The Yankees are in the Bronx for the World Series Monday. 'Come on, they've got to take it.'

It's been a rough start for the Yankees in the 2024 World Series.

They lost again in Los Angeles last night to the Dodgers. That means the Yankees are down 2-0. Now the World Series shifts to the Bronx, with game three on Monday night.

WNYC's David Furst checked in with sports reporter Priya Desai to get a little perspective on a World Series that isn't going quite how New York fans hoped. An edited transcript of their conversation is below.

Furst: Priya, before we get to the on the field action, despite all of the Yankees' historical success and the perpetual expectations over the years, it's actually been 15 years since they were last in the World Series. So what's the vibe like around town?

Now is the time to cash in any relationship you have built with your neighborhood bartender, because otherwise you're watching at home. There's a huge screen down at the World Trade Center where the games have been playing. It's been beautiful outside, like perfect baseball weather.

But I do want to mention something, David. The Yankees, despite a 15-year drought, continue to maintain dominant cultural relevance. The Yankee hat is super-fashionable, still, to wear. Ralph Lauren released a special edition Yankees clothing line, a [$4,000] cashmere Yankees jacket. I don't know if you're interested, but it doesn't matter because it's sold out.

The Yankees are still the Yankees, is what I'm saying.

Did you get one of the jackets before they sold out?

It sold out in a day. Not that I was going to buy it, but a day. That's crazy!

Well, as we said, the Bronx is getting ready to host the next games, games three, four, and hopefully five this week in the best-of-seven series. What do the Yankees have to do to win their first game in this series?

Yeah, it's, it's not as if the Yankees have completely lost their ability to compete. Both games one and two have had late comeback attempts, but the Dodgers have been able to survive them because while the Yankees love to leave runners on base, I believe they ended Saturday night with the bases loaded.

And the biggest disappointment in the postseason has been Aaron Judge. Six strikeouts in the last two games, and this is supposed to be the best hitter in baseball. So the question is: Does Yankees manager Aaron Boone move Judge down in the lineup? And David, I should add that the Dodger star Shohei Ohtani, he sustained a pretty serious shoulder injury Saturday night. So there's a big question mark if he returns for a game three. I mean, you seeing an injury like that is always pretty devastating. You, you hope the best for him, but you know, if, if he's out, that does shift some things for the Yankees.

And this was supposed to be this big head-to-head matchup of these two mega-superstars. Very upsetting to hear about that.

Before we let you go, Priya, there was a big reason to celebrate this week in sports. New York Liberty fans are still buzzing about their team's title run, and the players were really all over the place this past week on talk shows, making public appearances. Of course, there was the parade, the City Hall ceremony, taking a well=deserved victory lap.

Oh, absolutely. I went to the parade and David, it was wall-to-wall. It was absolutely packed. It was so wonderful to see.

Very cool. Now, let's talk about, for a moment here, the growing popularity of the WNBA. This is now part of the reason why the WNBA Players Association opted out of their collective bargaining agreement with the league. Let's talk about that. How does this affect the upcoming season for the Liberty?

So the current deal won't expire until October of next year, which means there will be a WNBA season, but it's in the best interest of everyone to get a new contract signed before the start of the season, a threat of a lockout.

It's debilitating for a league, and David, you mentioned the popularity and that's a big part of this decision to opt out by the Players Association. The WNBA had a record viewership and the league wants players want to get paid, which is understandable.

The Liberty's Breanna Stewart has been very vocal on pay disparities in the league. She took a pay cut to ensure the team could bring in enough talent to win. So players are looking to not only increase salary caps, but also demanding some standards to improve. You know, the Liberty, they have amazing facilities and the rest of the players in the league, they're like, "we we want that too."

We'll have to see how that evolves as we head into the next season.

In the moments that we have left, do you care to offer a prediction of what happens in game three with the Yankees?

I think it's going to come down to Ohtani and the injury report should come out today. The Yankees are in the Bronx. Come on, they've got to take it.