Around the Empire: Yankees news - 9/14/18

NJ.com | Brendan Kuty: South Carolina native and resident Brett Gardner has moved his wife and two sons up to New York with Hurricane Florence set to come through the Carolinas this weekend. Gardner’s hometown, Holly Hill, isn’t near the coast, but it’s still unclear how the hurricane will affect the town.

ESPN | Coley Harvey: After the Yankees dropped Wednesday’s game against the Twins, their lead in the AL Wild Card shrank to just one game. Coley Harvey got reactions to the lead— or lack thereof— from Yankee players. While the Yankees once large lead has dwindled, there’s baseball to be played, and the sky isn’t falling just yet. The Yankees had Thursday off, but Oakland’s loss to Baltimore increased New York’s lead back up to a game and a half.

Pat Borzi | NY Times: It’s still unclear when Aaron Judge will return from the disabled list, but there are signs pointing to a return rather soon. Judge has taken batting practice a few times this week, and it would naturally follow that Judge will see game action soon. When he does return to the bigs, the Yankees and Aaron Boone will have some tough decisions to make in the outfield, especially with the newly-acquired Andrew McCutchen starting to heat up.

NY Post | George A. King: The Yankees have taken their fair share of criticism this past week, especially following the frustrating series loss to the Twins. Regardless, Hal Steinbrenner still threw his full support behind first-year manager, Aaron Boone.

NJ.com | Randy Miller: Randy Miller also supports the job the rookie manager has done so far, but he was less supportive than Steinbrenner. Specifically, Miller hasn’t loved the way Boone has handled his starters, bullpen, or Gary Sanchez this season.