Dodgers' Joe Kelly destroys ‘lazy’ Yankees after World Series win
The Los Angeles Dodgers are still in cloud nine; four years after winning a World Series that many have grown to discredit due to it being a COVID-shortened season, they have broken through once more , defeating the New York Yankees 4-1 in the 2024 World Series to exorcise their previous demons. And Joe Kelly is still basking in the moment, even going as far as to blast the Yankees for the lackluster effort that led to their demise.
Speaking on the "Baseball Isn't Boring" podcast, the Dodgers reliever let loose on the Yankees, calling them "lazy" and basically saying that they coast on talent, making the 2024 World Series a major mismatch in their favor as long as they played their game — which they did.
"We had seen it every single game just let them throw the ball to the infield, 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," Kelly said, via Jenna Lemoncelli of the New York Post.
"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. Rerank the teams and they're ranked eighth and they played against the No. 1 seed and everyone knew."
Kelly then took the opportunity to praise his Dodgers teammates, saying that they were not lazy (unlike the Yankees), which proved to be all the difference in the world in what ended up being a lopsided series despite all the hype surrounding the matchup.
"We go through numerous scouting reports... We pay attention to every single detail. We have a lot of big superstars in our clubhouse, but our superstars also care and aren't lazy and play hard. So that's the difference and the biggest separator," Kelly added.
It may be annoying for Yankees fans to hear this sort of remark from Kelly, a Dodgers player who did not play a single second in the World Series due to an injury. But Kelly, for all his life, has relished his role as an instigator, and he is simply playing this role to a T once more.
Yankees' Game 5 implosion vs. the Dodgers lends credence to Joe Kelly's "lazy" trash talk
Of course, it's hard to believe that a Yankees team that won 94 games in the regular season and made it all the way to the World Series is "lazy". Talent is always the greatest difference-maker in professional sports, but they still have to prepare every single day so they could perform to the best of their abilities.
