Brian Cashman responds to Joe Kelly’s criticism on Yankees ranking ‘eighth or ninth best playoff team’ in World Series

Brian Cashman addresses Joe Kelly’s recent ranking of the Yankees and comments on their performance at World Series.

Brian Cashman responds to Joe Kelly’s criticism on Yankees ranking ‘eighth or ninth best playoff team’ in World Series

Brian Cashman and Joe Kelly [Image Credit: SI/Fox News]

Joe Kelly harshly criticized the New York Yankees on the ‘BIB on the Go’ podcast. He ranked them the “eighth or ninth best playoff team.” He said how much the pinstripes were flawed and even worse than the Cleveland Guardians.

While he admitted “the Guardians played like crap,” he also mentioned how they played well overall. In a recent media appearance, Yankees executive Brian Cashman addressed the harsh criticism from the now-free agent Joe Kelly.

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Cashman admitted that the team did not perform well when the spotlight was the brightest. However, he also refused to take the ranking comment from Kelly. He said it seemed like Kelly’s comments were aimed at a certain group of players rather than the whole team.

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I think it’s more representative of some specific players rather than the overall group. In Joe’s case, it feels like for some reason it’s a little personal the way he’s been out there talking like he has…So I can’t make much more than that. I know he’s certainly talking a lot right now, and he won – or they won.

Brian Cashman as per Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

Joe Kelly further said that playing against the No.1 seed “was just a mismatch from the get-go.” He ranked the San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, and even the Atlanta Braves ahead of the Yankees. Kelly said that the LA Dodgers knew they only had to play regular baseball rather than “do anything crazy.” He also spoke on the impact of the players.

They can’t make a play. It was a mismatch from the get-go. If we had a playoff re-ranking, they might be ranked the eighth or ninth-best playoff team…All we knew is that we had to just play regular Dodger baseball. We didn’t have to do anything crazy, and we were going to win the World Series. It’s facts. Just look at the team, look at the talent.

Joe Kelly on Baseball Isn’t Boring podcast.

However, Kelly wasn’t the only Dodger to talk back to the Yankees. Utility player Kike Hernandez also took a shot at NY Yankees rapper Fat Joe and his performance at the World Series.

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He said they knew the Dodgers were going to win the Fall Classic as soon as the pinstripes broadcasted Fat Joe on the screen. In a recent outing, Hernandez was asked if he heard anything from him, and he said no. He boldly stated, “I don’t apologize for what I said.”

Brian Cashman accepts NY Yankees flawed World Series performance

New York Yankees executive Brian Cashman admits that the team’s flaws were visibly out in the open during the World Series. However, he doesn’t necessarily believe they are far behind the current Champions and can make up for their mistakes in 2025.

Brian Cashman
Brian Cashman [Image Credit: Imago]

The team is currently going through a change in roster with all the free agency buzz around. New players will be added to the team to bolster their roster, especially the defense.

They’re the world champs, they get all of the credit…but I think it’s fair to say we just played poorly in that series and underperformed in that series, more so than this team was lucky to get into the World Series and how did we even get there? We had a good team, unfortunately we just didn’t play our best when it counted the most, and we played a good team.

Brian Cashman as per Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
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While Juan Soto’s addition to the team still remains questionable, Cashman is not afraid to go deep in the free agency. According to recent reports, the Yankees are also looking into Pete Alonso, who is again represented by Scott Boras.