All eyes continue to be on Aaron Judge as he tries to get to home run #61. Surely the Maris family is hoping to get this over with as they are now on the road with the Yankees and who wants to go to Texas next week? SU says he will get there and when he hits #61, he will hit #62 in the same game.

But the bigger issue for Brian Cashman and the Yankees is who to put on the post-season roster. Some decisions are easy (Frankie Montas: No, no no) but did you see the story from CBS Sports that Cashman is considering Designating For Assignment Aroldis Chapman? Chapman is a free agent after this season and the Yankees have no interest in bringing him back (there goes his number retirement – just kidding). But it shows just how low Chapman has gone in 2022. He is too much of a risk to pitch in October UNLESS they can straighten him out in the next 8 games. Unfortunately, the Yankees do not have a locked down closer and that will haunt them in the post-season. No 9th inning will go smoothly.

Other decisions:

1. Matt Carpenter – Cashman thinks he may play in Texas next week. SU says he has to go on the roster. Left-handed bat and there are so few.
2. DJ LeMahieu – SU would actually keep him off unless he shows he can hit with this toe issue. He had almost no extra base hits for a month before he went on the IL. He needs to be honest about what he can do. Obviously, prefer to have him in the line up but not like this.
3. Aaron Hicks – NO. Unless you need a late game doubleplay, no use.
4. Andrew Benintendi – apparently he is getting his stiches out shortly and might be ready. The question is whether he can get enough practice at bats in – not clear. At this point, SU is much more comfortable with Oswaldo Cabrera. He can play every position. Energetic, spark plug. Must be on the roster.

SU knows the Yankees score a lot of runs but having a line up of .220 hitters is painful to watch. Judge is the outlier. No way he bats lead-off in the post-season. The 7 – 9 hitters never get on base and it’s not helpful having him lead off so many times. And, I am sorry. No more comments about how Rizzo and Stanton have had such “productive” seasons. SU does not care about just home runs and RBIs. Hitting .220 is not productive with 500 – 600 at bats. Yes, you can win the World Series that way with great pitching but it means a lot of luck.

The NY Giants continue to play hard and are in every game. SU says Barkley is your best player. You have to put the ball in his hands much more often – especially on pass plays. Jones is running for his life on every play and a short pass to Barkley is often your best bet. Adjustments on play calling please.

Keep your eye on the NL East. Season’s best race all year long. The Mets and Braves go head to head this weekend in Atlanta and it’s huge. It’s the difference to having to beat the Dodgers vs. having to beat the Braves and the Dodgers in October. SU continues to give the nod to the Mets in having a deep playoff run vs. the Yankees.

Finally, the Laver Cup this weekend was great entertainment for an exhibition. First, the Federer send-off was great. Second, you saw how the top 3 players in the world have mutual respect for Federer and each other. Federer, Nadal and Djokovic set the tone for 15 years of how top rivals can compete at the highest level but still respect each other and the game. Others have clearly followed and it’s actually much more fun to watch vs. the antics in the past of McEnroe, Connors, Nastase, etc. Kyrgios did not get the message and he has a large following. But men’s tennis is in a good place for years to come now. Francis Tiafoe continues to be a prime time competitor and no one works the crowd better. Great for the sport.

I don’t think the answer is obvious on this one. On the one hand, if Judge had signed a long-term deal before the season started, would he have played with the same level of intensity? Would he have been as motivated? Would he have felt pressure to justify the big contract? More likely to pace himself and take some games off?

As he is playing now for his next contract, he obviously took a huge risk. He could have had a season like Stanton’s (.210) with injuries and an inability to get on base. Or Judge could have had a more typical season with lots of strikeouts and the inevitable trip to the Injury List for a couple of months. Given his numbers this year, it’s all the more impressive as he is basically putting his career year together at the perfect time in his walk year. Most players would have fallen short, gotten distracted with all of the questions about his contract and probably under-performed. Judge is on the verge of winning the Triple Crown which is almost as remarkable an achievement as passing Roger Maris in home runs. No doubt (assuming he doesn’t fail a drug test) he will be viewed as the true, legitimate single season home run leader given that McGwire, Bonds and Sosa are all tainted by PEDs.

You have to figure the Yankees will do whatever it takes to keep Judge. And the likelihood is that his future years will involve some injuries as that has been his M.O. for most of his career. And of course, the long-term deals always end badly for the last few years. But Judge is the face of the franchise, always does the right thing, respects the game and his teammates as well as the opposition. And who knows? Maybe the home plate umpires will even figure out that the low strike calls below his knees are actually balls.

Judge’s numbers in a year when the average batting average is .242 is amazing given that he is a slugger. And by the way, he IS the MVP. The Yankees are a middle of the pack team without Judge in the AL East this year.

Frankie Montas to the IL. Thank goodness. Not a New York kind of performer. No need to put him on the post-season roster. Harrison Bader with 2 hits and 3 rbis in his first game with the Yankees. A week’s worth of production for Hicks. You have to hope Stanton’s grand slam will finally get him going now. He is huge for their post-season chances. Yankee bullpen is gassed due to so many 5-inning starts by the starters. Just too much usage. Chapman looked surprisingly good last night; he may be ready to take back the closer role.

Roger Federer says good bye this weekend playing one last doubles match Friday night – most likely with Nadal. Pretty cool.

