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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — There were times Friday, Aaron Boone admitted, when he thought that Aaron Judge was going to be on the ALDS roster.
In all likelihood, it would have been just as a pinch hitter, possibly with a chance to be a full player later in the best-of-five series against the Rays if his right calf allowed. That was all part of the discussion when Boone sat down with Judge and director of sports medicine and rehab Mike Schuck in his office at Tropicana Field after Friday's workout. The manager then asked for an hour to think it through even more before ultimately coming to the decision to leave Judge off the roster for the second straight round.
"In the end, I just feel like he's not quite ready to do it," Boone said Saturday in that same office before Game 1 of the ALDS. "He wanted to be on and was willing to do anything, but I just felt like for us to win a World Series — and fully acknowledging with him, and I understand this, obviously there's no guarantees. We could be home in a week.
"B...