MLB Rumors: Dodgers Believed Yankees ‘Talent Over Fundamental Skills’ in World Series | News, scores, highlights, stats and rumors

The New York Yankees’ defensive mistakes in the decisive Game 5 of the World Series came as no surprise to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

According to Joel Sherman of the New York PostDodgers coaches and scouts told their players in meetings before the series started that the Yankees were “talent over fundamentals” on the field and that they had a tendency to hurt themselves with mistakes.

This isn’t so much a small thing for the Yankees as it is a flaw in the way the roster is constructed. They were tied with the Houston Astros for last in the MLB in extra base percentage, ranked in the bottom half of the league in defensive runs saved at first base and second base, and 15th joint in the outfield.

While their third basemen generally fared well in terms of defensive runs saved, they had Jazz Chisholm Jr. moved to the position in July after being acquired from the Miami Marlins. He has never played at the hot corner before in his MLB career.

The Yankees also made baserunning blunders throughout the postseason. They ran themselves out of innings in the ALCS against the Cleveland Guardians to the point that radio announcer John Sterling said on air that they were “running the bases like drunks.”

They were able to get away with those mistakes against a team like Cleveland that didn’t have the strength in the lineup to take advantage of them consistently.

The Dodgers have arguably the best lineup in the league and are more than capable of taking advantage if they get extra outs. The Yankees gave them six outs in the fifth inning of Game 5 by making two errors and giving up an infield hit to Mookie Betts when Gerrit Cole failed to cover first base.