The Captain Is Out, And The Clock Is Running

Judge has a moderate right calf strain, and nobody should’ve expected it to heal in a week. “I haven’t talked to Judge ever in my life, and I knew he wasn’t gonna be on the roster.” He questioned Aaron Boone’s timeline anyway, the second straight year he’s done that. “I don’t like the fact that he’s thrown his manager under the bus two years in a row now for no reason.”

Everyone expects him to try to play through it. “It’s literally his job to get his body ready to play.” Saying so out loud just gave fans false hope.

Judge turns 35 next year, which leaves three prime seasons at best and more likely two. “Three years is not a lot, we’re on the wrong side of this thing.” After Game 7 of the 2017 ALCS, another dynasty looked like it was on the way. It hasn’t felt that way since 2021.

“It may not feel like it, but it might end up being their best shot in the Aaron Judge window where we’re currently at.”

One More Thing

With Judge out, the lineup won’t carry this team. “Their rotation is going to have to carry them to the World Series.” Gerrit Cole, Max Fried and Carlos Rodón are healthy and fresher than they’ve been in years, so there’s no excuse for a drop-off. Outside of Judge and Boone, Fried carries the most pressure. “You’re paying him big money to produce in the post season. He sucked last year in the post.”

Tonight belongs to Cam Schlittler, the Walpole, Mass., kid who’s owned Boston since last October. “At this point, the Cam Schlittler versus the Red Sox rivalry is better than the Yankees versus the Red Sox rivalry.”

“I don’t want to hear the excuses. Go get it done.”

The full episode is available below and on YouTube.

On the latest edition of The Sal Licata Show, Sal made the case that the Yankees are overthinking their Wild Card rotation. If Cam Schlittler is their best pitcher, he should get the ball in Game 1 against Tampa Bay.

Start With The Best Pitcher

The Yankees can run every rest scenario, matchup split and possible ALDS Game 5 through the computer. They’ve still got to win the first game before any of that matters.

“Why would you mess around with having Cam Schlittler start Game 2? Like, what are we doing here? Why are you overthinking it?”

Schlittler won’t be ready for Game 1 of the Division Series whether he starts the first or second game of the Wild Card round. Start him in Game 1, get ahead in the series, and deal with the next round if the Yankees get there.

There’s a case for saving him. A Game 1 win gives him the chance to close the series in Game 2. A Game 1 loss puts him on the mound with the season on the line. That approach leaves the opener to somebody else while the Yankees wait on their best arm.

“I would just not overthink it. Start Cam Game 1. Expect to win Game 1.”

Schlittler gets Game 1. Max Fried gets Game 2. A Game 3 starter only matters if the series gets that far. Rodón’s been better at home, making a road start against Tampa Bay a tougher sell.

The Yankees have their best arm. Start him.

One More Thing

The Giants can’t lose to Tennessee at home and expect the conversation around the season to stay the same. Jackson Dart is out for the year. A loss to the Titans would turn the focus from getting through the injury to wondering how much progress the new regime has really made.

“This is what Harbaugh is here for. He is here to build the structure, build the foundation, build this team the right way so they can compete no matter the circumstances.”

Jameis Winston gets a full week to prepare. The Giants are at home against a Tennessee team they’re favored to beat. A win won’t answer every question about the rest of the season. It would give Harbaugh a chance to show that the operation can hold up when the quarterback plan changes in September.

On today’s edition of The Sal Licata Show, a day after winning a New York Emmy for his work as an anchor on Baseball Night in New York, Sal argued that Aaron Judge is picking the wrong fight with Aaron Boone. Boone said the Yankees aren’t expecting Judge back from a right calf strain for the Wild Card Series, and Judge answered that he plans to play anyway.

Same Fight, Second Year

This happened last season too. Boone said on the show that Judge’s arm wouldn’t be 100 percent coming off the IL, and Judge took issue with it. Boone was being straight with people then, and he’s being straight now. “Boone never said Judge was out. He was just being transparent.”

Calf strains take weeks, and the Wild Card Series opens Tuesday. “This type of injury generally takes a few weeks. You guys do the math. The schedule says we’re playing next week.” Judge’s line about getting his body ready doesn’t settle anything. “The answer is, are you playing or are you not?”

“It felt like Judge flexing his power within the Yankee organization.”

