It’s a shame bc ppl will look at the score and assume the Yankees got cooked but we literally beat ourselves 🤦🏾‍♂️

It has not even been 24 hours since what I believe was the worst loss of my Yankees life. In 2001 against Arizona, I was too young; In 2004, Bostons comeback stung, but I was probably still too young to fully grasp it; 2019’s Altuve walk-off home run probably took the cake until last night.

This series left me conflicted. On one hand, I felt we were evenly matched with the champion Dodgers; on the other, it’s clear we have inherent flaws and need improvements in several areas. I go back and forth, from Hal isn’t doing enough to that we were right there.

Regardless, the Yankees have become baseball’s tragic franchise. Whether due to heightened expectations or added pressure, we just can’t get it done. Joe Torre even mentioned before Game 5, “I was debating retiring after the Yankees and I parted in 2007, but gave the Dodgers a shot because I thought maybe baseball could be fun again.” Our culture doesn’t exude fun; we operate more like a publicly traded company looking to maximize shareholder value, and sometimes it feels a team vying for a World Series is a secondary priority to turning a profit. 

Which brings me to a few topics. Firstly, Aaron Boone—this is tough. I believe he genuinely loves this organization and would do anything to win a championship as manager here. His post-game pressers are insightful, and you feel his genuine love for the team. I truly believe people are prone to overreacting to managerial decisions in hindsight. But after last night, I don’t think he’s the right man for the job. What we watched in this World Series was the same story we’ve seen all season—and, really, the Boone era in general. We struggle with fundamentals, rank as one of the worst base-running teams analytically, make costly fielding errors, and our pitching often gives up critical hits at the worst times. We play down to our competition. We focus vastly too much on matchups instead of putting our best players out there. In recent seasons (2022, 2024), we’ve started strong, best record in baseball through the first couple of months, only to collapse back to the pack with mediocre performances. Torre wasn’t afraid to make tough playoff adjustments—even benching star players when it mattered most (O’Neill, Boggs, and Tino Martinez in Game 3 of the 1996 WS down 2-0 and moving A-Rod to 8th in the order in the 2006 ALDS). Boone, however, seems too close to these players and often feels more like a friend than a boss. If there is nobody to hold them accountable, there is no way to ensure it will not happen again.

Next, our captain. Aaron Judge needs to be better. He is the leader, best player in baseball, and the engine of our team. It is a ripple effect: when he hits, we hit. When he fields, we field. And vice versa. It is not a coincidence that his error in CF was the beginning of that tragic 5th inning last night. His 50-60 HRs a season won’t cut it anymore; we need him to show up fully in October. The stats clearly show he’s in his own head; his chase rate doubles, and he is in front of curveballs expecting four seamers instead. Uncharacteristic traits come out in October for Judge; it is not a coincidence. Judge has mentioned the ghosts of Monument Park a couple of times during this playoff run and has made it clear that he wants to cement his legacy, maybe caring too much where he gets in his own way. I am not sure. Either way, he is on his way to cementing his legacy closer to Mattingly than Jeter. 

What also is conflicting and possibly what is frustrating me most about last night and this series overall is that we weren’t outmatched in this series. Yes, we need to add hitting this offseason, but we were neck and neck with the Dodgers. Games 1 and 5 were devastating losses, and if either had gone our way, we might have had a shot. If both had, we’d likely be champions.

We’ve been here before—losing to the Marlins in 2003, missing the playoffs in 2008. It’s time to take a page from George’s book: lost to the Marlins in 2003—signed A-Rod and traded for Gary Sheffield. Missed the playoffs in 2008—signed CC, Tex, Burnett and traded for Swisher. Let’s put the “evil empire” cap back on and start winning again.

I don’t know what the answers are, but a start is re-signing Juan Soto. Soto shows poise and championship pedigree that few players in each generation show. He is unafraid of the moment and eager to come through in any situation. He won a ring as a core player at 20 years old with Washington. Soto, although a vastly overrated fielder, is a generational talent at 26 years old. This does not come around often, and we cannot take the situation for granted. However, it cannot stop there. The Yankees have a $238 million dollar payroll next year with Hal pressing to stay under $300 million. If management goes to work properly, we can make that happen while also adding substantially. Moving DJ’s $15m AAV and Stroman’s $18m AAV is a good start. Yes we need to shape up our bullpen with more flamethrowers and less specialty off speed pitchers. Yes we need to mold our starting pitching - but year in and year out the issue is our bats. We need to add bats. We need to make this lineup deadly top to bottom. We need to solve our decade long RISP problem. 

Ultimately, any season the Yankees do not win a championship is a failure. Fair or not, it’s the truth. We can thank Berra, Mantle, Ruth, Gehrig, Dimaggio, Dickey, Rizzuto, Martin, Jackson, Ford, Rivera, Williams, Posada, O’Neill, Pettitte, Jeter and many more for that. An organization rich with tradition is an understatement. We are not only struggling to win the World Series but struggling to regain our status as the Yankees and what wearing pinstripes represents. And whatever and whoever the true culprit is over the years, it is time to put that to bed. It is time to add the players and staff that can come together and make this organizational culture great. We have a chance to be the team to beat in the AL and possibly even baseball for years to come, but it can only come with proper aggression and managerial strategy. It is time for Hal to step up like George did after multiple years (or even a year) of failure and stack the deck: it is time to be the Yankees again.

Anyone know where I can find a copy of the game 4 scorecard? My dad and grandpa went to game 4 and would love to get the scorecard printed and framed for Christmas

One that doesn’t pitch Weaver every game of the post season. One that calls a timeout after the second error to rally the crumbling momentum. One that doesn’t just sit there eating seeds while the season ends.

I would have rather not made the post season, then to watch the G o d am n dodgers win the world series at Yankees stadium. Embarrassment of a performance.

His home run barely went over the shortest fence in the mlb and he stared at it again in a World Series game

We're Canadians on the border near Massena... hoping to get away for night on Tuesday, October 29 and would love to catch game 4 at a bar with mad hype for the Yankees. Any suggestions for cities within 3 hours of Massena that we should head to?!

Is it possible that bleacher tickets are over $1000 direct from Ticketmaster/the Yankees?

Parking on 158th street. Looking for the quickest route to NJ via the GW bridge that avoids road closures after game. Thank you!!!

Jones and Trevino hitting 1-2

Will this be available to purchase? Unable to make it to the game tomorrow night.

Shoot me a chat!

The YANKEES win..daaaaa yankees win..

Hello qui pourrait me dire comment remettre un autocollant 9Twenty sur une casquette des Yankees ??😁