After a Christmas trip to Texas, I’m back! Hope all of our Subway Squawkers readers have had a great holiday season so far. We have one more holiday to go – New Year’s. And Squawker Jon informed me that the YES Network is running ads suggesting that after you watch the New Year’s Eve ball drop, that you tune into their Yankees Classics marathon on New Year’s Day to see the Mets’ Luis Castillo drop the ball. Ha! (If only the game broadcast showed Squawker Jon sitting there slack-jawed at the Stadium, as I cackled at Castillo!)
The YES Network is also showing the parade tonight, which is cool. But I’m not crazy about some of the other choices for the New Year’s Day marathon. They’re showing the following 2009 games:
- 12:00 PM Minnesota @ Yankees (5/17/09) (the third walkoff win in a row)
- 3:00 PM Mets @ Yankees (6/12/09) (Castillo ball drop)
- 6:00 PM Boston @ Yankees (8/7/09) (15-inning epic)
- 11:00 PM Jeter ties Gehrig: Tampa Bay @ Yankees 9/9/09
Of the Minnesota games, I would have liked to have seen the first one on the marathon – it’s not just A-Rod’s first game back at Yankee Stadium, but it’s the very first walkoff pie game! (And Squawker Jon and I were at that game as well.)
And why is the Jeter tying Gehrig game on the list, and not the one where he sets the record? Very strange.
Granted, I’m not sure of the TV rights issues. But there are other games I would like to see in the marathon. The one game I would most like to see again from 2009 on TV is ALDS Game 2, the first turning point of the postseason, the game that remade Alex Rodriguez’s repuation, and one of the greatest games of the playoffs.
Remember, the Yankees were trailing by two runs in the ninth inning, and the series could very well have turned out like their previous playoff appearances. But thanks to A-Rod’s game-tying – and Mark Teixeira’s game-winning – homers, the Yanks won the game.
Would also like to see Game 2 of the ALCS again. And I’m getting the complete World Series DVD as a belated Christmas gift, so I’ll get to see Damon’s Dash on TV soon enough. (I have MLB.tv on my computer, so I can watch these moments over, but I don’t have my computer connected to my TV, so the screen is much smaller, of course.)
Other 2009 games I would like to see again include these choices:
* 6/24/09 vs. Braves – The Yankees were struggling a bit – Brian Cashman had flown down to Atlanta to squawk at the team – and they were being no-hit by Atlanta. When Brett Gardner finally got a hit, he was picked off base. Joe Girardi was so frustrated that he got ejected arguing the call. Then the Yankee bats came alive, and they won the game. Unlikely hero – Francisco Cervelli with his first major league homer.
* 5/8/09 vs. Orioles -It’s A-Rod’s first game back, where he hits a three-run homer on the very first pitch. CC Sabathia also pitches a great outing. First great game of the year.
* 6/28/09 vs. Mets: Mariano Rivera gets his 500th save. But my favorite moment of the game is when Francisco Rodriguez walks him with the bases loaded. The Mets later infamously sent the pitching rubber to Mo as a souvenir; I wish they had also sent the baseball that he walked on over! And we were at this game as well.
Hopefully, these games will make the YES Network eventually. I’m already a little wistful, though, when thinking about the great moments of Hideki Matsui, Johnny Damon, and Melky Cabrera.
I’m sure our readers have other 2009 games they’d like to see on Yankees Classics. Tell us your suggestions!
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