This ex-Yankee believes Jazz Chisholm had every right to have some beef with his manager.
Former outfielder and YES Network analyst Cameron Maybin quote tweeted a clip of Chisholm speaking to the media with his back turned after not starting Tuesday’s 3-1 Game 1 wild-card loss to the Red Sox and said the second baseman had every right to be perturbed.
“I’m not even mad at Jazz….he should be pissed,” Maybin posted late Tuesday night.
“The man just had a 30-30 season and then gets treated like a platoon player is unacceptable. The third player in Yankees history to achieve a 30-30 season (joining Bobby Bonds and Alfonso Soriano).”
The Yankees instead played Amed Rosario at second base over Chisholm, opting for the righty bat who entered the game 6-for-9 with a homer against Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet.
Jose Caballero started at third place over Ryan McMahon, who posted a ghastly .534 OPS against lefties this year.
Chisholm actually held his own against lefties this year, hitting .248 with a .733 OPS while posting a 31-31 (homers, steals) season, adding to the controversy of the decision.
Chisholm entered as a defensive replacement for Rosario in the eighth, yet the situation the Yankees wanted to avoid come to fruition in the ninth inning when he faced lefty Aroldis Chapman in a critical situation.
Fellow lefty Ben Rice also did not start but, unlike Chisholm, did not even enter the game.
“As tough as Crochet is, he has been especially tough on lefties,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said before the game. “There’s no great matchup. Amed has good history with him. Hit him well, faced him a lot this year. Felt like I wanted that extra right-handed bat in there.”
Boone’s decisions backfired with Caballero and Rosario going 0-for-5 against Crochet and 0-for-6 overall.
With the bases loaded and one out and the Red Sox nursing that 3-1 lead, Chisholm hit a soft fly to right that did not advance the runners.
Chapman then struck out Trent Grisham to end the game.
Chisholm later gave an awkward interview at his locker in which he answered questions with his back to the media while rummaging through his belongings.
“I guess. Yeah,” Chisholm said when asked if the decision to bench him caught him by surprise. “It’s a little conversation, but not much. Just move forward after it.”
Chisholm surely will be in the lineup Wednesday for Game 2 against righty Brayan Bello, although ex-Yankees Joba Chamberlain seemingly joked how you can’t take it for granted.
“I wonder what freaking line up will be out there tomorrow,” Chamberlain posted to X. “Naw don’t play Jazz or Ben Rice who is hot…..got it.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
