2024 WS: Yankees vs. Dodgers

Mugsy's Jock

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I was kind of surprised to see in the first 3-4 innings how Cole would regularly start making his way from the mound to the MFY dugout even before the third out of the inning was secured. At least a couple of times, immediately after apparently/obviously easy fly balls came off the hitter's bat, he put his head down and made for the dugout -- not to where he'd ordinarily belong backing up a play or even just lingering on the mound -- long before the ball was actually caught and the out secured.

Maybe that's the norm in MLB, but I can't say I had noticed it before, and it's ironic I did last night when a.) Judge flubbed one such obvious fly out (albeit with no out), and b.) Cole would go on to fail to complete a play in that historical fifth inning collapse.
 

BaseballJones

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The reasons such a flawed team got to the World Series were:

(1) They had two all-time great players have all-time great seasons at the plate (Soto & Judge)
(2) They had enough pitching
(3) They played the AL Central in the ALDS and ALCS
 

Remagellan

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In both cases though, the ball was maybe only 5-6 feet wide of first. Rizzo was coming from slightly further away on the 2nd one, but he still took a backward/sideways angle on it and moved casually, presumably because the spin was worse. His urgency level kind of looked like fielding practice in between innings. He didn't have to be as far as he was (and he still might have beaten Betts if he noticed what was going on on fielding the ball).

Cole played both of them badly, and Rizzo played the second one much more passively and gave himself less options.
In the first one, he right in line with the bag, takes two steps, and is on the bag. In the second, he is much deeper, and even casually it took him six steps to get to the bag. I think what slowed him in part was his surprise that Cole was on/running to the bag.
 

mikeford

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This tops it all in terms of Yankee postseason failures. Just when they were believing a comeback was possible they blew a 5 run lead in the most mind numbingly stupid ways possible with their ace on the mound. Then they got the lead back only to blow it again.

$5 billion in payroll for no titles.
Nah, nothing tops them blowing it in 2001 or 2003 for me. 2003 is especially sweet given the dickpunch we received just beforehand.
 

BaseballJones

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It's not Judge's fault the Yankees are still playing him in CF. He really should be RF at this point.

That lineup core of Judge, Soto, and Stanton comes with the need to plug at least two of them in the outfield, none of them can play CF adequately anymore, and two of them are bad to truly awful defensively. The roster construction had a fatal defensive flaw and it finally killed them in the WS. Awesome stuff!
Judge plays CF just fine. He's not elite, but he's fine. Made a hell of a catch in the 4th inning to rob Freeman. Soto is fine too. Not great, but adequate. Their bats more than make up for whatever shortcomings they may have in the field. The misplay by Judge last night in the 5th was such an aberration, it's hard to fathom. He never makes that mistake. He had zero errors this season. The drop last night was unfathomable.
 

Remagellan

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Nah, nothing tops them blowing it in 2001 or 2003 for me. 2003 is especially sweet given the dickpunch we received just beforehand.
This. I had to have a friend call me to let me know they blew 2001 because I turned it off after Soriano's home run off Schilling. He was cackling.

Edit--it was also Mariano's most notable failure to do his job...at least at the time.
 

Jace II

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In the first one, he right in line with the bag, takes two steps, and is on the bag. In the second, he is much deeper, and even casually it took him six steps to get to the bag. I think what slowed him in part was his surprise that Cole was on/running to the bag.
Right, he just chose to field the ball deeper in the 2nd one. He had the option to play it more aggressively (normal aggressively, he didn't need to take a major risk), and he just had already decided Cole was covering, so he played it very safe due I guess to the spin. Cole just dropped his responsibility while Rizzo was simultaneously taking it easy.
 

santadevil

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And rewatching the 5th again this morning, Cole is lucky that on Teo's game tying double, that he didn't fuck up again. He didn't cover home, he stayed at the mound and somehow picked up the throw coming home near the mound, very awkwardly

So Cole really didn't do his job defensively this game at all

/Edit: Rizzo picked up that throw, but he was way out of position too. He had to come flying across the diamond to pick it the throw

Either way, both Cole and Rizzo didn't play good fundamental defense this game
 

Lose Remerswaal

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Trying to figure out how to post my videos of sad Yankee fans filing out of the Toilet. [Any ideas, please share.]

Meantime, please enjoy a couple shots of the dejected throng, looking forward to a long wait and crowded ride home on the subway.
@Mugsy's Jock , you might be able to upload videos to YouTube or imgur.com
 

Jim Ed Rice in HOF

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To me this shows this was all on Cole. Maybe he was tired, because it was later in the game, but still, that's his job to get over to cover the base.
That's what I get from the photos as well. In the first frame he's got the angle on Betts but can also see Rizzo is close enough to the bag and already has the ball controlled so pointing to him saying you got it makes sense. In the second frame he's like "oh shit!" but there's not a lot Rizzo is going to be able to do at that point. He's flat footed and Mookie's got a head of steam going down the line.
 

