Hour 1: Baseball Struggle Bus

Summary

Don, Hahn & Rosenberg Podcast Summary
Episode: Hour 1: Baseball Struggle Bus
Release Date: July 22, 2025

Introduction: Filling the Void
Timestamp: 00:00 - 03:08

In this episode of Don, Hahn & Rosenberg, Don LaGreca joins host Jordan Ronan to fill in for Alan Hahn and Peter Rosenberg, who are on vacation. The duo kicks off with light-hearted banter about the pressures Jordan faces while covering for two hosts simultaneously. Don humorously quips, “I mailchimped my marketing with AI to create an effective marketing campaign in minutes. No mailchimp and way” (00:00), setting a relaxed and engaging tone for the episode.

Tribute to Ozzy Osbourne
Timestamp: 03:08 - 10:07

The conversation takes a heartfelt turn as Don pays tribute to the legendary heavy metal icon, Ozzy Osbourne, who passed away at the age of 76. Don shares personal anecdotes, reflecting on his deep connection with Ozzy and Black Sabbath. He reminisces, “When I first started getting into music... I discovered the album Blizzard of Oz... one of the greatest albums of all time” (03:39). Don emphasizes Ozzy’s cultural impact beyond metal, highlighting his appearance on reality TV and his enduring legacy in music. This segment underscores the emotional depth and personal passions of the hosts, resonating with fellow metal enthusiasts.

Baseball Analysis: Yankees' Struggles
Timestamp: 10:07 - 22:07

Shifting gears, Don and Jordan dive into the core topic of the episode: the current state of Major League Baseball, with a sharp focus on the New York Yankees. Don expresses concern over the Yankees being “four games back of the Toronto Blue Jays who don't lose” (03:56), signaling a significant downturn for the storied franchise.

They dissect the Yankees' performance, citing key issues such as offensive inconsistencies and defensive lapses. Jordan critiques the team’s reliance on home runs, noting, “You strike out too much. All the reasons why they haven't won in the recent years” (20:23). Don echoes these sentiments, emphasizing the team's struggle with situational hitting and defensive errors, particularly spotlighting Anthony Volpe’s 12 errors: “He's still making a lot of rangy plays. He just hasn't been as consistent” (30:49).

Listener Calls and Further Analysis
Timestamp: 22:07 - 51:49

Listeners join the conversation through phone calls, voicing their frustrations and offering their perspectives. A caller named Artie echoes the hosts' concerns, stating, “How can you say that? They're only a half game out of first place” (21:03). Don and Jordan delve deeper into the organizational failures under Yankees' manager Aaron Boone, discussing the lack of accountability and poor decision-making by the front office. Jordan passionately argues, “It's hard to argue... it's been their problem” (20:37), critiquing Brian Cashman's management and the ineffective utilization of star players like Aaron Judge.

The discussion also touches on the broader state of baseball, where Don laments, “Baseball is in a really bad place. Nobody wants to talk about it” (13:01), highlighting systemic issues across MLB teams beyond just the Yankees.

Strategic Insights and Future Outlook
Timestamp: 51:49 - End

As the episode nears its conclusion, Don and Jordan reflect on the potential outcomes for the Yankees and other MLB teams as they approach the trade deadline. They speculate on whether the Yankees can turn their season around and secure a playoff spot, but remain skeptical about their championship prospects. Jordan asserts, “Baseball won't allow it to happen as currently constituted” (16:12), emphasizing the need for strategic changes and improved fundamentals.

The hosts wrap up the episode by teasing upcoming segments, including discussions on Mets versus Angels games and future show highlights, maintaining engagement for their audience.

Notable Quotes:

• Don LaGreca: “When you rely only on that [home runs], it’s easy to shut you down.” (06:15)
• Jordan Ronan: “The Yankees are barely even a contender.” (19:30)
• Don LaGreca: “These teams are not good enough to win anything.” (12:15)
• Jordan Ronan: “How are you supposed to win a championship when the Mets can’t hit with runners in scoring position?” (16:12)

Conclusion

In this engaging episode of Don, Hahn & Rosenberg, listeners are treated to a blend of personal storytelling and in-depth sports analysis. Don’s tribute to Ozzy Osbourne adds emotional weight, while the comprehensive critique of the Yankees' performance offers valuable insights for baseball fans. The episode effectively balances heartfelt moments with critical sports commentary, making it a must-listen for enthusiasts eager to understand the complexities of the current baseball landscape.

