There is no such thing as a "slight" discomfort. And for Jazz Chisholm, a twitch on a pitch could not have come at a worse time.

Last night, perched on 3B after a belly-flop slide, Jazz Chisholm didn't protest being taken out. Everybody knew he was done for the night. As he disappeared into the bowels of the dugout, the question was whether he was checking out for the month of May. 

Nothing's been said. Chisholm is in pooh-pooh mode. The Yankees call it a "right flank discomfort," which sounds like what the Conservative Party in Canada is facing. The Death Barge says Jazz has a "potential right oblique injury." 

An undiagnosed right-cabbage patch wheedle.

A non-catalogued, flaring French seam carbunkle.

A non-urgent, soft-tissue sidesaddle twitch distortion. 

In his postgame monologue, Aaron Boone described Chisholm as being "in pretty good spirits." Yeah, I bet. "He just told me, 'I'm fine...' We'll see what we have, but we're not gonna do anything immediately." 

So... now what?

First... public denial. Cooperstown Cashman's go-to move is to soft-talk the issue, thinking he'll sound less desperate in trade talks. They'll wait for The Scan. What Chisholm says doesn't matter. The Scan is what matters. If nothing shows up, he might miss the weekend. If there's a thingy...  

Four weeks, minimum. Worst case, 10. 

Last night, they replaced Jazz with the lingering disappointment, Oswald Peraza - who has all of five hits in 2025, batting .167. He's in his 4th season with the Mother Ship, a career BA of .217. It's hard to remember his 2022 month of September, when he hit .306 and seemed fated to take SS the following spring. You'd think he's 30. Actually, he's a month shy of 25. 

Nobody is done at 24. It's just too soon. But this could be Peraza's last chance with the Yankees. Over those four years, he's gone from being the future Didi Gregorius to the next Tyler Wade. He's never hit. He's always hurt. This is it.  

Or maybe it's DJ LeMahieu's final shot. Two days ago, DJ needed a cortisone shot for his hip. Bad omen. It pushes back his rehab assignment at the precise moment when he's most needed. The Yankees could use DJ's glove at 2B. It's no time for a career existential crisis, but that's what he's facing.  

Or Jorbit Vivas. Yes, Jorbit Jose Vivas. The lone Scranton Railrider to be hitting over .300  - (he's at .322 with 2 HRs and 5 stolen bases, though thrown out four times.) Vivas - 5'9" tall - is also 24. Two weeks ago, "the Bit"was called up, only to ride the pines until getting sent back. He still has yet to experience an MLB at-bat. (He bats LH, so maybe a platoon with Oswald?)

Or let Chisholm try. This is dangerous. Yank fans have been hoping he'd snap out of an April slump. He seemed on the verge. This tweak could not have come at a worse time for Chisholm. It's his contract year. His long term future rides on putting up numbers. If he misses a month - or two - the pressure to perform will be heavier than ever. This is the stuff of lost seasons and truncated careers.

Last night, it looked so innocent - so momentary - a twitch on a pitch with an itch... life's a bitch. Eh?