Dodgers reliever mocking Yankees' failures should be a wakeup call (but it won't be)

In case you needed proof beyond Joel Sherman's column that the rest of MLB views the New York Yankees as some form of a talented joke, look no further than the Dodgers' post-Game 5 celebration.

Reliever Joe Kelly, the new poster child for farting in a corner during the group project and somehow still getting an A, ran his mouth casually to Boston insider Rob Bradford on the field after Game 5 wrapped in the Bronx.

Kelly, a postseason stalwart, won this round (despite not participating in the World Series), then proceeded to talk his smack while enlightening the world about the Curse of Fat Joe.

Were the Yankees jinxed by the rapper into committing three different forms of malfeasance in the fifth inning of Game 5 (four different forms, if you count two-strike, two-out hits)? Quite possibly. But it's Kelly's casual drop of characterizing their mess as "playing Yankee defense" that stings the most.

Yankees roasted by Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly for "playing Yankee defense"

It should eat at the front office and roster that this is how MLB's gold standard views them (the Dodgers, not Kelly specifically). It should be used as fuel to get better next year, like Mookie Betts' relentless pursuit of practicing the carom, as detailed by Sherman. It should be the lasting image of this season, like what Juan Soto was trying to add to his mental rolodex when he sat, staring, out upon LA's celebration.

Instead, it'll probably be the pennant that endures rather than what the Yankees did with the opportunity. Aaron Boone's option will reportedly be picked up. He'll likely be extended to avoid a lame duck year. Yay for getting there in a weak American League. Forget about the rest. Nothing can stop us, we're all the way down.

Oh, and don't worry. Kelly didn't stop there. In Monday's edition of the "Baseball Isn't Boring" podcast, he went several steps further, claiming that the Yankees would rank eighth or ninth in a rerank of the playoff teams. The right-hander probably should've stopped while he was ahead; yes, the Yankees played sloppy defense, but this represents a genuine falsehood.

Kelly and the Yankees have a history, sure, so he likely reveled in this regression more than most (and had no issue putting his face to a casual cutting remark). But, after 15 years without winning the American League and a horrific trip once they got there, it should be clear to all involved that the Yankees are no longer viewed as some kind of behemoth measuring stick. They are merely a very good team that fights for one another, but still manages to get lost in the heat of battle. They used to take a mile if you gave them an inch. They used to kick down the doors after one flub, let alone three. Their patience used to lead to the shifting of tectonic plates and the unsticking of the roof after thunderous home runs.

Now, they are good, but messy, and their opponents know exactly how to make them pay. Their failures have become commonplace enough that their rivals know they can count on them. Shouldn't that hurt them as much as it hurts us?