Yankees learned nothing from embarrassing Blue Jays loss in latest ALDS failure

DAAAAA YANKEES LOSE!

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and David Ortiz turned that line into a viral celebration after the Toronto Blue Jays eliminated New York in Game 4 of last year’s American League Division Series at Yankee Stadium. One year later, Tampa Bay gave Blue Jays fans every reason to bring it back.

The Rays completed a three-game ALDS sweep with a 4-3 win in the Bronx, ending the Yankees season with a loss at home in the Division Series for a second consecutive season. The opponent may have changed, but the method — and New York’s humiliating response to it — did not.

Rays used the Blue Jays’ blueprint to expose Yankees defence

Toronto showed the rest of the American League exactly how to make the Yankees unravel last October. The Blue Jays didn't only rely on home runs, although they did hit nine of them against the Yankees in four games, they put the ball in play. The Blue Jays had a .347 BABIP and continually kept pressure on New York’s defenders. They trusted in their contact first approach and knew that the Yankees true Achilles heel would show up and that's their defense.

Against the Blue Jays, the Yankees defense just seemed to lag. They bobbled some balls, didn't chase down hits in the gap, and came up short when a big play was needed. It felt like anytime the ball was put in play it was going to be an adventure.

Tampa Bay followed the same script. The Rays were not overpowering at the plate in the first two games of the series. They only managed a .208 average and .227 BABIP. But New York committed four errors in Game 2, including three in the first inning, and half of Tampa Bay’s six runs through those two games were unearned. The Rays kept forcing the Yankees to give them extra outs and the reigning AL East champions took complete advantage of it.

That should sound painfully familiar. Toronto outscored New York 34-19 during last year’s four-game ALDS and repeatedly exposed a club whose October shortcomings are extending to a near two-decade drought.

Nothing about the latest collapse suggests they learned anything from last year's loss. New York is still a talented team and has plenty of star power and guys who can slug. But Tampa Bay’s contact-heavy pressure exposed the gap between a team that just tries to collect talent and and a team who can actually construct a winner.

Aaron Judge, sidelined for the postseason by a calf injury, spoke afterward about how championships come down to “the little things.” He was right. The problem is that those little things have looked like the Yankees’ biggest weakness for years.

Under Aaron Boone and Brian Cashman, New York has remained a perennial contender but have come up short over and over again in October. The Yankees have now gone 17 seasons without winning the World Series, and their recent postseason exits have felt like they just keep circling the drain.

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