00:00It's June 12th, 2009. We're in the boogie-down for Game 1 of the regular-season Subway series,
00:06and this one looks pretty over. With a one-run cushion and two outs in the bottom of the ninth,
00:13and with the Mets' ace closer on the mound, it's just a matter of making sure Alex Rodriguez
00:19doesn't do something super heroic at the plate and ruin an otherwise good-vibes win for the
00:24Masons. And would you look at that? He just popped up, and he's not happy about that. It's
00:32an easy out for Luis Castillo, who's tracking that ball right now. Easy win incoming. Should
00:38be easy, at least. The Mets could really use that against their big bro team. It's been quite a
00:45while since they had any bragging rights over the Yankees. So yeah, that should come with this catch
00:51right here. But why are we getting so weirdly worked up over a fly ball? There's actually a
00:57great explanation for that. So let's rewind. This episode of Rewinder is brought to you by T-Mobile,
01:03America's largest 5G network. The Mets are on the road in this game, but they're just a few
01:09Subway stops away from their home stadium, the brand-new, sparkly Citi Field. Could explain
01:15them looking so confident right now in this spot. They're comfortable, and they're close to home.
01:19The last time this series really mattered to the city, though, was when the Mets still played in
01:25Shea Stadium and the Yankees in the old Yankee Stadium. In 2000, these teams clashed in the Fall
01:31Classic, the first meaningful interleague series between the two city-dwelling teams in the modern
01:36era. Time to prove their mettle. Both teams came into the championship series in very different
01:42spots as franchises. The Yankees were youthful, led by the storied core four of Derek Jeter,
01:48Andy Pettit, Jorge Posada, and Mariano Rivera. The Mets were sort of on the decline. They
01:55rostered aging stars who were going to the Classic for the first time in their careers,
02:00and they knew that they were the underdogs headed into the clash. But they had traded
02:05for players like Mike Piazza for spots just like this to provide an extra pop against a team like
02:11the Yankees. For the Yankees, this was their chance to add to their dynasty run. With the
02:16potential of winning three chips in a row and four in the last 10 years on the line. For the
02:23Mets, though, it was just their first trip since their championship win back in 86. That's 14 years
02:29of building up to a World Series and a chance at glory in a pretty tough market. However,
02:35the Mets never got a chance to position themselves atop the New York baseball standings. Down three
02:42games to one, the crack off the bat from Piazza in the bottom of the ninth in game five felt like
02:47it might go out, but no. It died in the cold October air and the Yankees won the very unpopular
02:54Subway Series four to one, their third in a row. The entire series might have looked like a typical
03:00gentlemen's sweep if you're a box score watcher, but it was actually very close in every single
03:05game. Just a one run differential separated the Mets from the Yankees in games one, two, and four.
03:11And just a two run difference spelled the end for the Mets in game five. Another close but no cigar
03:17moment for the Queen squad, another legendary series win for the Bronx team. This series loss
03:23while stinging was nothing to worry about for the Mets. I mean, you're colliding with the Yankees
03:28team that featured a youthful and annoyingly good core of four elite players so good they
03:34have a nickname and everything. So while it stung that they weren't able to get it done,
03:39even getting to the Classic was a testament to their season and momentum moving forward.
03:43After that Subway Series though, it wasn't just as simple as running it back for the Mets or the
03:49Yankees. The Mets went back to the NLCS one time after 2000 and lost that to the St. Louis Cardinals.
03:57The Cards went on to win the whole thing that year, adding an extra bite to the series loss
04:03and tacking on another year where they could not get over the hump to the World Series. Other than
04:0806, they missed the postseason every single year after that 2000 appearance. This year,
04:14they have a solid team ready to turn the tide with faces like Jose Reyes, David Wright,
04:19and Carlos Beltran leading the way. The Yankees, on the flip side, were postseason mainstays. They
04:26just haven't won a World Series again since 2000, which is a metric of failure for them. 2008 actually
04:33saw them finally start to come back to earth and within the Mets' stratosphere, I guess?
