The Fenway faithful tried to get Alex Rodriguez into the game.
However, their ninth-inning chant — "We want A-Rod!" clap-clap, clap-clap-clap. "We want A-Rod!" clap-clap, clap-clap-clap — fell on deaf ears as Rodriguez sat in the Yankees dugout Tuesday.
It wasn't a mocking cheer,. It sounded like a sincere request from fans in one of baseball's oldest and most heated rivalries. But Yankees manager Joe Girardi declined their chants in his team's 5-3 loss.
Watch: Boston fans break out a "We Want A-Rod" chant at Fenway Park, because why tf not? #Yankees #RedSox pic.twitter.com/GYYth62uDb
— Hardys Closet® (@HardysCloset) August 10, 2016
"I don't know, how am I supposed to react?" Girardi said when asked after the game what he thought of the chants. "It is part of it. But I have to do what I think is best."
MORE: Where might A-Rod end up in 2017?
For his part, Rodriguez didn't comment. Before the game, though, he admitted that based on earlier comments by Girardi he thought he would play all three games in Boston. Instead, Girardi backtracked and told him he would play only Thursday against swing-scrambling knuckleballer Steven Wright.
“It’s surprising and shocking,” Rodriguez said Tuesday afternoon. “(Girardi) has his opinion; I have mine. But like I’ve said from the time I came back from my suspension, it’s up to Joe, and I’ll do whatever he wants.”
Girardi said he never considered at any point in the game using A-Rod, even as a pinch-hitter for his No. 9 batter, .192-hitting Aaron Hicks, in the ninth against Boston closer Craig Kimbrel with one on, two out and three runs down.
"You're facing a guy throwing 97-98 [mph]," Girardi said.
In short, Rodriguez, 41, can't catch up to major-league heat anymore, a reason he'll be released later this week — which means there's still time for more awkward moments.
"I know he wants to play," Girardi said. "That is normal. I have to do what is right for the club and the organization."