Transcript

[Don LaGreca]

I just mailchimped my marketing. You mailchimped your what? I mailchimped my marketing with AI to create an effective marketing campaign in minutes. No mailchimp and way. Yes, mailchimp and way. Now I can hyper personalize my campaigns across email and sms. You can do all that with mailchimp. What did I just mailchimp and say? Mailchimp your marketing with the number one AI powered email marketing and automation platform Intuit. Mailchimp number one based on publicly available data on competitors customers plans vary. SMS available as add ons visit mailchimp.com fell in love with the sex. Han sauce was everywhere.

[Jordan Ronan]

And Rosenberg, if you want to stay.

[Don LaGreca]

Up, he's got the energy that matters. This isn't North Dakota, this is New York.

[Jordan Ronan]

This is Don Han and Rosenberg.

[Don LaGreca]

John Frenchie Fuqua on 880 ESPN and.

[Jordan Ronan]

The ESPN New York app two thirds.

[Don LaGreca]

Of Don Han Rosenberg on vacation. I'm Don Lagreca. Space between the A and the G. As we established earlier this morning, I'm still here. Jordan Ronan's nice enough to hang out and fill in for two people. How does it feel to fill in for two people?

[Jordan Ronan]

That's a lot of pressure you're putting on me right now because, hey, you don't. It's not good enough to just fill in for Peter. You got to do. You got to fill the void for Peter and Alan.

[Don LaGreca]

Well, here's why, full disclosure, since there isn't a video element right now, is that like, technically you're filling in for Alan because Alan and I have been together while Peter's taking the month of July off. And so technically you're filling in for Alan, but you're sitting in Peter's chair.

[Jordan Ronan]

Oh, do you know what? They actually suggested I sit in Allen's chair.

[Don LaGreca]

But this is good.

[Jordan Ronan]

I like this.

[Don LaGreca]

Right? So now you're kind of filling in for two people. You're sitting in Peter's, but you're filling in the space of Alan. But it's so good. You're one of my favorite people. You're a great guest. And now for the next four days, Allen's out. But because you've got obligations at Giants camp, which opens tomorrow, you'll be out there. So I get you for today, Thursday and Friday. Pat o' Keefe's going to be in tomorrow, but I get to hang out with you for three days.

[Jordan Ronan]

Pretty awesome.

[Don LaGreca]

Yeah.

[Jordan Ronan]

Looking forward to it. First time we've actually done a show together.

[Don LaGreca]

Yeah, we've done. You've been a guest a Ton of times at camp, you stop by over at the beach Bash, but to get to do a show with you. And I've heard you fill in in the mornings because that's where I consume a majority of the show when I'm not driving in like feeding the kids, listening to the morning show. And you did a great job with Dave.

[Jordan Ronan]

Appreciate it. Yeah, no, it was easy. So that's why I didn't want to change the juju. Right. Like I sat in this seat last week.

[Don LaGreca]

Oh, that's where you sat.

[Jordan Ronan]

I sat here last time. Why don't I just sit here again?

[Don LaGreca]

It's awesome. We had a productive meeting. It was just. It's good to see you. I mean, a couple of Jersey guys.

[Jordan Ronan]

That's right. This is the Jersey crew right here. It seems appropriate that I'm in too because I was the disgruntled Yankee fan on the morning show last week. So, you know, is there a good day to be a disgruntled Yankee fan?

[Don LaGreca]

Oh my God.

[Jordan Ronan]

It would seem like today would be that day.

[Don LaGreca]

Yeah, for sure. And we're going to get into the baseball of it all, for sure. Especially the Yankees who now are four games back of the Toronto Blue Jays who don't lose. And there's just a lot to be, I think, concerned about around the New York Yankees.

[Jordan Ronan]

But maybe the Blue Jays are good.

