Vladimir Guerrero Jr. broke Max Fried's spirit and the Yankees radio broadcast

In every postseason, there are moments that define whether a team succeeds or fails. It's rare to be able to watch that failure register in real time, but in the case of Max Fried and the New York Yankees, we got a treat. The Yankees are saying all the right things after losing Game 2 in blowout fashion and falling behind the division rival Toronto Blue Jays, 2-0 in a best-of-five series. That's because they have to say the right things, or risk facing the wrath of a fanbase one loss away from exploding.

Fried was on the hook for a crushing grand slam to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Toronto Blue Jays in the bottom of the fourth inning – even though he himself didn't give it up. The $218 million man has struggled in the playoffs during his career, with an ERA well over five heading into this start. Fried was removed from the game in the fourth inning, giving way to Will Warren, who missed his location on a 95 MPH fastball in on the hands. Guerrero Jr. made him pay.

The broadcast angle did not do Vladdy's home run justice. The subsequent bat flip by Guerrero Jr., and decision by FOX to zoom in on Fried's face in the aftermath, told a devastating story.

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Yankees radio broadcast was salty about Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s home run

As one would imagine, the Yankees radio booth wasn't too thrilled with Guerrero Jr.'s home run, either. Dave Sims and Suzyn Waldman were professional in their stance, but Sims in particular sounded as if the Yankees season had just ended. There's still another game left, but when Vladdy broke Game 2 open, the Yankees immediately started preparing for Game 3 – a matchup that could very well be their last of 2025.

Sims and Waldman sound completely broken. Yet, despite the rather depressing reality the Yankees now face, their captain remains optimistic. New York has been here before, so he claims.

“We’ve been doing it all year long,” Aaron Judge said. “We’ve had our backs up against the wall and been in some tough spots. In the Wild Card Series, we lost the first one and played two elimination games. It’s kind of what we did even at the end of the year. We were chasing the division. We were out there and had to win every single game going down to the wire. So just get back to playing our brand of baseball, put the pressure on them, and anything can happen.”

Are the Yankees finished?

While plenty of teams have come back from an 0-2 deficit in a best-of-seven series – those begin in the ALCS – doing so in a best-of-five is far more difficult. In fact, it's been done just three times in 32 tries, good for a shade under nine percent. There is no room for error, and the Yankees are essentially entering a three-game series they must sweep, which will include one game in Toronto. Yankees manager Aaron Boone said it best after Game 2. It's not just that the Yankees lost the first two matchups, but how they lost.

“Obviously it feels like the world's caving in around you -- you lose two games like that in their building, where it doesn't go right,” Boone said. “But, all of a sudden, you go out there and win a ballgame on Tuesday, the needle can change.”

The Yankees need more support from the middle of their lineup, which starts with Judge. While he is hitting a much-improved .444 so far this postseason, he has just one extra-base hit. New York is not built to win via a series of paper cuts. Instead, they need their big boppers to put the ball in the seats, and match Toronto blow for blow.

Yet, as Judge recounted, his 2017 Yankees were the last team to overcome an 0-2 road deficit in the Division Series, doing so against the Cleveland Guardians, who were coming off a World Series appearance the previous season. There is still a glimmer of hope, but the Yankees chances are fading fast.