Yankees chose remarkably unfair moment for Giancarlo Stanton's first at-bat in months

The story of Yankees-Rays ALDS Game 1 was Drew Rasmussen's near no-hitter until Austin Wells decided to steal the show (and the headlines) in the worst way possible for New York.

And while Yankees fans are heavily lamenting Wells' heavy legs and delusional outlook on Game 1's biggest blunder, there was another -- albeit smaller -- "mistake" made by Aaron Boone that's worth discussing: Was it prudent for Boone to use Giancarlo Stanton as a last-ditch pinch-hitter in the ninth inning?

Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton was placed in an impossible position in Game 1 vs. Rays

I'll clear the air here: I actually didn't hate the move from Boone. On a night when the Yankees couldn't get anything going offensively, Boone decided to be bold and throw Stanton into the fire. Did anyone really think Ryan McMahon was going to do anything in that spot? Stanton's come up huge in the biggest postseason moments before. If you're hoping for a ninth-inning miracle, why not place a bat in his hands and let him cook?

The alternative stance on Boone's decision -- that it was a bad one -- has plenty of bullet points supporting it. Stanton hasn't taken an MLB at-bat since April 24. Hitters need time to work themselves back into rhythm. The Yankees failed to get Stanton any at-bats during the Wild Card Series, despite there being opportunities in the latter innings of two blowouts to do so. Why should they expect Stanton to step under the brightest lights after five months in the shadows and see the baseball well?

There's also the fact that Rasmussen was no longer in the game, diminishing the "let's just mix things up against this guy who's dominating us" argument.

Stanton's at-bat against Bryan Baker went better than many probably expected. Stanton calmly laid off two pitches close to the zone and got the count to 2-2 before ultimately succumbing to a fastball inside -- but at least he took a big swing at it and didn't look completely uncomfortable. Boone's since said that he liked how Stanton looked during the at-bat, and I don't disagree.

Whether you liked Boone's gamble here or not, there's one thing everyone should be able to agree on: This wasn't a fair situation for Stanton. If you're going to defend Boone here, you're probably arguing that the best decision (or, in this case, perhaps the "least bad" decision) isn't always the fairest decision. In other words, when big decisions are getting made for a group, some individuals get the short end of the stick.

That's where I land with this one: This was a completely unfair position to put Stanton in, but not an entirely foolish move from Boone. If anything, Boone's mistake in all of this was not ensuring that Stanton got some game exposure during the ALWCS, which might've made him more lathered up for a moment like this on Saturday night.

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