As Nationals fans flood the streets of Washington D.C. on Saturday to enjoy the franchises first Championship Parade, Yankee fans will be digesting an early postseason exit, wondering what could have been.Dreams of securing an elusive 28th ring in the Bronx were put on hold for yet another year when the Houston Astros defeated New York and captured the American League pennant. Its easy to continue to point fingers for why the Yankees came up short in 2019. Save for a few moments, its clear that what carried New York to 103 wins in the regular season wavered when it mattered most. Instead of focusing on what held the team back, however, lets take a look at what the Yankees can -- and Fernando Rodney Jersey should -- learn from watching the Fall Cla sic from home.1. Even in todays game, good starting pitching still wins championshipsRecords were shattered once again this season in the home run department acro s Major League Baseball. Next year, its safe to say well see more of the same. But when examining the two teams that made it to the World Series, theres one constant: there are big name starting pitchers at the top of the rotation.Washington, all postseason long, was carried by Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg. In fact, over the course of the playoffs, both aces started five different games respectively -- thats tied for the most all time .Facing elimination in Game 6, Strasburg was locked in, to sing 8 1/3 masterful innings. That alongside a victory in Game 2 was good enough to earn him MVP honors.Although Houston came up short in the end, Gerrit Cole proved his worth with a dominant performance in Game 5. He and Strasburg both finished the 2019 postseason with 47 strike outs, tied Justin Morneau Jersey for second best of all time (Curt Schilling had a whopping 56 in 2001). Not to mention a quality start from Zack Greinke in Game 7 .The Yankees need to decide right now if their rotation is reliable enough to win games deep into October. Can they bank on James Paxton, Masahiro Tanaka and Luis Severino to get through five plus innings with a lead? Thats up to the front office to decide If the answer to that is no, its no secret there are options on the market for the Yankees to sign this offseason2.Clutch, timely hitting outplays analyticsScroll to ContinueOver a span of 162 games, trusting analytics is the way to go, but when it comes to a World Series where the stakes are the highest, the game is simple. Hit with runners in scoring position and you have a better chance at winning games.And Michael Pineda Jersey as it turns out, driving in RISP directly correlated to which team won each game.Collectively, the team that won went 22-for-64 (.344) with runners in scoring position. The losers were a demoralizing 5-for-50 (.100).Sound familiar? After an offensive eruption in Game 1 of the ALCS, the Yankees went 3-for-25 with RISP in the series final five games . DJ Lemahieu was unstoppable at capitalizing on run scoring opportunities during the regular season, hitting .389 (49-for-126) with RISP -- accounting for 73 of his team-leading 103 RBI. But for an offense that relied heavily on the home run, in the post season, their inability to hit singles and doubles was exposed. 3.Versatility at the top of the lineup is a dangerous weaponSmall ball isnt nearly as common in baseball as it used to be, let alone in the American League. For the Nationals, however, Trea Turner and Adam Eaton -- in the first and second spots in their order -- consistently kept the Astros on their toes.Turner, who hit just .161 in the World Series, proved from the get-go he was poised to wreak havoc. After a leadoff single to start Game 1, he wasted no time, stealing second base on the next pitch.Statistically it wasnt Turners best seven game stretch, but each of his four runs scored came in games the Nationals won. He wouldve potentially had more, had it not been for a controversial interference call in Game 6. Meanwhile, Eaton had an MVP- Byron Buxton Jersey caliber series, hitting two home runs to go alongside six RBI and an OBP just five percentage points below that of Juan Soto (.433). But the right fielder did far more than just hit -- he became the first player in World Series history to have a HR, sacrifice bunt and be hit Paul Molitor Jersey by a pitch in the same game.Sacrifice bunts are not always the answer, but Washington was consistently able to ignite rallies with their pair of leadoff hitters. Starting off Game 6, with Verlander on the mound, Turner set the tone with an infield single -- after a sac bunt from Eaton, Anthony Rendon drove home Turner with a base hit.Perhaps investing in a prototypical leadoff man -- who can bunt, steal and spark a rally -- would help awaken the Yankees offense when theyre unable to hit the long ball. Or if Lemahieu is poised to hit first in 2020, a speed threat could be effective in the nine hole.Its only been a matter of days since the final out of the 2019 season, but the Yankees are on the clock. If Cashman, Boone and company were watching the Fall Cla sic, its clear there are needs to be addre sed. Otherwise, the wait for number 28 will wage on.