How long did it take for controversy to find the Miami Marlins in the 2022 season? About one game.
The Marlins lost their Opening Day on Friday game to the San Francisco Giants but Jazz Chisholm stood out at the plate. He went 2-for-3 with a walk. One of his hits was a dramatic two-run home run two-run home run in the ninth inning to turn a one-run deficit into a one-run lead. The Giants would tie it in the bottom of the ninth and win it in the 10th. Still, Chisholm’s effort stood out.
Only, it didn’t stand out enough for him to be in Saturday’s starting lineup.
Pablito is up.
👀: @BallySportsFL
👂: @FoxSports940, @radiomambi710
⌚️: 4:05PM ET #MakeItMiami pic.twitter.com/VylWAGx1Y4— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) April 9, 2022
Chisholm was not happy.
On Saturday morning, when he saw the lineup, the young star tweeted, “THAT’s F***ING CRAZY!!”
Chisholm didn’t outwardly say that his tweet was about the lineup. But looking at the rest of his Twitter activity, it’s not exactly the leap of the century.
Ben Verlander of Fox Sports noted that Chisholm retweeted a tweet critical of him being left out of the lineup.
Confirmed @j_chisholm3 is NOT happy he’s not in the lineup today.
Rightfully so! LET THE KID PLAY!! HE’S GOOD FOR BASEBALL AND ELECTRIFIES YOUR TEAM ⚡️⚡️⚡️ pic.twitter.com/VTlcbqzVxi
— Ben Verlander (@BenVerlander) April 9, 2022
And for good measure, Chisholm retweeted that — and another lineup critique — as well.
Craig Mish, who covers the Marlins for the Miami Herald, weighed in.
Marlins Second Baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr is not in today’s starting lineup. He has chosen to take to social media to express his displeasure with this by engaging in series of retweets regarding not playing.
— Craig Mish (@CraigMish) April 9, 2022
It is concerning that a lineup decision Don Mattingly has made two games into the season is being challenged on social media by a player on the team. I don’t think we’ve heard the last of this.
— Craig Mish (@CraigMish) April 9, 2022
We probably have not heard the last of it. But it is hard to understand the logic of not starting Chisholm.
It’s the second game of the season. Fatigue should not be an issue. Friday and Saturday were both day games, so it wasn’t a day game after a night game issue. Travel wasn’t a factor. Both were in the same city. One difference is that Logan Webb, San Francisco’s starting pitcher on Friday is right-handed while Saturday’s starter, Carlos Rodon, is a lefty. Only, Chisholm’s career splits against right-handed pitchers (.241/.306/.424) are nearly identical to his numbers against southpaws (.242/.282/.412).
There is some logic in trying to get as many people into a game as possible in the early days of the season. But Chisholm is 24 and one of your franchise’s future cornerstones. He’s not the guy you bench in the second game of the season. And if it was a planned off day, Chisholm should have known about that before the morning of the game.
Venting frustration on social media can always lead to a bumpy road. Still, we can definitely see where Chisholm is coming from.
