Joe Kelly on the Yankees-Dodgers World Series:
"It was a mismatch from the get-go. If we had a playoff reranking, they might be ranked the 8th or 9th best playoff team.
You're putting the Padres ahead of them, you're putting the Phillies ahead of them, you're putting the Mets ahead of them, you're putting the Braves ahead of them.
The Guardians played like crap, but the Guardians played better defense and better baseball all around.
It was a complete mismatch.
All we knew is that we had to play regular Dodger baseball...we didn't have to do anything crazy, and we were going to win the World Series. Look at the team, look at the talent.
We go through numerous scouting reports. We pay attention to every single detail.
We have a lot of big superstars in our clubhouse, but our superstars also care and aren't lazy and play hard. That's the difference and the biggest separator."
(via @BBisntBoring)
Billy Martin was nobody’s best friend in that locker room, in fact he was disliked by many. The dynasty Yankees still refer to Joe Torre as “Mr. Torre” out of respect. Joe Girardi was tough and kept his teams on the ball with basic fundamentals and focus. They were all winners.
Being the team’s best friend and being liked doesn’t breed a winning culture, he holds no one accountable, and his mistakes have cost some of the biggest games in recent years. It’s hard to overcome that, even with a lot of talent on this team. Boone didn’t lose Wednesday night’s game, but he’s played large part in the shortcomings of this team since he’s been manager.