New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said his team didn't play up to its usual standard in the World Series.
"The (Los Angeles) Dodgers won the World Series, and I congratulate them. I wish we gave everyone our best shot, but you only have a small window to do that," he said, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post.
"We earned our right to get there, but we didn't play our best baseball while there, and we got sent home," he added.
Cashman's comments come after former Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly, now a free agent, blasted the Yankees on Monday.
The often outspoken hurler said New York "might be the eighth- or ninth-best playoff team" if all the competing squads were to be re-ranked, calling the matchup between the teams a "mismatch from the get-go."
He also said the Dodgers "pay attention to every single detail" and their superstars "care and aren't lazy and play hard."
While Cashman didn't condemn his players' focus or effort, he did acknowledge that the Yankees' inability to execute baseball fundamentals ultimately let them down when it mattered most.
That was especially the case during the fifth inning of Game 5 when several defensive miscues led to a blown 5-0 lead.
"The team wasn't the best defensive team that we've had, clearly. And the team also obviously made some baserunning mistakes," Cashman said.
"But obviously, the Game 5 situation was involving players that are really good consistently at what they do, whether it be the Gold Glove shortstop or the typically high-end defender at first or the ace of our mound in Gerrit Cole that's as great a baseball mind as they come. Or Aaron Judge, (who) catches that fly ball a billion times out of a billion."
New York, appearing in its first World Series since 2009, lost in five games to the Dodgers.
