Benching Jazz Chisholm Jr. wasn't Aaron Boone's worst infield mistake in Game 1 mess

For years, Yankees fans have begged Aaron Boone to abandon the book in crucial postseason series and attempt to recapture his long-lost gut and follow it. On Tuesday night, ahead of Game 1 of the Wild Card round, he followed the math and got his powerful lefties Ben Rice and Jazz Chisholm Jr. out of the lineup ahead of a battle with Garrett Crochet, who allows an OBP of .193 to left-handed batters. It's an uncomfortable choice, face-to-face with the worst draw possible, but Boone had the conviction to make it.

He didn't have the conviction to stick with it, though. In the process, he turned a ninth-inning rally into a farce, and fractured his relationship with a rare star in the midst of a 30-30 season. The decision was made to help the Yankees' chances of winning. The indecision later on may have set them back indefinitely.

Boone, renowned for his legendary communication skills, reportedly texted Chisholm Jr. on Monday night and informed him he wouldn't be starting. No discord has been reported stemming from this moment in time. As Chisholm said (angrily, into a cluster of coats), "We gotta do whatever we gotta do to win, right? That's how I look at it." That's a mature response, made in a somewhat immature manner at a low moment.

The issue, though, was that Boone went half in, substituting Chisholm Jr. in for defense in the eighth inning immediately after Rosario had batted in the seventh. That meant that, even if the Yankees managed to force Crochet from the game in the eighth (they did, only barely), Chisholm Jr. likely wouldn't be hitting against anyone other than Aroldis Chapman.

Rosario, 6-for-9 against Crochet entering the game with a very recent home run to his name, also happens to be 3-for-7 against Chapman with two home runs. In fact, he once walked him off in Yankee Stadium as a member of the Mets.

Aaron Boone removing Amed Rosario and facilitating Aroldis Chapman's dominance was another Yankees disaster

Would Boone leaving Rosario in have led to a thunderous, rally-capping double in the ninth? Impossible to say. Giancarlo Stanton winding up at the plate with the bases loaded was just about the best-case scenario, and that didn't work out as intended.

It feels safe to assume, though, that Rosario would've given them a better shot than a cold and disgruntled Chisholm Jr., who argued a clear strike before flipping a medium-deep flyout to right.

If Boone had stuck with Rosario in yet another favorable matchup and won the game, Chisholm Jr. would've likely lightly burned inside, but he would've understood. He yearns to win. He's a competitor. He would've pocketed the slight and been ready to attack Game 2.

Now, after being flip-flopped in and out of a loss and nearly discarded? He's been bruised, and not just on the forearm.

Boone should've likely made the mental calculus and started Chisholm Jr. and Rosario instead of Jose Caballero. He also shouldn't have foolishly course-corrected and helped Chapman wriggle out of a soul-sucking jam at the most gut-wrenching possible time. If you want to blame Boone for his platoon lineup, blame him specifically for the way it ended — in the eighth inning, a half-hour too soon.