The decimation of the New York Yankees by the Los Angeles Dodgers is almost complete as Game 4 of the 2024 World Series approaches. A mercy killing would probably be the best for all parties involved. Even a Yankees win tonight would only stave off the inevitable. Winning four in a row would be a task too large for these Bronx Bombers.
But is it a decimation, or is it the complete capitulation of a proud franchise? Fans, the networks, and advertisers were handed the series of their dreams. This is the buyer-beware portion of the article. One thing is for certain: Yankee greats like Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig are spinning in their graves over this abomination.
Early Signs of the Fall
Perhaps the fall from grace of a once proud team could have been predicted. Probable Al MVP Aaron Judge was 5 for 31 coming into the fall classic, and his futility has only increased with his 1-12 World Series performance. Inspiring third baseman Jazz Chisholm has a .220/.255/.475 slash line for the postseason.
Even with his home run last night, left fielder Alex Verdugo is batting lowly .195 for the postseason. Catcher Austin Wells’ slash line is an incredibly bad .152/.163/.315 for these playoffs. Unless your name is Giancarlo Stanton or Juan Soto, you forgot to show up for this World Series.
Yankees’ Manger Boone Shares Some of the Blame
In what may be his swan song, Yankees manager Aaron Boone will depart with a tarnished finale. Game 1 starter Gerrit Cole was rolling along, allowing only four hits and one run over six innings, and had only thrown 88 pitches. After giving up a leadoff single to Teoscar Hernandez, Boone made the unfortunate decision to pull Cole in favor of reliever Clay Holmes. Yankee great Derek Jeter, reacting to this decision, said.
“Gerrit Cole was dominating this game. He was dominating the game. And if you take him out after 88 pitches for I don’t know what reason, it’s a domino effect on not only this game tonight, tomorrow’s game and the rest of this series. I just think when you have someone that’s dealing like Gerrit Cole was dealing tonight, you leave him out there as long as you can.”
Later in Game 1, Boone inserted reliever Nestor Cortes into the lineup in the tenth inning with one out and two men on base. Cortes, who hadn’t pitched since September 18 due to flexor strain in his left elbow, retired Shohei Ohtani on an exceptional play Verdugo and intentionally walked Mookie Betts to face Freddie Freeman. Freeman, of course, made World Series history with the first walk-off grand slam in the Fall Classic to give the Dodgers a 6-3 victory, which started the Yankees on their pronounced slide.
Give the Dodgers Some Credit
But credit where credit is due. The Dodgers have received three outstanding starting pitching performances from Jack Flaherty, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Walker Buehler to start the series. Freeman has been the lights-out MVP of the series. And shortstop Tommy Edman, Hernandez, and Mookie Betts have also had strong series.
The Dodgers have been error-free defensively. And after early playoff exits the last two seasons, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has been a steadying influence in the clubhouse and dugout.
Finally
There is no shame in losing to a star-studded team like the Dodgers. The real tragedy is how lifeless the Yankees have looked in the process. Rather than going out with guns blazin’, they have chosen to go quietly into the night. Perhaps tonight will be different. The Babe and Mr. Gehrig certainly hope so.
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