“Everyone knew.” Kelly is never afraid to speak his mind and he’s speaking the truth about the Yankees.
Fresh off his third World Series win and second with the Los Angeles Dodgers, reliever Joe Kelly had a lot to say about the New York Yankees’ awful World Series defense on Rob Bradford’s “Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast.
As previously reported, details of the Dodgers scouting report against the Yankees were released following the Dodgers Game 5 World Series clincher. The Dodgers went into the series knowing that they were the better team fundamentally, while the Yankees were flash over substance.
The Yankees poor positioning, lack of urgency, and several blatant errors cost the them a real shot at the Commissioner’s Trophy–and Joe Kelly knew it.
Joe Kelly calls out Yankees defense, says they weren’t one of the top teams in playoffs
Kelly asserted that the Dodgers went into the series believing that they were the better team. In fact, Kelly said that the Yankees were actually the “eighth or ninth” best team in the entire playoffs.
“It was just a complete mismatch,” said Kelly. “All we knew is that we just had to play regular Dodger baseball. We didn’t have to play out of our butts. We didn’t have to do anything crazy and we’re gonna win the World Series. It’s facts.”
“We were saying it every single game. Just let them throw the ball to the infield, they can’t make a play,” he said. “We have a lot of big superstars in our clubhouse, but the superstars also care and aren’t lazy and play hard, so that’s the difference and the biggest separator.”
It was the “biggest separator” indeed. While harsh, this criticism is true. After all, three disastrous defensive plays directly resulted in the Dodgers five run fifth inning rally in Game 5. The Yankees’ superstars did everything in their power to prove Kelly and the Dodgers’ scouting report entirely correct and wound up imploding when the slightest bit of pressure was placed on them.
On the other hand, the Dodgers were focused on the fundamentals. This difference most apparent during Mookie Betts’ RBI single in Game 5. Betts hit a weak ground ball towards first and Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo went to get it and throw back to first. Pitcher Garret Cole did not go to first and, at that point, it was too late for Rizzo to pick up any speed on his way to the bag. Despite the play being a routine out, Betts never gave up and sprinted to first to beat out Rizzo, bringing in one run and jumpstarting the Dodgers’ comeback.
It is pretty simple: The Dodgers focused on doing all the little things right. This increased the chances of the Yankees making mistakes. While it looked like the Yankees had some new life in Games 4 and 5, they ultimately proved to be the architects of their own defeat.
Ignoring the fundamentals results in poor play and that is simply unacceptable for a World Series team. The Dodgers knew they were the better team and not have the championship to prove it. To be more competitive going forward, the Yankees need to go back to basics and improve their fundamentals. While doing this may be a tough pill for their superstars to swallow, it is a necessary step forward.