Sandy Leon Trotsky

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I guess I'm still not convinced that even if Cole splits for 1st immediately that he'd make that play. The toss would have been really awkward unless Rizzo backs up... it would have been somewhere between a handoff and a toss. Just the closeness of Rizzo and to where he would have needed to toss it is a tough toss. Not saying at all that it would have been impossible, and it still should have been the correct move- just awkward and Mookie would still be very, very close to getting there first. But both Rizzo and Cole played that terribly and that's the only excuse. Everything else is bullshit.

Moving on from the Series though... I'm thinking the Yankees try to move Stanton and after his playoff showing, it might be pretty easy. They'll sign Soto... but they still have some issues in the OF and 1B. They'll obviously extend Cole and their starting rotation is very good. They'll be right at the top of the ALE again next season.
 

BaseballJones

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Whose World Series was better:

2024 Freeman: 5 r, 6 h, 1 3b, 4 hr, 12 rbi, .300/.364/1.000/1.364
2013 Ortiz: 7 r, 11 h, 2 2b, 2 hr, 6 rbi, .688/.760/1.188/1.948
1977 Reggie: 10 r, 9 h, 1 2b, 5 hr, 8 rbi, .450/.542/1.250/1.792
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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“Ground ball, right side. Rizzo. Nobody at first! Incredible! Atrocious!”

:)
Davis was trolling NY all series - Monday night in particular when he gleefully detailed all the losses the local teams had suffered in the past day.

I don't know that Smoltz was rooting for the Yankees but he seemed to get sadder as NYs true loser nature was revealed. If he was pulling for the Yankees, it had to be tough to be in the booth with Joe.
 

FisksFinger

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What a glorious day.

I turned the game off in the 4th, checked the score later and saw the Dodgers had tied it a 5. Was tempted to turn it on but feared jinxing it so stayed away until this morning, happy YED to all who celebrate.

Now let's sign Soto in the offseason
 

8slim

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I was kind of surprised to see in the first 3-4 innings how Cole would regularly start making his way from the mound to the MFY dugout even before the third out of the inning was secured. At least a couple of times, immediately after apparently/obviously easy fly balls came off the hitter's bat, he put his head down and made for the dugout -- not to where he'd ordinarily belong backing up a play or even just lingering on the mound -- long before the ball was actually caught and the out secured.

Maybe that's the norm in MLB, but I can't say I had noticed it before, and it's ironic I did last night when a.) Judge flubbed one such obvious fly out (albeit with no out), and b.) Cole would go on to fail to complete a play in that historical fifth inning collapse.
For whatever reason, Cole seemed to be playing the part of super cool guy all night. Sauntering to the dugout on 3rd outs, pointing to Rizzo at 1B on grounders... it was like he was trying to project some kind of weird "I'm the man" aura.

The 5th inning play is unforgivable. He definitely broke towards first base, he's completely full of shit with that "bad angle" excuse. He just was too cool for school and thought Rizzo had an easy out. Mookie very well may have beaten him to the bag but to not try is a joke.

I'm listening to WFAN for the first time in years this morning. It's so wonderful.
 

Comfortably Lomb

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Judge plays CF just fine. He's not elite, but he's fine. Made a hell of a catch in the 4th inning to rob Freeman. Soto is fine too. Not great, but adequate. Their bats more than make up for whatever shortcomings they may have in the field. The misplay by Judge last night in the 5th was such an aberration, it's hard to fathom. He never makes that mistake. He had zero errors this season. The drop last night was unfathomable.
No, he's really not OK out there. His wheels are gone. He used to be ~75th percentile in speed and is down to ~35th percentile. He would be fine in RF, especially because his arm is great, but he's bad in center.
 

Van Everyman

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This is particularly delicious because Cole has always given off terrible "asshole Yankee" vibes -- from signing a ginormous contract after playing for their rival, to the bad body language in his meltdowns against the Sox, to his excuses after the league cracked down on lathering up the ball with sunscreen.

Smoltz was absolutely crushing Cole that inning, albeit not in personal ways. I'm watching the 5th inning meltdown on YT, and Smoltz (who can be sanctimonious and talk too much) is talking about how great pitchers pick their teammates up after defensive miscues -- and after he K's Ohtani he talks about how Cole can't just be thinking he needs one more out and that he needs to focus on making pitches to get out of this inning. And in the biggest moment, the dude just stopped playing. Delightful.
 

S. H. Frog

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My favorite thing about Cole is he can't get Devers out. No, my favorite thing about Cole is he can't beat the Red Sox. No, my favorite thing about Cole is he turns into a pouty pissant when his team makes errors, loses his concentration, and gives up a bunch of runs.
 

loshjott

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My favorite thing about Cole is he can't get Devers out. No, my favorite thing about Cole is he can't beat the Red Sox. No, my favorite thing about Cole is he turns into a pouty pissant when his team makes errors, loses his concentration, and gives up a bunch of runs.
I love him for the 2019 WS also. Couldn't get Soto out either!
 

jayhoz

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Cole did the exact same thing in the first inning on Mookie's other weak grounder -- point to first for Rizzo.
In the first at bat there is one out and Cole at least makes an effort to go to first. In the 5th inning there are two outs and it looks like Cole took a right turn and started heading to the dugout. Dumb dumb dumb.
 