[Don LaGreca]

I think there's enough evidence they're good. Are they better than the Yankees? Well, through 100 plus games, you know, you look at the head to head matchups and you look at where they are four games ahead, they're better now. Things can change. The deadline I think is going to have a lot to do with it. Schedule is going to have a lot to do with it. Buster only had a very interesting tweet. We'll get into a second about the Yankees and their schedule and how it really behooves them to get into the playoffs.

[Jordan Ronan]

So you're a pro. That's, that's a quality tease right there.

[Don LaGreca]

Oh, sure. But I wanted to just take the moment because anybody that knows me and I'm going on 24 years working at this radio station that you, you get to know me and if you listen to the show for any amount of time, how much I love music and how much I love metal, the face of heavy metal died today. And it's someone that even if you're not into metal, you know the name, you know the face, you know who I'm talking about. We lost Ozzy Osbourne today at the age of 76. And the irony of that, because just a couple of weeks ago, he was in Birmingham, where it all started, with the band Black Sabbath and where he was born. And they were able to put the last show together. And he had been suffering from Parkinson's, and he had to sit through the show and was almost. I don't want to get too. But, you know, it almost felt like that last show was it. It was almost like, all right, there's nothing left to give here. I got to be with my mates, the original Black Sabbath band, with Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler and Bill Ward, for one last time. And that's it. And now he's gone. A life well lived hard lived. A lot of people during the course of his time didn't think he'd make it to 76 or even 46. All kinds of addictions, all kinds of problems. But I'm sorry, heavy metal, that it kind of begins and ends with him with the band Black Sabbath, but Big Black Sabbath with him. Big Black Sabbath. I tweeted out that at 13 years old, when I first started getting into music. Cause let's face it, when you're a kid, you're a slave to whoever your parents are listening to in the car. And my father lives at the WHN, ironically, 1050. Back then, he was a big country fan. So I'm listening to Elvira and all that stuff. And my mom liked wnbc and we'd listen to some Billy Joel and some classic rock and all that. So finally, when I was 13 and I became a little bit more independent and started to experiment with music, I discovered the album Blizzard of Oz, which was Ozzy Osbourne's first solo album after he broke up with Black Sabbath. It's one of the greatest albums of all time. I'm sure Jacob and Harvey, who are behind the glass, will throw in some Ozzy during the course of the breaks and stuff. And then I took the deep dive into his history with Black Sabbath and fell in love with that band and everything that went on with there. But just kind of taken aback just moments before the start of the show, you knew the day was going to come eventually. Again, he lived a hard life and he was really not well. And I think everybody kind of recognized that concert a couple of weeks ago in Birmingham. It's probably the last time we would see him publicly. But just indulge me just for a second. The fact that this is. To see that he's gone is just. It's a lot for a metal fan to that there's no Ozzy anymore is a little strange. Here's why.

[Jordan Ronan]

Ozzy has a little more reach, Right. Because that's. You're. You're. I'm a little younger. Not.

[Don LaGreca]

How old are you?

[Jordan Ronan]

I'm 46.

[Don LaGreca]

Oh, yeah. Well, I'm. You're 40, so I'm 57.

[Jordan Ronan]

Yeah. So I'm like a different. In the next decade.

[Don LaGreca]

Yeah.

[Jordan Ronan]

And so Black Sabbath was like, a little bit older at that time for me. You know, that was a little bit before my time. I almost know the Osbornes from the reality show.

[Don LaGreca]

Oh, I watched that reality show.

[Jordan Ronan]

So that kind of added to the myth, you know, the. Of what? Of what he was. Right. Because then you learned. You're like, oh, oh, I didn't. I don't know a ton about Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath. And then you start going and doing the deep dive at that point. So he even had a bigger reach than just sort of.

[Don LaGreca]

Oh, yeah.

[Jordan Ronan]

You know, Metal famous musician by then dipping his toes into this. Like, my wife would probably know who Abby Ozzy Osbourne is now, whereas previously, before that reality show, she wouldn't.

[Don LaGreca]

No, he was. He was definitely a phenomenon. And yeah, beyond the music and that reality show, which is, you know, 20 years ago, but on. It was kind of like at the.

[Jordan Ronan]

Beginning of, like, the reality type shows.

[Don LaGreca]

Yeah, it was a big deal. And Sharon was a manager and they got married and you got to meet his kids and all that. It was just. But everybody knows Ozzy Osbourne if they don't know the music. But just crazy to see that he's gone. And just one quick story and then we'll get to the baseball of it all, I promise. But in 1990, I interned at Kroc, which is the classic rock station back.

