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    • Yankees put season on the brink with Game 2 loss to Royals
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    Yankees put season on the brink with Game 2 loss to Royals

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    The New York Yankees’ nightmare scenario has not yet come to pass. But you can see it on the horizon.

    New York’s fifteen-year quest to return to the World Series isn’t over yet, but in a 4-2 loss to the Kansas City Royals in Game 2 of the American League Division Series, the vital signs all went down south.

    The best-of-five ALDS is tied per game and shifts to Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, where the natives are set for their first playoff games since 2015.

    The Royals’ Game 2 victory set up two home game dates in Missouri — and raised the possibility that the Bronx Bombers won’t return to Yankee Stadium until the spring.

    Oh, maybe it’s not that bad. There’s no solid ace awaiting the Yankees in Games 3 and 4, though veteran Seth Lugo will likely finish atop the AL Cy Young Award voting, and a second day off in three days will only recharge a potent Royals bullpen.

    But after two battles against the 86-win Royals — and the Yankees were fortunate to win Game 1 6-5 — a starker truth becomes apparent.

    These $310 million Yankees just aren’t particularly good.

    You saw it in Game 1, where Gerrit Cole was the reigning Cy Young Award winner in name only, powering through five innings of four-run ball instead of dominating.

    It was abundantly clear in Game 2, when $162 million Carlos Rodon committed to an effort that reflected the ups and downs of his career. He breezed through three innings on just 39 pitches, striking out five, but sweated and scuffled and failed to escape a fourth-inning nightmare in which he gave up a game-tying home run to Salvador Perez and run-scoring hits to the likes of Maikel . Garcia, Tommy Pham and Garrett Hampson.

    Hey, as the saying goes, they get paid to play too.

    Speaking of paydays, you’ll probably hear a lot of noise about the $360 million Aaron Judge and his playoff failures. It’s fair criticism. Judge was held to a harmless infield single in Game 2 and is now 1 for 7 in this series and 7 for 51 (.137) in his last twelve playoff games dating back to 2021.

    But these things tend to be cyclical: a series of small samples after small samples that can change quickly. Lest we forget, Judge crushed eight home runs and posted a .910 OPS in 121 plate appearances over his first three postseasons.

    And those 2017-2019 Yankees didn’t win any pennants either.

    These Yankees? Let’s consider that in Game 2 their starting corner infielders were Jazz Chisholm and Jon Berti. Chisholm is a great player and Berti is a valued player – but they are both completely out of position and far from the platonic production ideals in those places.

    Remember, when the Yankees last won the World Series, those spots were manned by Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira, nearly half a billion dollars in MVP-caliber production, surrounded by All-Stars in their lineup.

    Even after importing Juan Soto, these Yankees can be attacked, suppressed and tackled.

    Do you want to say, “The judge is not acting?” That’s fine, and it adds a fresh chyron to your morning screamfest or YouTube podcast. But No. 5 hitter Austin Wells struck out twice in Game 1, and the Yankees were 1 for 6 overall with runners in scoring position.

    And the Royals are undeterred, creating another nightmare scenario.

    It was hard to miss the promos featuring just two people: Judge and Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani. Dodgers-Yankees has been Fox Sports’ bicoastal white whale since it acquired the rights to Major League Baseball — and the league could use the boost, too. Not since 1981 have LA and New York met in the Fall Classic, a time that virtually marked the peak of TV sports ratings.

    Now, in this layered, messy entertainment landscape, the Yankees and Dodgers are in danger of going home before the AL and NL Championship Series: Both are tied at 1-1 in Division Series play, with their heads on the road and largely behind the eight ball.

    Meanwhile, the AL Central hasn’t advanced a team past the Division Series round since 2016, when Cleveland won the pennant and came within a rain delay or two of winning the World Series. This year? They are guaranteed a spot in the ALCS, while Detroit-Cleveland competes in the other ALDS.

    And it could very well be an all-central ALCS, guaranteeing the overlooked division a pennant winner. Keep News Corp executives in your thoughts and prayers.

    Back on the field, a two-game Kauffman Stadium split would send this series back to the Bronx for a Game 5. That would pit Cole against Kansas City ace Cole Ragans, who was inefficient but got through four innings with just one run yielded.

    The Yankees had just seven hits, none of the extra-base variety until Chisholm’s solo homer in the ninth, but Royals closer Lucas Erceg shrugged it off and recorded the final three outs. Kansas City will take its devil-may-care mentality home, where it will be joined by a thirsty home crowd that may not stop tailgating once “Monday Night Football” ends and Game 3 begins.

    Not the best environment for the Yankees to find themselves. Or maybe they already have, and are once again no better than a one-off in October.

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