Aaron Boone Causes Fan Outrage With Lineup Decision Ahead of White Sox Game

Fans are angry at Boone for two reasons: one being the placement of the surging Ben Rice in the eight hole behind struggling shortstop Anthony Volpe, as well as the off-day for Trent Grisham, who blasted two home runs and six RBIs in the first three games of this set.

The decision to demote Rice in the order is likely due to lefty Martin Pérez being on the bump for Chicago; Rice's .755 OPS and .207 average against southpaws is considerably more human than his numbers against righties.

"Did somebody dare Boone to play the worst defensive lineup possible?" one fan wondered.

"Death, taxes, and Anthony Volpe batting 7th after a long slump," another joked.

The lineup also notably has Jose Caballero batting ninth and starting in left field, where he has only made nine starts this season, none of them being with the Yankees.

One player to watch is Amed Rosario, who was signed almost exclusively to start against lefties, in the five hole. Rosario has only made three starts since being traded to the Yankees, with his last one coming on August 26th.

Fans clearly sense the urgency in this last game against the miserable White Sox, as wins will soon not come easy.

However, the Astros recently lost Josh Hader to injury, and the predictably scary offense has scored four runs or fewer in six straight games (3-3). The Blue Jays have experienced the kind of bullpen turmoil the Yankees had earlier this month, with closer Jeff Hoffman and recent signing Louis Varland both struggling at the same time.

And the Tigers and Red Sox, well, they're still the Tigers and Red Sox. And as much as players like Aaron Judge claim to not be paying attention to outside noise, the Sox' recent two-game losing streak to the Pirates over the weekend might have them feeling good heading into this tough stretch.