Games 1, 2, and 4 of the American League Championship Series between the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros were decided by one or two runs, with Game 3 being the only blowout (5-0).
Nevertheless, it was clear during the whole series that the Astros were the better team.
If they wanted, they could have found another gear but in the end, they didn’t even need it: the Yankees just couldn’t consistently hit their elite pitching.
And when they could, which was in Game 4 on Sunday; their own pitching plus some untimely injuries like the Nestor Cortes one and some defensive miscues ended up giving Houston an easy sweep.
MLB insider Jeff Passan was on First Take on Monday to discuss the ALCS, and he stated the obvious: Houston had its way with the Yankees.
“@JeffPassan on the Yankees: ‘They got outclassed. They didn’t just get beaten, they got beaten DOWN,'” First Take tweeted, quoting Passan.
.@JeffPassan on the Yankees:
"They got outclassed. They didn't just get beaten, they got beaten DOWN." pic.twitter.com/ZfRQAWPqzP
— First Take (@FirstTake) October 24, 2022
Passan is perhaps MLB’s most trustworthy news-breaker and a respected analyst, so he knows what he is talking about.
The Astros Have Outclassed The Yankees For Years
He reminded us about a reality that may be hard to accept for some hardcore fans: the Astros have been better than the Yankees for five years running.
They knocked them out in the 2015 Wild Card Game, and in the ALCS of 2017, 2019, and now 2022.
New York just doesn’t have the formula to beat the Astros.
The problem is that there isn’t such a formula: the Astros just have better players, a better player development staff, better scouting, and a front office and ownership that recognize when to spend and where.
It’s an organizational problem that goes beyond what happens on the field.
That could take years to revert, but the Yankees have to start somewhere.
Bringing in the aging Josh Donaldson was perhaps not a good idea, nor was their blind faith in Isiah Kiner-Falefa as the starting shortstop.
There needs to be an organizational overhaul if the Yanks want to catch up.
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