Insane Jazz Chisholm quote admitting he doesn't know MLB rules should be a Yankees breaking point

We're getting to the point of the season where we can start to discern what's real and what's small-sample noise. One thing that's become clear is that the New York Yankees certainly aren't as good as their 7-1 start indicated, and players like Jazz Chisholm Jr. are a major reason why.

The Yankees have now lost four straight, and five of their last six, throwing away their chance tobury the battered Blue Jays and the slumping Red Sox early. The most recent loss, Saturday night's 5-4 extra-inning defeat at the hands of the Tampa Bay Rays, might be the most frustrating defeat in this current skid.

The Rays bunt-singled their way into a 4-4 tie and bases-loaded scenario with one out against David Bednar, when New York was given a gift in the form of a Jonathan Aranda chopper to second. Chisholm Jr. could've tagged the runner heading to second and then thrown to first to keep the team's hopes alive. Instead, he bobbled the ball and, in turn, the Yankees' chance at emerging victorious.

More egregious than the misplay itself was his reaction after the game, when he was seemingly unaware of how the rules worked in that situation. If he had fielded the ball cleanly and missed the tag, he still would have made an incorrect choice in a last-ditch effort to salvage things.

"I was really going to go try to tag the runner and just throw it to first. I don't know what the rule is. If I went to first base first and threw it back to second, if it's still an out. Is it still a double play? I don't know. Does it count as not an RBI?" Chisholm Jr. mused.

Trent Grisham, who was nearby, corrected him, "No, they'll score. They'll get there before the tag occurs at second."

Chisholm Jr.'s response, "Oh. Well, what I was trying to do in my mind probably wouldn't have worked anyway," will make you want to pull your hair out.

The Yankees have a growing accountability problem with Jazz Chisholm Jr.

Or maybe he threw to first when the game was already decided because he was trying to save himself an error and failed in those efforts, too?

It hasn't just been Chisholm Jr.'s miscues in the field that have cost the team. He's been one of the many Yankees regulars who haven't hit to start the season, though his "explanation" of his problem at the plate was rage-inducing.

“It's cold, it’s literally all it is… I’m not using it as an excuse. As soon as the weather heats up, I heat up, that’s what it is… it’s hard to function when you can’t even feel the bat,” he said, absolving himself of all responsibility for the early-season slump while simultaneously forgetting that it gets pretty cold in New York, Boston, Detroit, and many other potential playoff venues in October.

Jazz spent most of the offseason making outlandish claims. He set a goal of being the second player ever to join the 50-50 club. The free-agent-to-be is reportedly seeking a massive contract in the 8-to-10 year range with a $35 million AAV. Those things are really hard to achieve, especially when your head isn't in the game.

It has reached the point where fans are rightfully frustrated. Prolonged periods of sloppy baseball and a lack of accountability have long been issues, not just with regard to Chisholm Jr., but the club as a whole.

The star second baseman might have already played his way out of New York. It's hard to justify a nine-figure outlay for a player who doesn't know the rules, even if the deal he winds up receiving is closer to the six-year, $141 million pact that Nico Hoerner signed with the Chicago Cubs.

More pressing is the question of whether or not Aaron Boone will take this as an opportunity to send a message not only to Jazz, but to the team as well, and sit him down as a result of his poor performance. If history is our guide, the answer is no, and the Yankees will be worse off for it.