The Yankees must drop Aaron Judge in the batting order

The great Aaron Judge needs to be moved down the batting order. Not all the way to the No. 8 hole, as was the case with Alex Rodriguez in 2006. But at least to the clean-up area.

It's hard to imagine Aaron Boone degrading his favorite player in the slightest (they're all his favorites, but he's his particular favorite, and for good reason). But it really should happen.

Judge just isn't himself this October.

In Game 1, Judge finished one for five with three strikeouts, batting .167 this October and suffered the indignity of being eliminated after the Dodgers intentionally sent Juan Soto to him in extra innings during the Yankees' 6-3 loss on Friday night .

The even bigger reason is that Giancarlo Stanton has become the terror of this postseason derby, scoring in his fourth straight game.

While Soto and Judge were the dynamic duo in the regular year for at least the decade, now it's Soto and Stanton who make up this great tandem.

Stanton's absolutely bombing home run (with Soto on board) scored the Yankees' first runs in their 5-3 loss in Game 1 over 10 innings.

Stanton wants a ring, like he said, and if you make a mistake with him, he won't miss it.

Stanton is a Los Angeleno (from Panorama City) and one reason he's a Yankee is that he cited his no-trade to the Giants because he didn't want to play for his hometown team's rival. He liked the idea of ​​being a Yankee and thrives in October – he's the perfect pinstriper in that regard.