Will Judge be a $300 million man this off season?

SU says do not draw too many conclusions from the first week of NFL action. My experience is that a win creates unrealistically high expectations for teams that win, and for teams that lose, well “there goes the season” is usually just too negative. The truth is somewhere in the middle unless you are talking about the NY teams where the 1st series of the game is representative of what the season will bring.

SU does make this observation. The desire of NFL head coaches to avoid injuries in the preseason games (which is certainly justified) causes the simplest plays to become challenging in the first game of the season. Did you see the Bengals try and kick and extra point or a game winning field goal in OT? Yikes. There were so many missed field goals and fumbled snaps yesterday.

For NY fans, you have to get the Red Zone Channel. Of course, you need to be ready to be over-stimulated with scoring plays for 6 hours which as we get older is not a great thing. But it is just not fair to generally be limited to watching the Jets and Giants for 17 weeks. SU must admit that I tuned in to the Giants game for most of the 4th quarter and give props to the new coach for going for the 2-point conversion and the win. This strategy probably won’t work next time but no doubt he won his players’ hearts and minds with that move even if the Titans had converted on that last second field goal attempt. Good for NY football fans to get that first win out of the way before we are into October.

The men’s tennis world anointed 19-year old Carlos Alcaraz as the next great thing with his US Open win. He has the whole game, can volley at the net and is super fast. Will he win 20 grand slams? Hey, it’s still early but he has the mindset and attitude to do it. He also has the #1 target on his back now and big expectations so we will see. But he seems like a great kid and is respectful of his opponents following in the footsteps of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic who certainly have always carried themselves well on the court whether winning or losing. SU is also hoping that Tiafoe can continue to improve and polish his game now that he has had a taste of winning a Grand Slam. He is the consummate entertainer but needs to show that he can do this in the other tournaments. His strokes are a bit unorthodox but he is good for tennis and especially American tennis.

Finally, the Yankees have righted the ship for a week. Thank goodness for the Minnesota Twins. Aaron Hicks also did Aaron Boone a major favor by not hustling after a dropped fly ball on Friday night causing the fans to erupt (when they are chanting “Joey Gallo, Joey Gallo” at you, well, that is not a good thing). Boone pulled him from the game and that will make it easier for Boone to never play Hicks again this season (could happen). Gleyber Torres has reawakened and Stanton is showing signs of getting hot and we know that when he gets hot, it lasts for several weeks. The Rays have a lot of Toronto and Houston on the schedule down the stretch and it’s hard to see them running the table. SU likes having the rookies play and I am interested to see what Harrison Bader is all about as he is about a week away.

At this point, a “successful” season for the Yankees has to mean getting to the World Series. The Mets are hanging on to their first place lead with the Braves in hot pursuit. That is actually a big deal as the first place team avoids the Dodgers until the NLCS while the wild card will have to go through the Dodgers in the Division round. That is a reason to do what is necessary to win the Division at the expense of resting players for the playoffs.

Brian Cashman must be excited this morning. Rizzo gets an epidural shot for his back and will be out this weekend. Benintendi feels a pop in his wrist while swinging and is going for an MRI today. That will not be a good outcome. Assuming that Aaron Hicks is not in the lineup, Cashman can now field an entirely right-handed lineup. Perfect in Yankee Stadium with the short porch in right field (not). Opponents are going to make sure that they throw only right-handed pitchers against the Yankees the rest of the way.

The epic collapse this year is in full swing now on this road trip. The Yankees’ road record is down to 34 – 33. Amazing after the great start to the season. The fans on Twitter are up in arms and are looking to fire both Boone and Cashman. SU does not feel like it’s Boone’s fault. The roster offensively is so limited – he has has few choices to mix and match. The Montgomery trade was a head scratcher (6 shutout innings last night for the Cardinals) and Montas is looking like a big-time bust.

As pointed out by long-time subscriber, M. Benowich,a few weeks ago, losing the division title this year will go down in the record books as an all-time collapse. That was a 15-game lead at one point. They may hang on as Tampa Bay and Toronto have a lot of head-to-head games remaining but the Yankees need a spark from somewhere and it’s likely going to have to be a minor leaguer.

SU has to comment on Serena Williams. While I have never been a fan, I have no issue with the tennis world giving her a nice send-off in this US Open. Now, the coverage on ESPN has been way over the top (I mean there are limits to this). SU’s issue with Serena goes back to her behavior at the US Open in two events where she threatened a lineswoman in one and then the umpire more recently. Zero mention of any of those incidents anywhere as no doubt it is all chalked up to “she’s an uber competitor who has fought for everything her entire life.” Fair statement. My other issue is that when Serena wins, it’s all about Serena. When she loses, it’s all about Serena. Usually no mention about the opponent and maybe being outplayed or giving credit to the other player. Same story last night for Tomljanovic who played the match of her life at 29 under the most trying circumstances. She prevailed in 3 hours with 23,000 fans cheering every service fault.

Yes, yes, yes – I get it. This was Serena’s moment but for SU, just continued a career long pattern. That’s it – you can disagree and I have no issue with that.

I think Alcaraz is now ready to break through with his first major. Nadal seems vulnerable as he continues to play himself into shape, and he would have to beat Alcaraz and Medvedev to win it all. Certainly possible but it feels like a big lift when he is not 100% health-wise.