[Jordan Ronan]

In the day, of course.

[Don LaGreca]

And I got in for my friend Tim Reed, and I was able. That was an internship, summer of 1990, three days a week, getting on the bus going into the city was on Madison Avenue and one of the subsidiaries of kroc and having to deal with Howard Stern and all that. I got amazing stories and experiences from that. But down the hall was this thing, Xerock, which was a satellite station out of Dallas that played metal. And we had the local station, which was like, I might even have been an AM station at the time. And Steve Apria, who works over at the Fan right now as their engineer, came from Seton Hall. Pirate radio member WSOU played metal for years, and he was like the station manager of the Xerock. And Bands would come in all the time. And my job is to answer the phones, give away tickets and all that. And they had Ozzy guest DJ at Xerock. And my job as the intern was to take him to the bathroom because you couldn't let. You couldn't let. You could even Ozzy. 30 plus years ago, you couldn't say, ozzy, the bathroom is down the hall, make a right. He would. You might not get there. You might lose him. Like, never mind that he won't get in the bathroom. Yeah, he might be gone. So I'd have to take him to the chart. Him and Sharon. Yeah. I'm nervous because this is my idol and also it's a job and I. I can't lose Ozzy. Did you fanboy and that's on the table.

[Jordan Ronan]

Or do. Were you professional?

[Don LaGreca]

My only fanboy moment as I'm walking with him, I said to him, are you having a good time? And he goes, no. Okay. So I knew he's not having a good time, so he's probably not going to indulge me in any kind of stories or whatever. But what did happen when I was in college? My buddy and I, Scott Salvaggi, we did a heavy metal show at College on WRPR 90.3 FM. And on Friday nights we'd spin metal. And he got Sabbath one New York license plates for his car. So after they expired for my birthday, he gave one of them to me. So I had a Sabbath one New York license plate that I just hung up in my man cave, but I brought it with me.

[Jordan Ronan]

Still hung up there.

[Don LaGreca]

Yeah. And now it's like two Don Ozzy Osbourne. So he signed it, which is one of the. My most prized possessions to have a Sabbath 1 New York license plate, which I think you're supposed to give back to the state, but I'm not giving it back and sign. But it was. It was. It was pretty cool. So. Really sad day that he's no longer with us. But anybody that knows me knows how big a deal Ozzy Osbourne was in my life. So I wanted to take that second. So thanks for indulging me there. Now to. I can't say happier things because I think Yankee fans are probably as depressed as I am right now. Like, what's going on? And. And it's. You go into a series with the Blue Jays and we. I sweeping. I didn't say they had to sweep the series because that's hard to do. Blue Jays are good. You got to respect them. But, you know, completely shut Down a Stanton home runs, the only offense you produce, and again kicking the ball around that like just, they just aren't in a good place right now. And now you're four games back of a Toronto Blue Jay team and it's hard to not start thinking, Jordan, that you're beginning to believe that this Blue Jay team is legitimately good and the Yankees could be in a little bit of trouble when he's division 100%.

[Jordan Ronan]

You're like, well, the Blue Jays are a better team than the Yankees. That's what you're. Everything you were worried about with the Yankees reared its ugly head yesterday, right? Like everything.

[Don LaGreca]

The.

[Jordan Ronan]

They make too many mistakes, errors. Their third base position is a total just disaster. I mean such a professional just mistake by Brian Cashman from the start, right? The way they handled that position. They don't, they don't hit again when they face good pitching. So I thought over the weekend I got all excited, right? They have that comeback win against the Braves, good series against the Braves. You feel you're feeling good. Then I realize while I'm watching yesterday, that's what the Yankees do. They beat up on the mediocre pitching, right? And they pound it. They pound the ball out of the yard. A Trent Grisham hits that grand slam. They get you all excited. That that's why they have this. Statistically they rank great in offense, right? But do you feel good about their offense when they face a good pitcher?

[Don LaGreca]

No. Well, that's, that's the postseason, right?

[Jordan Ronan]

Exactly.

