I thought I would try something different for the 2024 World Series, especially since my Yankees are in it, and offer some quick ponderings and share some stuff from my thought process. Why not?
I expect a tough and arduous series. In many ways in approaching it, I would be shocked if this goes five or fewer games to either side. Obviously, I wouldn't mind if it happened for the Yankees.
Whoever wins, maybe they should also get claim to the 2017 World Series title. I'm kidding. Sort of...
Game 1
Dodgers d. Yankees, 6-3 (LAD Leads Series 1-0)
This is one of those games where I love baseball, but I hate it. That was a tremendous game if I didn't have a rooting interest. However, I do. And baseball, by nature, has a flair for creating moments that can rip your heart out as a fan. This one did. It's up there, to be honest. In this time, it feels worse than Sandy Alomar's home run off of Mo in 1997. But likely to not leave me in my feelings like the 2001 World Series walk-off for the Diamondbacks. Or that thing that happened in 2004. You know, that thing...
Other thoughts:
- $324M Man - Gerrit Cole signed with New York for games like this. The Yankees paid him for games like this. Cole went to 88 pitches and delivered. The easy, low-hanging fruit is going to be to jump at analytics or dissect "today's baseball", but here's my take - Cole isn't 100%. Cole's velocity and swing-and-miss stuff haven't been normal Cole-esque all year. However, he's still found a way to dominate - that's what Ace's do.
- Freddie Freeman's at-bats are beautiful. Considering the finish of this game, that hurts to say. However, it really is.
- Giancarlo Stanton is a monster in October.
- What has happened to Aaron Judge?
- Same for Austin Wells. Fastballs are just going by him right now.
- Am I the only one who thought Tim Hill was the correct lefty for that situation against Freeman?
- Two things I will hate in the morning that will certainly become narratives:
- Why would you put Nestor Cortes, who hasn't pitched in a month, in that position? Well, he's on the World Series roster. Why wouldn't he be ready to pitch in a high-leverage position?
- Boone loses this game (probably a reference to analytic-reliance). Could it just be the situation did call for a lefty, and Boone went to Cortes who has some tricky in his arsenal? It didn't work out. That's baseball, Suzyn.
- This is obvious - the Dodgers top four is relentless.
- We likely romanticize Verdugo's catch if we win.
- Another obvious - this was a crushing loss to start the series.
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Game 2
Dodgers d. Yankees, 4-2 (LAD Leads Series 2-0)
:::groan::::
Just imagine a straight-face emoji here. I'm not having fun. Game 3 is a must-win.
Other thoughts:
- Carlos Rodon bugaboos came quickly to the forefront. He didn't pitch terribly. Yankees bats were just silent in this one until the ninth.
- Yoshinobu Yamamoto made it hurt. Over and over. The guy that didn't want us...smh.
- I don't say this, because it's true and the guy is often VERY mentally tough. Judge looked like a guy at one point tonight who is feeling the pressure of letting the team down.
- 6 for 40 in the postseason with 19 strikeouts is the kind of stuff A-Rod got blasted for here.
- Shohei getting hurt sucks. I hope he gets well and returns in this series. It doesn't look likely.
- Jose Trevino as the right-handed bat off the bench in the ninth did not give me hope.
- Leveraging my thought from last night on Cortez being on the roster and expecting to pitch in high-leverage moments, are we shying away from Jasson Dominguex for that same reason?
- Freddie Freeman's homerun was a screamer.
- Juan Soto is a joy to watch hit. The dude is incredible.
- The Yankees bullpen was phenomenal in holding the game from getting out of reach.
- I knew the slider low and away was coming (likely so did you), and it was soul-crushing once it did.
- Walker Buehler is going to be a tough matchup on Monday. Ugh...
- Only 15 teams in a 7-Game series in MLB history have overcome a 0-2 deficit. One of them being those 1996 Yankees. Well...now is the time.
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Game 3
Dodgers d. Yankees, 4-2 (LAD Leads Series 3-0)
Well, that was the runs. The absolute runs.
The Yankees just aren't playing very well in this series. I know, state the obvious, right?
However, many of the flaws that have plagued the Yankees all season have presented themselves this series - baserunning blunders, below-average defense, and stretches where the offensive collectively turns the switch off.
There'll be plenty of time to throw that into the universe as the off-season appears very close.
Other thoughts:
- Freddie Freeman kills. I love watching his at-bats, but boy has it been bittersweet in this series.
- The Yankees desperately needed to get out in front in this game so that the home crowd would carry them in some fashion. Freeman's home run all but silenced everything right away and threw a massive wet blanket over the rest of the night.
- Freeman's antics also have been an indictment of the Yankees' lack of production from first base all year. Just saying...
- Clarke Schmidt pitched well. He had good stuff and made that mistake to Freeman. However, if your offense can't pose a threat in the other half of the innings pitched, you likely won't have much of a leash when running into bases-loaded jams.
- Speaking of offense, the Dodgers are up 3-0 and Shohei Ohtani really hasn't done much. SMH.
- Buehler was as expected.
- If you've watched the Yankees play all year, you've seen Rojas make some questionable sends of runners - of all speeds and scenarios - to the plate. Sending Big G there was instantly a moment where everyone collectively uttered, "What are you doing?!"
- This team goes as Judge goes. No Judge. No chance.
- Did Austin Wells forget how to hit? I'm sort of serious.
- I know it's not rational to find silver linings - especially in Yankee fandom when things are going bad - but, the bullpen really has been tremendous for this postseason run. Yes, there have been some hiccups (it happens even to the best), but everyone has done a tremendous job in at least holding deficits and allowing a chance to win the game.
