Dodgers' Joe Kelly Kicks Yankees While They're Down, Calls Bronx Bombers One of the Worst Playoff Teams

Joe Kelly may have been kept out of the Dodgers' World Series rotation, but the fiery LA favorite is still in the headlines for his post-victory trash talk directed at the Yankees.

It's been a week since the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the New York Yankees in five games. In the aftermath, Kelly dubbed the Yankees the "eighth-best" team in baseball despite reaching the Fall Classic.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 30:  Luke Weaver #30 of the New York Yankees is relieved by manager Aaron Boone #17 during the ninth inning of Game Five of the 2024 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Yankee Stadium on October 30, 2024 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 02: Joe Kelly #99 of Los Angeles Dodgers pitches in the bottom of the fifth inning during the regular season game against the Oakland Athletics at the Oakland Coliseum on August 2, 2024 in Oakland, California.  (Photo by Gene Wang/Getty Images)

Kelly, known for his fiery responses to naysayers, appeared on the Baseball Isn't Boring podcast to throw fighting words, calling the Yanks the "eighth" or "ninth-best" team in the postseason.

Is JK accurate with his assessment?

"But I mean past that it was a fun series" Kelly said. " I mean, they almost snagged a couple of wins, you know what I mean?" Kelly said.

"Like it was just a mismatch from the get-go," the Dodgers vet declared. "We had a playoff re-ranking they might be ranked eighth or ninth best playoff team, you know what I mean?"

And to be fair, the other New York team pushed the Dodgers to six games in the NLCS. 

Before that, the Padres pushed the Dodgers to a full series in the best-of-5, so the Yankees would certainly be the weakest team that LA faced.

"You're putting the Padres ahead of them," Kelly continued. "You're putting the Phillies ahead of 'em. You're putting the Mets ahead of 'em. You're putting the Braves ahead of 'em and the Braves just got unlucky 'cause they had to play that doubleheader. You're putting... I mean the Guardians played like crap, but the Guardians played better D, better baseball all-around."

NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 30: Joe Kelly #99 and Teoscar Hernández #37 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrate after their 7-6 victory in Game 5 to win the 2024 World Series presented by Capital One between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday, October 30, 2024 in New York, New York. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

Kelly didn't pitch for the Dodgers because of a shoulder issue, though LA's bullpen was strong enough to work without him. Guys like Alex Vesia and Brusdar Graterol worked themselves up to playing shape to take World Series roster spots, aiding a bullpen without Evan Phillips.

The 36-year-old and fellow Dodgers teammates have also bashed the Yankees for rolling out Fat Joe as their performer for Game 3, which had a mystical effect on the Yankees (not a very good one).

Some saw it as the beginning of the end for New York's odds at a turnaround, down 2-0 when the series swung back to the Bronx.

Dodgers postseason hero Kiké Hernandez said the team knew it was a wrap once they saw Fat Joe on the mound trying to hype up the home crowd.

"We didn’t even need to play, because after that performance, we had already won," Hernandez said during LA's World Series festivities on Friday.

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