#What made Aaron Judge’s Yankees wait even more miserable

When Aaron Judge boards the Yankees bus that will take the team to a plane headed for Atlanta on Monday afternoon, it would help if he packed the same swing he had working before going on the injured list against his will.

Prior to a right calf problem landed Judge on the shelf he was hitting .290 (18-for-62) with nine homers, 20 RBIs and posted a 1.101 OPS in 17 games. After the Yankees went 1-for-21 with runners in scoring position against the Rays, Judge’s bat in the No. 2 spot will be a welcome sight.

“I am ready to go. Coming off the injury I know they are going to slow play it a little bit, maybe DH one of those days,’’ Judge said. “I already talked to [Aaron Boone] and told him, ‘I am ready whenever you need me.’ I am hoping to be in right field every single game.’’

That might be a little aggressive but the Yankees are without Giancarlo Stanton, DJ LeMahieu, Gleyber Torres who are on the IL. Add that to Brett Gardner and Aaron Hicks slumping and the up-and-down season Gary Sanchez has had at the plate and it’s easy to see Boone wanting to play Judge as much as possible.

Judge was eligible to come off the IL on Saturday but since the weekend Subway Series against the Mets at Citi Field was postponed due to a Mets player and coach testing positive for the coronavirus, Judge will have to wait until Tuesday night against the Braves.

After facing live pitching on Sunday at Yankee Stadium during a workout Judge still felt the IL wasn’t required and denied him a chance to familiarize himself further with the unique Rays pitching staff.

“I felt I could have been back in a couple of days. That is why I was so adamant about [not] going on the IL to begin with and especially to see the Rays again, our big opponent in the [AL] East,’’ said Judge, who missed all three games the Yankees dropped to the first-place Rays, who are a game ahead of the Yankees after a 5-4 win over the Blue Jays on Sunday. “Trying to get a couple more at-bats against their arms. They have a lot of good arms in the bullpen they keep bringing up. I know we have to play them down the road.’’

Obviously, Judge didn’t feel he needed more work at the alternate site in Scranton but did say he benefited from seeing Yankees pitchers during workouts.

“Just the past couple of days being able to get some live at-bats was nice and hitting off the machine the past couple of days was nice,’’ Judge said. “My swing facing some velocity has been good. I am ready. We tested it a couple of times on the base paths the past couple of days, running the bases and doing some sprints. I am ready to go.’’

Asked about the possibility of MLB using neutral sites for postseason games, Judge had a similar feeling about going on the IL.

“I am not a fan of it to be honest. This whole process takes away the point of winning. That is why we bust our butt all season to get home-field advantage and play in our home park,’’ Judge said. “I am hoping we can figure out a way not to do the bubbles in different regions and go back to what we have been doing all year.’’

What the Yankees need from Judge starting Tuesday is for him to go back to being the hitter he was before landing where he didn’t believe he should have been: the IL.