The second-half of the 2022 Major League Baseball season hasn’t been kind to the New York Yankees.
Losers of 12 out of their last 15, the Yankees have hit the mother of all slumps. New York has dealt with a rash of injuries, bum luck and a pitching staff that has seen an almost universal dip in production, leading to their worst stretch of the season. Perhaps the worst part of the recent slump? They’ve caught Stephen A. Smith’s attention.
“The Yankees, you look like trash right now. You look like flat-out trash,” Smith said during Wednesday’s episode of ESPN’s “First Take.” “You worse than how it smells from the sewers in the Bronx. And I was born in the Bronx. I know what the hell I’m talking about. … Y’all straight garage. There’s more expected from the New York Yankees.”
Smith didn’t just call out the collective, however, he took aim at Aaron Judge.
“You’re Aaron Judge, you got 46 home runs, I appreciate that,” Smith said. “But damn, you’re 0-for-4 last night, 1-for-14 over the last four games? While y’all are bleeding, 1-6 in your last seven games.”
It was quite the move to focus any of the blame on Judge, who according to DraftKings Sportsbook is the odds-on favorite to take home the American League MVP award with -700 odds.
Judge leads all of baseball in home runs (46), runs (96), RBIs (100), walks drawn (66), slugging percentage (.667) and OPS (1.061) through 113 games. Apparently, that’s not enough if he’s going to have an 0-for-4 night in the middle of August.
