Part of me is in disbelief that I am sitting here writing this story right now, as I feel that I am not in the kind of mental state that calls for recapping what was an absolute horror show. But maybe that is good thing. Maybe I will feel better, and this is just another stage of Yankee grief. Maybe you’ll be entertained or learn something, at least I hope that happens. What happened Wednesday night in the Bronx will live in infamy for decades to come, not just in Yankee history, but in baseball history. All the stories will begin with “remember game 5 in 2024?” and end with “man how’d that happen?” If you’re a Yankee fan like myself, you’ll either wonder for years how this World Series clinching game went wrong or just block it out of your mind entirely (probably the best approach). This was so much more than just a tough loss. It was everything bad about this Yankee team in the Judge/Boone era, things we conveniently ignored in the first two rounds of the playoffs, rearing their ugly head at the worst possible moment while also somehow seeing 20 years of franchise history come full circle. This chapter of Yankee baseball began on October 17th, 2004, and came all the way back around on October 30th, 2024.

Somehow, almost improbably, Dave Roberts has been at the epicenter of two of the worst moments in the Yankees illustrious 122 year history. He was a fine player, and is a below average manager, don’t let Ken Rosenthal trick you as he has thrown away plenty of big games himself, and yet he and his teams have broken Bronx hearts in similar fashion on two different occasions. It is horrifying that twenty years and two weeks later, amidst a Netflix documentary celebration of the Red Sox 04 comeback being widely watched, that this could happen again, but if you ask me the Yankees have never quite healed from that nightmare, their 2009 title notwithstanding. The Bronx Bombers entered this series off the back of a run through the AL playoff field that was both painful and painless, depending on the inning. They showed grit, something we weren’t accustomed to from playoffs past, but also showed just how dumb they were, something we sadly got to use to in the regular season. In my recap of their pennant win I praised Aaron Boone, a big step for me, for pushing all the right buttons up to that point and the team for not beating itself, and I stated in my World Series preview, both of those things needed to continue to win it wll. There is just one problem though…they did not continue.

The issues that led to the Yankees losing this World Series started way back in game one in Los Angeles. LA managed just two runs against Gerrit Cole and the Yankee bullpen through eight innings, both of which came off a pair of defensive miscues by Juan Soto and Gleyber Torres. With the beating of themselves in full swing, it was time for Boone to take centerstage from his usual top step of the dugout, as he went to Nestor Cortes with one out in the tenth inning, protecting a one run lead. The recently returned from injury Cortes was chosen over lefty Tim Hill, who had frankly been stellar for the Yankees since his arrival off the waiver wire from the White Sox earlier this summer. The puzzling move was somewhat cancelled out by Cortes getting Ohtani to fly out to left, but prosperity never lasted long in this brief World Series, and Cortes served up a game winning grand slam to Freddie Freeman. Boone justified the decision by saying Cortes “looked great in simulated games” in the run up to the World Series, and I admit I wanted him on the roster too, but I didn’t want to see him in that high leverage a situation given how rusty he was. The decision and the moment set the tone for the series, and this problem was only compounded by two no show efforts in game two and three of the series, putting them in 3-0 hole. Mind you these were no show efforts where the manager sat idly by as usual watching his team make fools of themselves.

With the series feeling all but over, the focus shifted from engineering a comeback, to just trying to save face and show some Yankee pride by not allowing LA to win the World Series in the Bronx. The Yankees made good on that goal in game four of the series as they won 11-4 and got on the board in the series. Perhaps this ultimately was crueler for us fans, but the resounding win and party in the stands meant that hope was alive, hope that would receive a lift in game five of the series with Yankee ace Gerrit Cole on the mound, trying to extend the series. No team in World Series history that trailed 3-0 in the best of seven had ever forced a game six, much less comeback to win it all, so like the Red Sox in 2004, the Yanks embarked on a quest for history. That “quest” began in style as Cole was overpowering and the Yankee bats came to play, with Aaron Judge finally going deep, followed by Jazz Chisholm and more tack on runs in the third and fourth innings.

Everything was going well, almost too well. Maybe that should have served as a sign from the baseball gods that the rug was about to be pulled out from under l the Yankees and their fans. But there was just no way, given the situation and the pitcher involved that the Yankees could give this away…right? As Bruce Springsteen once said, “from small things mama, big things one day come,” and frankly no words more accurately describe what became the worst inning of Yankee baseball since the ninth inning of game seven of the 2001 World Series. This now infamous fifth inning began small, with Aaron Judge dropping a fly ball hit essentially right at him, an image that serves as the cover for this story and will define Judges Yankee tenure until he makes it go away. Judges mistake was compounded by Anthony Volpe attempting to get an out on a play at third base instead of going across the diamond which loaded the bases with no one out. To Gerrit Cole’s credit, he continued to pitch brilliantly, retiring Gavin Lux, Shohei Ohtani and seemingly putting away Mookie Betts without a run scoring…until the Yankees magnum opus of defensive disaster hit its crescendo. Betts seemingly innocuous inning ending ground out became a run and the third Yankee error of the inning, as Gerrit Cole and Anthony Rizzo both failed to get to the bag, for reasons that remain unclear. This was just the beginning as the floodgates opened from there and LA would go on to tie the game at five.

