The Yankees must look West. The Dodgers are the gold standard now that the Yankees once were.
The natural inclination is to talk about payroll, and sure, there is that gap between the Dodgers and Yankees. But the Yankees are not losing the way they lose each October because of lack of talent, and generally they are losing to teams that are not outspending them.
Were the Rays really man-for-man better than the Yankees this year? The Blue Jays last year? Were the Dodgers win-in-five better than the Yankees in the 2024 World Series? The Astros were better in the 2022 ALCS — but a sweep better?
The clubs that have eliminated all eight of Aaron Boone’s playoff teams had the same or superior records during the season. But the talent level in any of those years was not different enough for the Boone teams to be 0-8. But when the level of opposition went up, the Yanks’ ability to fight back did not.