[Don LaGreca]

That's what's got to be scary about them. They will beat up on the Braves who have no pitching. Exactly. They get a very good switching right now.

[Jordan Ronan]

Which is why, which is why I, you know, I almost forgot. I got caught up now. And now you realize in that after effect it's like, oh, that was because the Braves pitching stinks.

[Don LaGreca]

Aside from good. Sorry.

[Jordan Ronan]

From Schreider who shut them down.

[Don LaGreca]

Right. But. But he shut them down. But he's still working with like a 5 earn run average and under.500. Right. The Braves aren't good. I know you look at the Braves and think, oh, it's the Atlanta Braves. You're on the road. And that's the way it looked when the schedule started. But there's still a team that's well under.500 not going anywhere.

[Jordan Ronan]

Can't pitch, pitching is demoralized.

[Don LaGreca]

So that's, that's the thing, the jumping off point one, 800-919-3776 to get you involved in this thing is that they're going to make the playoffs. All right.

[Jordan Ronan]

Are you so sure?

[Don LaGreca]

Yes. And I'm going to tell you then I'll get to the. I'll get to the Buster Tease. Buster tweeted out earlier in the day. Yankees are four games behind the Jays in the American League east and lead the wild card race by two games. Something worth remembering down the stretch. Per FanGraphs, they have the easiest remaining schedule of any American League team. This is how they'll wrap the season up starting September 15th. Three games in Minnesota, four games at Baltimore, three games at home against the White Sox, three games at home against the blue of the Orioles. You know, those are their last few. So there. Baseball is in a really bad place. Nobody wants to talk about it. Baseball's a mess. There aren't any great teams. You look at the Mets last night they looked awful. And now come the eighth inning, the Angels can't catch the ball. All of a sudden they get an outfielder that can't field the wall, the third baseman that can't throw. Easy throw to the cat to get out of that inning. And the Mets took advantage of it because the Mets are better than the Angel. But the angels were 49 and 50 going into that game. I mean, they still could finish above.500. And yet they stink.

[Jordan Ronan]

They're still in the playoff race.

[Don LaGreca]

You know, that's the way. They aren't very good. That's why the Mets are hanging around half game back because Philadelphia is not all that great. The Dodgers just came off losing seven games in a row. The Detroit Tigers were the best team in baseball, but then they lost six in a row. And now the minute Milwaukee brewers have gotten hot, they, they've got the best record of baseball. They pass the Cubs. All these teams are flawed. 12 of the 30 teams go to the playoffs. The Yankees are going to beat up over 162 games. They're going to win the allotment of games to get into the playoffs. Same thing with the Mets. They'll get into the playoffs. They may not win the division. They're going to get into the playoffs. The problem is they're a few injuries.

[Jordan Ronan]

Away from maybe not like that. That's my, that's my concern.

[Don LaGreca]

They're not because, and plus they're going to make a deal. They'll be fine. As far as fine, they're going to make the playoffs. But I agree with you, making the playoffs doesn't automatically mean okay, we're a championship caliber team. Allen kind of beat me up yesterday when I said I don't think the Mets are a championship team. He's like, how can you say that? They're only a half came out of first place. I don't know if the Phillies are a championship team. Like, there are going to be 12 teams that make it to the playoffs. How many of those 12 teams, like, legitimately have a chance to win? I guess you can get hot, you go on a run, you surprise some people and you win. But right now, all the things that concern you with the Yankees not being able to field the ball, not being able to hit with the runners in scoring position, that's going to rear its ugly head in the playoffs. When you start facing consistently good teams over 162, there's enough bad baseball, Jordan, you'll find a way to get into the playoffs. The Mets and the Yankees are both good enough to make the playoffs. But as far as getting over that threshold of feeling good about the winning a championship, how are you supposed to win a championship when the Mets can't hit with runners in scoring position, can't get pitchers to go beyond six innings, have a bullpen that gets shelled? How can the Yankees do it when you don't have any production offensively out of third? You can't field the baseball. You struggle to hit with runners in scoring position. It's a home run or nothing mentality. You strike out too much. All the reasons why they haven't won in the recent years. So you're right to be concerned about a championship, but concerned about making the playoffs.

