George Lombard Jr's debut defense has Yankees fans torching Aaron Boone

George Lombard Jr's first week in pinstripes was never going to be quiet. The Yankees called up their top prospect after the trade deadline, optioned Anthony Volpe to Triple-A, and handed the 21-year-old the shortstop job in the middle of an AL East race. He answered by homering for his first career hit in his debut. So when Yankees-Cardinals turned into a soggy mess a few nights later, all eyes were already on him.

The weather did not cooperate. What started as a rain delay somehow morphed into a light delay, and fans watching at home were baffled by how long the tarp crew was out there.

Eric Hubbs

@BarstoolHubbs

Rain delay into light delay is certainly a choice

Delays or not, Lombard kept doing what he's done since he arrived. Whenever the game was actually being played, he was in the middle of the highlight package, ranging into the hole and turning plays that made grizzled Yankees Twitter reach for words like "wizard."

Unbiased Ev

@DoubleVodkaDon

George Lombard Jr is a wizard

The defense should have been the whole story. Instead, fans turned it into an indictment of Aaron Boone, with some accusing the manager of not giving the rookie the respect he's earned in his first few days with the club.

Eric Hubbs

@BarstoolHubbs

Boonie should be tarred and feathered for treating Lombard like this

The irony is that Boone hasn't been shy about praising Lombard publicly, crediting the ease of his throws and his athleticism at short after the debut game, per ESPN. That hasn't stopped a chunk of the fanbase from deciding the manager is somehow fumbling the handling of a kid who's been electric since his first at-bat.

None of it changes the calculus in the Bronx. Volpe is in Triple-A, Lombard is the shortstop of the present, and the Yankees are chasing the division. Every diving stop just raises the stakes on how Boone deploys him the rest of the way — and gives fans one more thing to argue about the next time a rain delay drags into a light delay.