This is all true, but the regular season counts, too.
"The Braves got unlucky because they had to play a double header" is weak.
The Braves had to play a double header because they didn't win enough games in the regular season.
Then, they didn't get a first-round bye.
Like it or not, the teams aren't power-ranked when the playoffs start. Like it or not, the Yankees almost won the World Series. The bullpen pitched well, they hit a lot of home runs, they got their walks, and most of the games were very close.
Four games to one isn't close, but the crowing is because it's fun to beat the Yankees' brand. The brand has outperformed the team for decades.
It is accurate to say that talent lost out to fundamentals, but as is the case with the 2024 Yankees, their talent almost compensated for their lack of fundamentals. The World Series was not a Dodger blowout.
As for as Kelly's crowing, it's totally embarrassing and no one can dispute what he's saying.
It's Gary Sanchez being the only catcher in MLB history who jumps out of the way of the tag.
It's supposed future superstar Jasson Dominguez proudly proclaiming that he's going to practice his fielding. Because he wows the scouts with home runs, he apparently hasn't taken care of the fundamentals that he should have handled when he was fifteen years old.
Why doesn't Cole sprint to first base? I have no idea. You struck out two batters in a row with the bases loaded after your teammates committed back-to-back errors. That's the hard part. The sprint to first base is the celebratory easy part. Sprint to first base and get to Game Six and cross your fingers that Rodon pitches well.
Judge took his eye off the ball. It was a rare, poorly-timed goof up by a fundamentally sound player.
That was a shocker. It adds to his choker credentials for sure.
The rest of the Yankee garbage in the field and on the basepaths was entirely predictable and par for the course.