04:38This season, both teams are primed for a bounce back from a disappointing 2008,
04:43with one season preview describing the Mets as a top NLEs team headed into 09,
04:49specifically praising them for shoring up their bullpen with closers like Francisco
04:53Rodriguez and J.J. Putts. Another preview said the Mets with a retooled roster just
04:58had to worry about getting to fall, sort of implying that there was nothing to worry about
05:03in the regular season despite them choking the previous few years. As for the team just across
05:10the Long Island Sound, the New York Post wrote that with all the spending the Yankees did in
05:14the offseason, no trip to the playoffs should spell the end of Joe Girardi's time as skipper.
05:20It was win or go home, so to speak, for Girardi. But back to tonight. A-Rod just popped up to
05:28Luis Castillo. He looks frustrated beyond belief because this is just another bad
05:34notch in a weird, complicated season for him and the senior citizen Yankees.
05:39Earlier this year, news broke about his steroid usage while with the Texas Rangers from 2001 to
05:492003. After long denying it, he came clean after being confronted with clear-cut evidence. Not a
05:56great look for one of the highest-paid players on the Yankees roster. A roster, by the way,
06:01already facing scrutiny over how inflated its payroll had become with nothing to show for it
06:06except retaining their aging stars. So heading into this season, A-Rod was under a microscope,
06:13and he knew it. He was going out of his way to even tell the press that he planned on focusing
06:18on baseball and staying out of the limelight as much as he had been thrust into it with the steroid
06:23news and his other activities off the field. A-Rod has been looking slightly less consistent.
06:29Batting just .233 up to this moment, he's really only been getting on base if he's hitting homers.
06:36Another thing going on right now in Yankees world? A very personal biography about A-Rod
06:41was published at the start of the season alleging that he had used steroids after the 2003 season
06:48and that he had been using them since high school. Those accusations had just one source,
06:53Jose Canseco, but the release still ruffled some feathers. Yankees manager Joe Girardi's
06:59feathers, specifically. Unfortunately, despite the pretty flimsy claims in the book,
07:04it took the, I'm gonna just focus on baseball stuff that A-Rod was talking about in the
07:09offseason and made it feel moot. On the opposite side of this play, Castillo is experiencing a
07:15renaissance year, pretty similar to how the Mets are bouncing back from being so disappointing
07:21since that World Series appearance back in 2000. Castillo's facing some high expectations from the
07:26Mets this season, especially after such a down year from him. It was a matter of just returning
07:32to form after he was hobbled post-trade from the Minnesota Twins in 2007. In 2008, his first full
07:39year as a Met, he hit just .245. He also didn't play a full season, only suiting up for 87 games
07:45in 08 with lingering injuries and a slow recovery from an offseason knee surgery.
07:51He came into spring training this year with a lot more pep in his step, looking for redemption in
07:56New York, and the Mets entered this season looking for the same thing, especially given their roster
08:01is aging just as the Yankees are. Defying those predictions for the team, though, Castillo has
08:06been raking. He has a .278 average and .376 on-base percentage up till tonight's game, a pretty solid
08:14stat line for a slap hitter. He's also getting rave reviews for his aggressiveness by teammates
08:20and his coaches. The former punching bag for Mets fans is suddenly someone they could root for
08:25alongside favorites like Reyes and Wright. They've given a reason for fans to cheer for them again.
08:30So looking at both of these players' seasons leading up to this moment, it's clear that both
08:35have a lot to prove. They both have to do their job at the moment, easy enough, it's just a pop-up,
08:41but under an immense amount of pressure. This game has been fairly high scoring. A total of 15
08:47runs have been tacked on by both teams, and the Mets are in control with their ace, K-Rod, on the
08:53mound, pointing out the pop-up in the air. Another pop-up in another clutch moment for another star
08:59between these two franchises. Finally, the Mets are going to start turning some heads and Castillo
09:04is going to continue his redemption campaign with them. And on the flip side, A-Rod is going to
09:09continue to draw negative attention for simply not playing freely and maybe put his manager's
09:15job at risk. And the Mets don't even need Castillo to be aggressive here, just has to do his job
09:21and support his team. Simple, passive almost. Well, welcome to a moment in history.
09:27Castillo. Dropped the ball! He dropped the ball! Here comes Teixeira! And the Yankees win! Oh my goodness! He dropped the ball!
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