Sure, you’ll say the Yankees took the lead after this inning. You can rightly point out that Gerrit Cole deserves immense credit for putting the inning behind him and staying in the game to work another inning and two third’s pitched. But the damage had already been done by the defense, and Aaron Boone then felt around in the dark for bullpen options and frankly messed up the deployment of his relievers, by not giving closer Luke Weaver a clean inning, for the second time in this World Series. The eventual Dodger rally off Weaver and Kahnle ended 7-6 and proved to be enough and the Dodgers celebrated on the field in the Bronx. Of course, I don’t think this team was destined to win this series if these errors don’t occur, but it is beyond disappointing knowing the Yankees could have at least put the pressure on the Dodgers, much in the way the Red Sox did in 2004. If they didn’t implode, they could have given themselves a chance to keep it going and roll the dice on the road in LA in a do or die game six. Even just showing a bit more pride would dress this eventual loss up, but none of that happened from the fifth inning on. This utter disaster is on a number of people, and it while it pains me to say this, number 99 Aaron Judge didn’t give the Yankees nearly enough this postseason.

Judge’s performance was at times A Rod like, in that he was so lost that you could see his lack of confidence just wareing on him. His manager was no better on the biggest stage of all and while you may say he isn’t out there dropping the ball for Judge, the constant errors and miscues the Yankees make are indicative of the culture their manager has bred and accepts. They made mistakes all year long, in the field and on the bases. They made them in the ALCS against the Guardians, where Jon Sterling himself told you “the Yankees run the bases like drunks,” and that was on WFAN “the Yankees flagship radio partner.” The media has told you for months, especially the great Joel Sherman of the Post, that the Yankees don’t execute fundamentals consistently enough to beat good teams that play a clean game. The Dodgers are exactly that team, and the proof showed through in how they won these tight games over a pinstriped squad that was in over its head in the fundies department. The only people who don’t think the Yankees have a fundamental problem is unfortunately, the Yankees. This comes in spite of them being criticized by open and well sourced reporters who have gained knowledge of what the perception of the is Yankee team are around the league, including by Dodgers scouts who told Joel Sherman their takeaways.

So here is yet another peer, who has pointed out the Yankees flaws, flaws the team is either too arrogant or stupid to see and address properly. The tactics and players they use, the manager and coaches they employ, are not compatible with championship level baseball. When this team is at its worst, that is pretty abundantly clear that to all who watch with a reasonable and discerning eye, yet apparently none of those people exist in the front office and dugout. The stubbornness must end, and the bombers must adapt, with or without Juan Soto, who is a free agent this offseason. I don’t have the energy right now to discuss the horse race for Soto’s services, perhaps at a later date we’ll dive into that, because for now I find this all too frustrating and depressing to even think about that.

The questions now become where do the Yankees go from here? They have already ruled out replacing Aaron Boone with someone who actually knows what they’re doing, and we all know Brian Cashman isn’t going anywhere (who in fairness had a good year in charge). If they won’t hold players accountable and won’t change the manager who breeds the complacency, then the only way to address these issues is to find players who are more fundamentally sound to put around their stars. They must move on from players that are problematic in this area once and for all, instead of being tricked by short bursts of performance. That is the one true road map they have in front of them and it’s time they take it because it’s becoming exhausting to lose for the same reasons over and over. I don’t say any of this looking for anyone’s pity, as I am well aware how much the Yankees and their fans are hated. This is just more painful truth telling brought on by one of the worst and most embarrassing losses in team history, and it hurts the fan in us all to even fathom that they don’t see themselves as completely in the wrong as a result of it. Until they do, expect more of the same nonsense Yankee fans, and who knows…Dave Roberts may just find himself in the middle of it again. Afterall, his team actually knows what it’s doing.

I hate that baseball season is over, as I will miss its peaceful rhythm and days at the ballpark with friends and family. While this ending is painful and I will miss my beloved Yankees, I still don’t feel better haha. More importantly I will miss covering both the Yankees and Mets games in this series. The Beat is one of my favorites to write and while there will be offseason editions of it, nothing quite matches covering the games on a regular basis. I am glad members of our staff can provide a Mets perspective on things going forward and there will likely be some podcasts in the weeks and months ahead to add another layer to these stories. Until next time…so long baseball season, we’ll miss you, only one song can play you out this year.

You can find Nick on Twitter @YNWA9623, Mike @Mike_Sheerin, Tyler @TMon_19 and Sean @SeanMartinNFL. Subscribe to the site by hitting the follow button in the bottom right corner and entering your email address. Check out our Instagram feed @thebroadwaybreakdownsports for special gameday and promotional content. Our fall of podcasts are available on Spotify. Visit the Rangers Ed Shop by clicking the link on our homepage. The store is live, and Little Ed has been in the lab cooking up some can’t miss items for you fans. Check out our mailbag page to join the conversation here on the site and on our partners show, The Rangers Ed Podcast! We’ll be back with more soon!