During his High Heat show on MLB Network, Chris “Mad Dog” Russo laid out his clear feelings that the World Series is already over. The New York Yankees had given it all away when losing Game 1, and the Los Angeles Dodgers will be the eventual world champions.

“As an observer who doesn't like either franchise, so I don't care who wins, I think the Yankees are finished… The Yankees had to win the two games that Gerrit Cole pitched. Not that he had to get the win, just win the games… The Yankees are not quite as good as the Dodgers anyway. The Dodgers are a slight favorite with home-field advantage and a little deeper lineup.”

Russo continues to bloviate for a full six minutes so if you want to hear his full thoughts, the video is embedded above. To be fair, he says it all in the first sentence when he said, “I don't care who wins.” That might be taking his words out of context, but it speaks to the heart of his attitude.

Sure, if played out via a simulation, the Dodgers would likely this series more often than not. But the beauty of baseball is the variance. The fact that we saw a walk-off grand slam in the World Series for the first time ever, in a sport that's existed for about two centuries is incredible.

Yankees are down but certainly not out

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone (17) ooks on from the dugout before game one against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2024 MLB World Series at Dodger Stadium
© Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
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Pro athletes' memories are short. Yankees' Aaron Judge said the exact right words after his team's Game 1 loss.

“A loss is a loss,” Judge said. “I think you guys watched our last series versus Cleveland. Some good back-and-forth games. Gotta learn from it, move on and get ready for the next game tomorrow.”

It's easy to assign blame. But blaming Yankees manager Aaron Boone for using Nestor Cortes instead of Tim Hill is nitpicking a game that involves hundreds of microdecisions. He explained his choice when asked after the game, via SNY.

“Just liked the matchup. The reality is he has been throwing the ball really well the last few weeks as he's gotten ready for this,” Boone said. “I knew with one out there, it'd be tough to double up Shohei (Ohtani) if Tim Hill gets him on the ground. And with Mookie (Betts) behind him, it's a tough matchup there. So I felt convicted with Nestor in that spot.”

After Saturday night's Game 2 in Los Angeles, the series heads back to New York for Games 3, 4 and 5, if necessary.