- You just know parts of the fanbase are going to now compare themselves to the Dodgers and how they "bully" the rest of the league with their spending. That should be us! [enter negative Cashman remark here]. The funny thing is, before this run, the Dodgers were considered a flop because of how much they spent and were unable to get it done in October. Also, for a while, parts of this fanbase were envious of the Tampa Bay Rays (!)...so who knows?!
- What I will say is this, winning is hard. Winning the World Series is likely harder. After fifteen years, and experiencing this, it is an indictment of how special those 90s Yankees were, and how rare that was. And oh yeah, let's say the quiet part out loud - how spoiled we became.
- I had a moment in the seventh inning where I looked at the roster heading into free agency and realized, this team will likely look VERY different in 2025. And I have no idea if that means getting back to this point again. Soto and $$$ will determine that as well.
- Well, twenty years ago something terrible happened to the Yankees. But it's a reminder that there's a chance. Maybe, history is kind to us? I highly doubt it. But it's the only thing keeping a flicker of hope burning.
- And oh yeah, the Knicks lost tonight as well.
- Ugh...what a rough night...
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Game 4
Yankees d. Dodgers, 11-4 (LAD Leads Series 3-1)
Alright! We're on the board in this series!
And for the first time since this series began, I had some fun. I have zero expectations going forward; honestly, I don't want to get swept. It was just nice to grab one in the Bronx. At home. In this series. And at least show that we're capable if we get out of our own way. Something we haven't been able to do all year.
And I'll state the obvious - no, I don't expect a comeback. One win at a time. Sending it back to Los Angeles would be a nice moral victory, I guess. I guess?!
Other thoughts:
- Let's jump into the obvious headline...Fat Joe, huh?
- No really, I get what MLB is attempting to do with these performances and I'm truly for it. But allow me to be an old man on the lawn and say - start the games earlier, please!
- By the way, I liked Joe's performance. Also, the same for Ice Cube.
- But for real, the obvious - Anthony Volpe's grand slam felt like the biggest release of the postseason. I'm not sure what it was about that hit, but it felt like more than a go-ahead grand slam. It felt like it unlocked so much. Also, it corrected a lot of what had gone wrong. Volpe's base running miscue in the second inning included.
- With that said, it was a really cool moment for Volpe. Remember when we embrace our young players instead of saddling them with unreasonable lofty expectations?
- Dear Freddie Freeman, please stop. Take it easy on us.
- For the record, I have a few alerts for at-bats through the MLB App - Freddie Freeman is one of the handful of players I have selected. Tonight, I turned it off. My phone alerting me with exuberant reminders to "WATCH FREEMAN'S FIRST INNING BLAST" doesn't hit the same way as it did during the summer.
- Freeman homering in six consecutive World Series games is absolutely absurd.
- Austin Wells hit a home run! Wow. We really showed out and came out tonight!
- Luis Gil wasn't terrible tonight. It's such an indictment on Marcus Stroman. Sorry, sort of season reflecting already.
- While I'm at it - please resign Soto.
- The two fans who tried to rip the ball out of Mookie Betts' glove...I would be completely fine with them never entering another MLB stadium again. Harsh? Maybe. He'll likely get some 15 minutes of fame out of it which will likely justify this current feeling.
- Even worse? He'll start some podcast because of the clout he received from this stupid act.
- Okay, walking down of my soap box. Where was I? Yes, I had fun!
- Well, I guess we had some fun. I like our chances in Game 5 with Cole on the mound. But really, at this point, I'll take what I can.
- Go Yankees. Maybe one more game of good moments? Too much to ask?
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Game 5
Dodgers d. Yankees, 7-6 (LAD Wins World Series 4-1)
Well, that was something. I refrain from operating or communicating in hyperbole because of the society we live in, especially in the sports realm, but it's hard not to - that fifth inning might have been one of the worst defensive showings in the postseason I've seen from a baseball team.
And Yankees fans can tell you, it wasn't surprising. This team has been plagued with those fundamental mishaps all year long. Five - count 'em', FIVE! - unearned runs is unheard of.
But that's the season. Just like that, it's all over. No LA trip. No more fun.
I'd like to say this hurts. But it doesn't. It's not because I don't care. Or, that I expected them to lose. I think the 3-0 lead really let the air out of any kind of hope for anything. And the writing was on the wall as this series was simply a display of a broader exhibition of flaws we've seen all year. Nothing changed. Nothing dialed up. The 2024 Yankees are a good team with many flaws. Very much still the best team in the American League. Both things can be true. Especially, when we tend to focus on the negative when it comes to the Yankees.
Some final thoughts:
- Cole had a look and aura that I don't think I've quite seen since he's become a Yankee. He was BIG and pitched like it.
- Yet, even he made a mistake. Gotta cover first...
- Will that 5th inning forever be remembered?
- Or do you think it'll eventually fade into obscurity?
- Freddie Freeman is some player.
- Shohei never looked right after the injury.
- The Dodgers will only get better next year. The league caught them this year at their worst, and well, this still happened.
- Luke Weaver was done.
- Call me crazy, but how does Tommy Kahnle get away with 50+ consecutive changeups? As John Smoltz said on the call, at some point wouldn't you have to throw at least one heater to keep the team honest?
- And of course, that burned the Yankees in that go-ahead inning for the Dodgers.
- Alex Verdugo being the final out was very fitting.
- Walker Buehler was awesome. Mad respect.
- Congratulations to the Dodgers!
- Please re-sign Juan Soto.