After winning last year's Home Run Derby, Aaron Judge doesn't see himself defending the crown, and that's absolutely fine. There's nothing to the idea that the Derby causes players to slump in the second half of the season, but that's not the point. Judge did it once, won it, and what more does he really have to prove? Plus, it's his choice anyway, assuming that he would be one of the invitees anyway, which is no guarantee. It's one of those things that people will make a stink about, but the Derby still will be fun anyway, and they should really do a streaming version of the old-school Home Run Derby, taped during the offseason, so that it's not as much of a hassle to players in the middle of the year.
Hal Steinbrenner met the media at spring training this week, and Locked On Yankees' Larry Fleisher has a full breakdown of what the principal owner of the Yankees had to say, and what it all meant.
Back on the field, Justus Sheffield had another rocky outing and was among the first cuts of camp. He wasn't going north with the team anyway, and this spring wasn't about numbers, either. So, it's fine to move on from that to Mailbag Friday and a rant about salary cap systems. You may not believe it, but the Yankees probably would benefit if MLB had one.
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