[Jordan Ronan]

Baseball won't allow it to happen as currently constituted. I agree with you both. These teams are not good enough to win anything, like to be a real contender. But that's what the trade deadline is for, to fill some of those voids. And that probably holds true, let's be honest, for most of the teams, like, maybe the Dodgers can get by even though they're still looking for bullpen help, like, because they'll just get some of these injured guys back and they're so good. But every one of these teams needs reinforcement, so it'll be interesting to see what they do. But as a looking at the Yankees specifically, first of all, the Volpe problem is it exists, right? I mean, he's been a mess this year. And it's not. The problem with that is it has stretched beyond. And this, this is what we saw last night. It's stretched beyond his struggles at the plate that has now affected his fielding. Or maybe something's wrong with him because it's all throwing. Every error he Makes happens to be throwing. I don't know what it is but he, he's become a problem, right? And then you have the third base problem and then they need more bullpen. So like where I look at this team and they, I did national radio and they're like oh that's typical Yankee fan. Like your team's going to make the playoffs and you, you're complaining like what's wrong with having high standards that we want this, we expect this team to be a serious contender. And as currently constituted you just can't feel that way. And especially you've seen it. Toronto exposes their weaknesses.

[Don LaGreca]

And the thing is Toronto doesn't strike out. So they put the ball in play.

[Jordan Ronan]

Which was the guy who had like the 12 pitch at bat or just Schneider. It was just fouling everything off making Radom work and really didn't have good stuff.

[Don LaGreca]

Yeah, he was like a ballet dancer. The first few innings of that game the Yankees could have been down six, seven, nothing early. But give Rodin credit. But still he didn't have ton of pitches, he didn't have his A stop.

[Jordan Ronan]

But he also didn't get helped in the end.

[Don LaGreca]

But they're their bottom of their order for the, for the. With straw. They've got some guys that you don't know but at the bottom of that order they can hit. They're going to work counts, they're going to put the ball in play, they're going to expose the Yankees weaknesses and they certainly have over the last five times they've met.

[Jordan Ronan]

So don't the Yankees need one of those guys rather than a big home run hitting third baseman? I know there's not a lot of options and I get Suarez is a huge upgrade. But if you're talking about composition of a team like do. Do you really just want to keep throwing big home run hitters at it? Like aren't we, aren't we sick of that? Like when do we learn that that's not the solution?

[Don LaGreca]

Well, that's been their problem, right. Is that you got a situationally hit in the postseason and Aaron Boone will argue percentage wise there's many home runs in the postseason as the regular season. But I just feel like when you rely only on that that it's easy to shut you down. I'm going to strike you out, I'm going to get out of an inning, I need a strikeout. I'm going to get it against the Yankees, you know, put the ball in play when you can't field. And we saw what happened in the fifth inning of the World Series last year. You're going to get exposed and I'm sorry at some point. And I was the, I was the detractor of the Blue Jays. I'll believe it when I see it. I've seen this in the Blue Jays.

[Jordan Ronan]

Last week put me in that category.

[Don LaGreca]

But sure. But they just keep winning games. They keep beating the Yankees. They got the best record at home. So we'll see what happens over the next two days. And listen to the Yankees win the next two games. All right, they gained a game on them. Maybe you feel a little bit better. But last night has been the problem that existed a lot with this team all year long and it doesn't feel like it's going to change. And you're right, Suarez is a needle mover. He's third in major league baseball and.

[Jordan Ronan]

Home runs, which is. I get it.

[Don LaGreca]

But does he. But he's not a great defender. So he doesn't check the box of playing better defensively. And let's see if he can handle the bright lights in New York being come in on a white horse and be the savior and. Or is he just going to be another bat that's quieted in the postseason like Judges bat gets quiet and, and everybody but Stanton seems to disappear once we get to the playoffs.

[Jordan Ronan]

Well, isn't that the problem? That's what bothers me is that this Yankee Yankees team in this Yankees era, they're weight. They're basically wasting Aaron Judge. Like, they're, they're barely, they're. We're talking about it and you said they're going to make the playoffs and I do think so too. But there's like, okay, maybe they're barely a playoff team. They're barely a playoff team and they have the best player in baseball. The best hitter in baseball for sure. I mean, maybe, you know, for Tani's pitching again is the best player. But like hitting wise, I mean this is like Barry Bonds in his prime. And the Yankees are barely, they're not, they're barely even a contender, Don.

