Unusual Yankees announcement shows Dodgers are fully in their heads ahead of WS rematch

The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees are kicking off the second half with a three-game series in the Bronx this weekend.

Given both teams' respective performances so far this year — the Dodgers have been great, the Yankees have been fine — it's not exactly the powerhouse vs. powerhouse matchup that MLB would want out of their two most lucrative franchises. Still, any rematch between these two teams is going to treated with a little extra gravity.

The Yankees are certainly treating it that way. They pulled out an unusual amount of stops ahead of the opener, posting probable pitching graphics across their social media platforms. According to their X (formerly Twitter) history, they haven't done anything of the kind since July 2012 for a series against the Boston Red Sox (though Phil Hughes, CC Sabathia, and Hiroki Kuroda didn't get a graphic).

Meanwhile, the Dodgers have done nothing of the sort, because they simply don't need to care about this series the same way the Yankees do.

New York is 54-42 (.563), second in the AL East behind the Tampa Bay Rays, and securely in a Wild Card spot. But — and this is something Dodgers fans can certainly relate to — it's far from good enough for baseball's winningest franchise.

The Dodgers have the best record in baseball and are 11.5 games up from the NL West's second place Arizona Diamondbacks. The Yankees simply aren't on the same level right now.

Yankees are treating weekend's series against Dodgers with a lot more gravity than LA

The Yankees were up 3.5 games for first place in the AL East on June 17, but they've let that lead slowly slip away and turn into a deficit. They were three games behind the first place Rays going into the All-Star break, and suffice it to say Yankees fans are none too pleased.

There's still a wide berth between the Yankees and the Red Sox in third, but Boston's recent surge kicked off after a sweep of New York, and it might be enough to allow them to avoid selling at the deadline.

LA experienced a rather sleepy stretch going into the All-Star break, losing five of their last seven, but only the worst kind of Dodgers fans are panicking right now. The Dodgers are still in the better position — literally the best position — right now.

This might be a World Series rematch on paper, but it's hardly one in practice. Even if the Yankees win the series, their fans are going to care a lot more than Dodgers fans will about losing.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow