Jazz Chisholm blasting Stephen A. Smith for stupid Aaron Judge take was an all-timer

We sat here wondering if it'd even be worth anyone's time to put Stephen A. Smith on blast for another one of his ill-informed takes, and initially we decided there was enough depressing New York Yankees content to go around. So we decided against it.

But then Jazz Chisholm's music hit the jumbotron and he came outta nowhere to do the dirty work for Yankees fans everywhere.

During an episode of "First Take" this week on ESPN, Smith, the highest-paid sports analyst in the game, suggested Aaron Judge's massive 2024 success is tied to Juan Soto "batting behind" him. Has Soto's presence helped? Absolutely. But Smith obviously missed the mark here completely.

First of all, Soto bats in front of Judge, so, if anything, Judge is protecting Soto and helping his new teammate's numbers see a boost (which they have). Secondly, Judge has already performed at this level multiple times in the past without Soto hitting alongside him. Remember 2017 when he was robbed of the MVP? Remember his record-setting 2022? He finished fourth in the MVP voting in 2021. And all of his injury-shortened seasons were abbreviated MVP-caliber campaigns.

Chisholm, another Yankees newcomer, was very much in the know about all that and he decided to drop the hammer on Stephen A. all by himself.

Jazz Chisholm blasting Stephen A. Smith for stupid Aaron Judge take was an all-timer

Oh man! And he threw Shohei Ohtani's name in there! Because if we're talking about MVP-caliber players who are seeing peak success, analysts can't be discounting the fact Ohtani has spent most of 2024 being sandwiched in between Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman (or leading off with one of those two hitting behind him).

Additionally, if you look at the rest of the Yankees' lineup, Soto represents the only other consistent force on the Yankees. Judge is leading the way, and though there's a solid supporting cast of Chisholm, Giancarlo Stanton and Austin Wells, their presences haven't been consistent.

Chisholm arrived in late July and missed 10 days with an elbow injury. Stanton missed over 40 games due to a hamstring injury. Wells only started becoming more of a lineup fixture over the last couple months, and manager Aaron Boone still hasn't declared him the starting catcher.

The Yankees' lineup is littered with below-average hitters, which actually makes Judge's (and Soto's) success even more impressive. It's essentially a two-man show, whereas the Dodgers have six regulars (not including Ohtani) with an OPS+ exceeding 100. The Yankees? Three outside of Judge and Soto, and they're all the aforementioned players. Wells has suited up for 92 games, Stanton for 91, and Chisholm for 20.

OK, now we're getting too impassioned. Let's just have Chisholm's tweet do all the talking. It's better that way.