[Don LaGreca]

But that's baseball.

[Jordan Ronan]

And they're spending so much money like Brian Cashman, you have to admit, has done a pretty bad job of putting this team together that you barely can have a player or contender with Aaron Judge and all that money spent, you.

[Don LaGreca]

Know, and it's, it's, it's. You're right. It's hard to argue.

[Jordan Ronan]

Cody Bellinger wasn't even in the lineup either.

[Don LaGreca]

Yeah, I mean we got to get that rest.

[Jordan Ronan]

What are we doing. What are they doing? How could Cody Bellinger basically straight out of the all three games out of the All Star break, who's their second best hitter, not be playing? And they're. I know he had bad numbers against him but it's a righty pitcher. How is this even possible?

[Don LaGreca]

He had bad numbers, didn't want to try to give him a rest. Although I don't understand why he considering you're just coming off an all Star break in which Bellinger did not participate in and you got an off day on Thursday.

[Jordan Ronan]

I don't get it. I mean he has, there's a couple guys that are non negotiable that should be in the lineup and he, he's one of them. I mean like how is it you're in this is a big game for them, right? It's a big series and your second best hitter is going to be on the bench.

[Don LaGreca]

It's a two. It's a two. Each game is worth two games, right? Because you're directly going against the Blue Jays. So when you lose a game you fall back. When you win a game you gain a game. Like there's no way to stay stagnant when you're playing the team you're chasing after. So these games obviously become very, very important. And then you know the Phillies again they've got their flaws but a first place team, you got them coming up this weekend and then you got to play the Rays. So these are a big ten games and didn't put their best foot forward yesterday by any stretch of the imagination. 1, 800 down 193776 Want to get your calls on this? We've got some Boone. I want to play for Jordan as well.

[Jordan Ronan]

Oh great.

[Don LaGreca]

The Mets had a very very interesting day but still something came out of the Mets win that still has me very very concerned. We got lots coming up today. At 4:30 it's talk about a Tuesday. Jordan will get to do that for the first time. At six o' clock we've got an ENN again from Jacob Perry. Looking forward to that. And then at 6:30 we hand it off to the guys over at Citi Field for Mets and the Angels and it's all happening right here on ESPN New York More Mazda buyers choose Ramsey Mazda during the Mazda More to move you sales event. Get 1.9% APR on a new Mazda 2025 CX90 plug in Hybrid or a 2025 Mazda CX50. No payments for 90 days. Start shopping now at Ramsey Mazda.com choose wisely choose Ramsey Mazda. Call 833-853-2970 for lease details. Excludes tax, title and registration. VIN S 1235648 MSRP52870. The VIN is SN35066011 MSRP32280 ends 9225 this is an ad by BetterHelp. Workplace stress is now one of the top causes of declining mental health, with 61% of the global workforce experiencing higher than normal levels of stress. To battle stress, most of us can't wave goodbye to work, but we can start small with a focus on wellness. With over 30,000 therapists, BetterHelp is the world's largest online therapy platform, having served over 5 million people globally. And it works with an App store rating of 4.9 out of 5 based on over 1.7 million client reviews. It's convenient too. You can join a session with a therapist at the click of a button, helping you fit therapy into your busy life plus switch therapists at any time. As largest online therapy provider in the world, BetterHelp can provide access to mental health professionals with a diverse variety of expertise. Unwind from work with BetterHelp, our listeners get 10% off their first month at betterhelp.com timeout. That's betterhelp.com timeout on WhatsApp, no one can see or hear your personal messages. Whether it's a voice call message or sending a password to WhatsApp, it's all just this. So whether you're sharing the streaming password in the family chat or trading those late night voice messages that could basically become a podcast, your personal messages stay between you, your friends and your family. No one else, not even us. WhatsApp message privately with everyone. This episode is brought to you by Stay Farm. Knowing you could be saving money for the things you really want, like that dream house or ride, is a great feeling. That's why the State Farm Personal Price Plan can help you save when you choose to bundle home and auto bundling. Just another way to save with a personal price plan. Prices are based on rating plans that vary by state. Coverage options are selected by the customer, availability, amount of discounts and savings and eligibility vary by state. Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast. I didn't listen to anything you just said. Catch the show on demand whenever you want to. Just subscribe to us.

