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Around the Empire
MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: Aaron Judge was not in the lineup yesterday against Cleveland. Aaron Judge will probably not be in the lineup against Cleveland today. Joe Girardi wanted to give Judge a couple of days off to get refreshed and recharged for their final push towards the postseason. Former Yankees legend Reggie Jackson believes that Judge just needs a bit of a course correction to get back on track, and that lots of great players go through this.
Newsday | Erik Boland and David Lennon: Shohei Otani. I would like him to play for the New York Yankees. With that in mind, Brian Cashman is on his way to Japan to take a look at the young Japanese pitcher. While it remains unclear if Otani will be posted over the winter, rumor has it that the Yankees are very interested in acquiring him. They will have some competition from the Red Sox, Dodgers, and others.
New York Daily News | Peter Botte: The Yankees better make the playoffs. If they don’t, this season will be a failure. Hal said so. Perhaps I’m exaggerating a tad, but the Yankees should probably make the playoffs this year. While it’s probably a bit earlier than expected for them, given everyone’s pre-season predictions, they have done well enough to at least earn a trip to the one-game elimination match. We’ll see.
New York Dailyl News | Christian Red and Peter Botte: Several players on both teams took some time to offer their remarks on the current devastating weather conditions affecting Houston, Texas. Jay Bruce and Caleb Smith have family down there and both urge everyone to help out in any way they can. David Robertson let everyone know via Twitter that his foundation, High Socks For Hope, is asking for donations to help out victims of Hurricane Harvey. If you are looking for a way to help, SBNation has a post on how you can.