BigSoxFan

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Is there any chance Cole opts out? 4/144 remaining and still only 34. I guess he could opt out and return but wondering if there’s “I need a fresh start” potential here.
 

staz

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The cradle of the game.
lol did Kike go home? They cant find him anywhere to celebrate
He's with Pokey.

They'll drop all the candy when it hits the bag
Quality work.

In two Cole games, the only earned runs allowed by the Yankees in innings 1-9 were four sacrifice flies.
The Yankees went 0-2.
The 'ol take to foot off the pedal when the ace is dealing. Lack of hitting focus is 100% on Boone.

One guy called up and called Judge a disgrace to the uniform, wants his captaincy taken away, then traded.
Obviously misguided angst due to the loss, but makes for delicious tears, nonetheless.

On the play he wasn't needed he ran to first. When he had to get there he stood and pointed.
Capobianco put more effort into wrestling the ball out of Mookie's glove than Cole did covering first.
Outstanding!

In the second frame he's like "oh shit!" but there's not a lot Rizzo is going to be able to do at that point. He's flat footed and Mookie's got a head of steam going down the line.
I guess I'm still not convinced that even if Cole splits for 1st immediately that he'd make that play. The toss would have been really awkward unless Rizzo backs up...
... backs up, and to the left. Back and to the left, back and to the left....
 

Humphrey

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The reasons such a flawed team got to the World Series were:

(1) They had two all-time great players have all-time great seasons at the plate (Soto & Judge)
(2) They had enough pitching
(3) They played the AL Central in the ALDS and ALCS
Add to that Stanton having a rare period of good health and Cleveland's lights out closer stinking out the joint.
 

BigSoxFan

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Did you miss that shott of him as a kid holding a sign at a 2001 WS game proclaiming he's a "Yankee Fan Today Tomorrow Forever"?
We’ll see if he feels that way after having half of NY dump on him all offseason. He probably has roots here with his family but you never know.
 

TonyPenaNeverJuiced

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What percentage of Yankee fans were completely convinced that this was headed back to LA when it was 5-0? A full 100%? How many Red Sox fans here were convinced it was going back to LA? -raises hand-

Glorious outcome.
People were already talking about Friday.I just kept saying, "let's make it a slugfest" and while we didn't get that, we did get enough runs to top the other team (in that category), the result of which was a victory, which itself secured a World Championship, which is causing me physical pain as my face is tired from smiling.

This was one of the more flawed Dodgers teams of the last few years going into the playoffs--the injuries to their pitching staff were insane, and the Treinen/ Hudson/ Phillips trio just kept taking turns struggling. All season too, someone young would come up and give a nice run of starts and then boom he was hurt. The fact they navigated that, and the three guys they did have carrying some concerns, was pretty impressive. Also, man, what a trade deadline. Edman/ Flaherty/ Kopech saved their season 100%.

Kinda nice for Roberts he can put a bunch of the absurd talk of his job being in danger to bed, there was never any chance but he had a nice postseason and sealed the deal.

Three rings for Mookie I love it. I get the superteam stuff but I live here and its an easy baseball fix and they really are pretty up and down a lovable team.
Nail>Head, whole post. The Dodgers were never clicking at 100% at any point this year, but they did enough all the time (and really, bless those young starters who gave us some key mid-season innings).

And yes, what a deadline. I was so thrilled at the moves (Jack was the surprise icing on the cake). Edman was such a brilliant pickup. Big off season decisions to come - I don't feel the logjam of 2B/SS/OF types is sustainable (but I guess it was this year).
 

E5 Yaz

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Red Sox connections to the 2024 Dodgers
Roberts
Mookie
Keekay
Tilt
JoKe
Kopech
Lament
Yohan
Josh Bard
Ron Roenicke
Janet Marie Smith

any others?
 

RedOctober3829

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People were already talking about Friday.I just kept saying, "let's make it a slugfest" and while we didn't get that, we did get enough runs to top the other team (in that category), the result of which was a victory, which itself secured a World Championship, which is causing me physical pain as my face is tired from smiling.
I had told my wife that the game was over in the 3rd inning and to not make plans for us Friday night as I'd be watching the game.
 

LogansDad

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I had told my wife that the game was over in the 3rd inning and to not make plans for us Friday night as I'd be watching the game.
I told my wife last night was my last baseball game of the season no matter what, because I couldn't deal with the stress of watching the Yankees maybe come back from 3-0 down.

(Note: I probably would have watched game 6, game 7 would have been questionable)