It’s only been a short while since Aaron Judge faced heat for his calm demeanor after the New York Yankees’ sweep by the Toronto Blue Jays. He emphasized channeling his energy to focus on the upcoming series against the Mets instead of dwelling on the loss to the Blue Jays. Little did he know that the criticism was only going to get multiplied tenfold amidst the Subway Series.

After surrendering the opener to the New York Mets 6-5, the Bronx bombers returned to Citi Field on Saturday hoping to shift the odds. However, they couldn’t. The Mets dominated the slumping Yankees by 12-6 in the second game.

Apparently, manager Aaron Boone views the Yankees’ slump as the result of their recent six-game losing streak. Still, more than him, the one under the most undesirable spotlight after the second straight loss to the Mets was Aaron Judge.

⁣

Speaking with SNY, when he was asked if the Yankees’ six-game losing streak took a toll on the team, he didn’t hesitate to say, “No.” The calm exterior and his visible lack of urgency drew scrutiny once again.

He further added, “You just gotta play better. Making the routine plays routine—it’s just the little things what it comes down to. But every good team goes through a couple bumps in the road but we can’t let it falter what our ultimate goal is. We gotta keep pushing forward and we know what we need to do. We will take care of business.” In the wake of repeated collapse, Judge’s grounded and calm response triggered the questions about his captaincy all over again.

Across the last 6 games, the Yankees have recorded a poor 8.36 ERA. And the bullpen? It hasn’t been helpful either. They gave up 22 earned runs across 12 innings. Now the Yankees, especially Judge and Boone, can simply hope to not get swept by the Mets in Sunday’s game. That might slow down the backlash on Judge’s captaincy.

Yankees’ nation boils over Judge’s reaction

After losing 16 out of the last 22 games, the Yankees don’t have their seven-game lead in the AL East anymore. With each loss piling up, the backlash on Judge’s leadership grows louder.

Aaron Judge has been the face of the franchise. For a while now, fans have been expecting Judge to match their level of frustration. The growing disappointment now says, “Not my Captain.” But in Judge’s defense, he’s just not somebody who can be brutal about his own team. Be it a hard-fought win or a brutal loss, he wouldn’t lose his composure. The thing is, he will never lose faith in his teammates. “Nothing really can shake this team on the inside or kind of get us off our game plan.” That has been his stance even before the Yankees’ six-game losing streak.

Another fan noted, “You might not even make the playoffs atp so maybe adjust your goals.” The Yankees are currently 48-41, and with their record dropping, the culprits seem to be their lapses in offense and pitching. As per FanGraphs, the Yankees still have an 84.8% chance of making it to the playoffs. However, some fixing and adjusting strategies might help the team to come back into their form.

But it’s not just after the second game of the Subway Series, but for a while now, fans have been slamming Judge’s media appearances. “Judge is usually masterful w the media. This s– ain’t gonna fly too many more days. Time to change the message, Cap. Boats taking on water too fast. Ships sinking.” It was a clear warning to the Yankees and, most importantly, Judge himself. Captain America’s stance after the second loss to the Mets was, “every good team goes through a couple bumps.” And this very statement earned the most backlash. According to Yankees’ nation, the ‘couple bumps’ don’t align with losing six back-to-back games.

When Judge backs his team even after numerous miscues, it doesn’t sit well with fans. “We need a ‘enough is enough’ moment. Someone needs to bring out the belt in that baby-soft locker room #Yankees.” That was harsh, even if metaphorically. However, the ‘enough is enough’ moment once did exist in the locker room with Derek Jeter’s captaincy. Back then, the Yankees played regular-season games with playoff spirit. A former Yankee reliever, Phil Hughes, revealed, “You didn’t want to disappoint Jeter. That was the last thing you wanted.” He had that aura, as of what the Yankees’ nation implies.

Now, fans believe it’s just Jeter who can fix the Yankees. “Jeter needs to sit his a– down and let him know what the expectation as a Yankee should be, not Boone’s country club expectations.” According to Bleacher Creatures, Judge has been too lenient with the team and the piling up of losses. And Boone, he’s under fire too for his lack of urgency in making roster changes.

With every loss and every media appearance from Judge, the criticism has simply been growing. Now, only time will tell if they make the required changes or not!