to the start of the series. Judge clearly hopes to be available if the Yankees move on to the ALDS to face the Tampa Bay Rays, which would still represent a lofty recovery goal, given his "moderate" calf strain. Still, the work continued on Tuesday pregame, as Judge finally ran on the field after working out mostly behind the scenes.

Oddly, that was the last time Judge was seen on the field before Tuesday's series opener. Though the Yankees introduced several inactive players on the baseline before the National Anthem, Judge was not included, resurfacing at the top step of the dugout just before the game was set to begin.

It's not the end of the world. But it is odd, right? Paired with Judge seemingly disputing his manager's assessment of his readiness last week, there's been a strange taste accompanying the Captain's actions over the past week of prep work.

Yankees captain Aaron Judge stayed off the field, out of the spotlight ahead of Game 1 vs. Red Sox

In a last-minute bait and switch, Giancarlo Stanton did make the roster after injuring his calf in April in Houston, then suffering several setbacks along the way. He will be exclusively used as a pinch-hitter and looming big body, which is kind of how fans envisioned the best-case scenario for Judge as well.

Ironically, Judge initially hurt his rib in the same series in Houston, diving in right field while the Yankees were down six runs in the series finale of a three-game set they'd already won.

Judge's competitive fire certainly led the way in dictating his behavior for the past week, and who could blame him? He's often held accountable for the Yankees' lack of titles under his stewardship, and now he'll be missing the start of their latest run (at the very least) after fighting for months to return from a separate ailment. Maybe he wasn't sure how the fans would react to him. Maybe he thought they'd perceive him as ducking the challenge, even though he worked overtime to dispute that notion over the past several days. Maybe he thought the cheers for him would steal the spotlight from his active teammates.

More than likely, he just felt odd. And that's all this was. Odd.

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