The frustration makes sense, since nobody wants to miss Red Sox-Yankees in October in the Bronx. Talking about playing right field on a strained calf is where it stops adding up. “I feel like he wants to sound like a conquering superhero.” That raises an awkward question about a season in which the Yankees lost the division: “Was he not hurt in the regular season? What happened to that body? That’s different from everybody else.”

The one thing that could change the outlook is Giancarlo Stanton, who’s been running around in the outfield and taking live batting practice in Double-A after a calf strain that looked like it could end his season. A Tuesday lineup with both Judge and Stanton in it “would change the way that I feel about the Yankees going into this wild card series.” Until that happens, the pick is Boston: “Right now, I would favor, unfortunately, I think the Sox, even with Cam Schlittler likely going in game one.”

One More Thing

The Giants’ Jimmy Garoppolo buzz is about finding a backup. “Jimmy G at this point, he’s toast.” “Jameis Winston is their best option, period, end of story.” The anger goes to Joe Schoen, who said Jaxson Dart would be OK before the MRI showed a season-ending injury. Misleading the fan base like that should have cost Schoen his job, and he “should have been fired to begin with.” The season isn’t over yet, though: “I’m not ready to throw in the towel on the season yet.”

Watch the episode below and catch The Sal Licata Show every weekday at 9 a.m. on YouTube.

The big takeaway

A month ago, Green said he didn’t want the job because he wanted more time with his family. Now he has it for three years. The reluctance was a hedge: “He wanted the job and he threw the family stuff out there as an excuse in the event that the Mets wanted to go in a different direction.”

The process doesn’t hold up either. The Mets said there’d be a search, “and there wasn’t a search.” The media and fans have fallen hard for a manager who hasn’t earned it yet, a guy who was “a 90 plus game loser for four years” in San Diego. The late push came from Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor getting healthy.

“He’s managed under zero pressure at all. Has never had to deal with adversity since becoming the Mets manager.”

All of it lands on David Stearns, who hired Carlos Mendoza over Green in the first place. “So if Andy Green’s the perfect fit, well then why’d you choose Mendy instead of him in the first place?” Patience is gone with a front office that “can’t sniff the playoffs” while the owner spends billions. If Stearns ever wins a World Series, “I’ll dress up as RoboCop.” Until then, Green’s first full season carries one expectation: “It’s going to be, hey, you better go out there and win and get to the playoffs or else.”

One more thing

Jaxson Dart’s reported season-ending injury is the worst thing to happen to New York sports this year. “I don’t think there could have been a worse blow to New York sports.” Dart belongs with Jalen Brunson and Aaron Judge as the athletes this city can least afford to lose. The Giants aren’t finished, though: “I still believe that Harbaugh will get this team to be competitive.” And “Jameis Winston is a better option” than any of the names being floated.

The full episode is available below and on YouTube: The Sal Licata Show Episode 173

The big takeaway

A Yankees team that fails to win its division has failed, and no injury excuse changes that. Judge’s latest setback is legitimate, but it doesn’t absolve the outcome.

“This is why it’s a bad Yankee season. It should never be accepted.”

The timing makes it worse. Judge got hurt again with the postseason roughly a week away and the AL East already decided, one of two reasons fans should feel uneasy heading into October. The Red Sox are the matchup to fear most in a potential series, ahead of the Rays.

For Yankees fans, the team heads into meaningful October baseball having already underachieved its way into a tougher path, injury or not. This isn’t a call for anyone’s job, but it is a call for accountability for what has become an annual repeat.

“Something needs to change. I’m not advocating for firing Cashman, firing Boone, but something’s got to change because they do the same thing every single year and it hasn’t worked.”

One more thing

Pete Alonso’s monster 40-homer season doesn’t change his Hall of Fame outlook. The math is simple: Alonso sits at 304 career home runs and would need roughly 35 per year across six seasons to reach 500, the real threshold. It’s a reality check, not a knock on his value to the Mets.

“I don’t look at Pete as a Hall of Famer, and I’m not sold.”

Catch the full episode on YouTube, including the full breakdown of Alonso’s Hall of Fame case, and watch The Sal Licata Show every weekday at 9 a.m. ET.

I've spent my whole career talking New York sports, and this is the show I've always wanted to do — no filter, just me and you going back and forth. I'm not here to talk at you. I'm here to build something with the most passionate fans in the world, every single day. Let's argue. Let's celebrate. Let's have some fun.

- SL