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The Yankees’ collapse in the World Series raises uncomfortable questions

There’s one more game to go, and that’s probably not good news for these Yankees. Through three games – all losses – the Yankees show no indication that they belong on the same field as the Dodgers, let alone in a World Series with anyone else.

The questions to ask now: Did they win a competition that was unusually weak? And have we all (myself included) overestimated?

The Dodgers are killing them, and remember, LA is doing it with just three starting pitchers – one with an alleged lower back problem that scared the very Yankees, one returning from shoulder problems and a third (Walker Buehler) who’d won just one game since returning from his second Tommy John surgery midseason — that is, before shutting out the Yankees in the Dodgers’ 4-2 Game 3 win.

Yankees center fielder Aaron Judge reacts on the field next to third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. after Chisholm strikes out to end the 8th inning. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

The actual good news is that, assuming the Yankees don’t become the first team to win the World Series after losing the first three games, there’s nothing to regret in terms of one bad decision or call. All indications are that the Yankees are not the caliber of a World Series winner.

The Yankees should win in Game 4 on Tuesday, with the depleted Dodgers using a feared bullpen game against the very talented Luis Gil. But who else knows?

These Yankees would have a huge rotational advantage – obviously LA has five starters who range from good to all-time great outs with various injuries – but LA’s starter won the last two games in overwhelming fashion. Neither Game 3 starter Clarke Schmidt nor Carlos Rodon reached the fourth.

Luis Severino jokingly berated the Yankees via text message months ago, telling them they had “two hitters,” and he might be right. He just had the wrong two. It is now Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton. Aaron Judge continued his surreal October funk.

Yankees starting pitcher Clarke Schmidt #36 reacts during the second inning. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

This is clearly not the real Judge, who is still an all-time great player.

But we probably need to reevaluate this team. It won 94 games, but it feels like the Yankees did it in a much inferior league. Does anyone doubt that the Dodgers played two much better teams – the Padres and Mets – to get here?


Follow The Post’s coverage of the Yankees in the postseason:


Let’s not forget that those Mets, reportedly a team in transition, beat the Yankees four games to four.

It’s time to face the reality that this is a flawed Yankees team, a team whose lineup has no real depth, a team that runs the bases poorly, a team that doesn’t do the little things. They didn’t do any big things in these three games either.

Giancarlo Stanton #27 of the New York Yankees is tagged out at home trying to score on a single by Anthony Volpe #11 of the New York Yankees to end the fourth inning. Jason Szenes/New York Post

It took fifteen years for the Yankees to return to the World Series, and when they finally arrived, it seemed like they didn’t belong.