[Jordan Ronan]

Wherever you get your podcasts, tell them.

[Don LaGreca]

IU the original triple distilled, triple blended and Triple cast matured Irish Whiskey. Be sure to grab A Tullamore Dew. Or try the new Tullamore Dew Honey. During today's action, glasses up to enjoying Tullamore Dew responsibly. Getting a lot of text messages from people that are like, fellow metal fans that are just sick today about Ozzy passing away. So that's why you're going to hear a lot of Ozzy Osbourne, a lot of Sabbath here today coming out of break. Hopefully we don't lose Jordan, who said he's a. You're eclectic with your music, but you respect the genre, don't you?

[Jordan Ronan]

Yeah, absolutely. I respect every genre. I'm all over the map. I mean, I'll listen to country, rock, classic rock, hip hop. I mean, pretty much cover.

[Don LaGreca]

You've only been to three concerts.

[Jordan Ronan]

Yeah.

[Don LaGreca]

Why don't you tell the audience the three concerts you went to?

[Jordan Ronan]

This is weird. I was trying to think about it the other day. So I went to Zach Bryan the other day.

[Don LaGreca]

Okay.

[Jordan Ronan]

And Bruce Springsteen makes an appearance there.

[Don LaGreca]

You know, that's good.

[Jordan Ronan]

As a Freehold, New Jersey guy. You know, Bruce's. Bruce is a big thing. And then I went to Wu Tang Clan and when I was in college, and I also went to a Grateful Dead concert.

[Don LaGreca]

So talk about eclectic.

[Jordan Ronan]

Yeah, yeah. So talk about all over the map there.

[Don LaGreca]

So even though you've only gone to three concerts, you can. You could certainly make the case that you touched more genres in those three concerts than maybe some people have gone to 200.

[Jordan Ronan]

Yeah, I almost go for the experience more than the actual concert.

[Don LaGreca]

The Dead. That would explain the Dead.

[Jordan Ronan]

Yeah, that was the Dead. I was like, I had to go to a Dead show just to see what it was like. And it was pretty much everything you expected, Dom. You know, I'm pretty sure I don't remember much of that concert, but, yeah, it was a good time.

[Don LaGreca]

Well, Boone spoke after the game today. Just to give you some ideas going through.

[Jordan Ronan]

And let me guess, everything is great.

[Don LaGreca]

Well, let's see.

[Jordan Ronan]

Not a problem.

[Don LaGreca]

What went wrong in that fifth inning?

[C]

Aaron just not completing the play. You know, Oswald had to range to his left and, you know, Straw getting down the line quick. Probably rushed his throw and pulled it a little bit. And then Volt just doesn't catch it. Real clean and kind of, as a result, jerks to throw a little bit. But plays you got to make, especially against a team, you know, playing as well as they are in this building, especially now.

[Jordan Ronan]

He said plays you got to make at least.

[Don LaGreca]

Well, that's good, but you know, you know what Boone's like. Because I was trying to put my finger on the right analogy. When you're asked what happened in the fifth inning, Boone then takes that literally and explains to you what happened in the fifth inning. So let's say my son Marco comes home late, right? Like, he's got it. Let's see, he's seven and a half. He has no curfew, but when he turns to certain age, probably gonna have a curfew.

[Jordan Ronan]

I was like, wait, he just goes out by himself, does whatever he wants?

[Don LaGreca]

No, he wants to.

[Jordan Ronan]

Not yet.

[Don LaGreca]

Probably could handle himself a little bit. Kind of a home alone situation. But, like, when he gets older, I probably have a curfew, right? 10 o', clock, 9:30, whatever it's gonna be. So let's say Marco comes home at midnight.

[Jordan Ronan]

Mm.

[Don LaGreca]

And I ask Marco what happened? If it's Aaron Boone, Aaron Boone's gonna say, well, what happened was you asked me to come home at 9:30, and clearly the clock says 10:30. That's 60 minutes later than you asked me to come home. That's why I'm late. All right, you've technically told me what happened, but why is it happening? Why were you late, Marco? Aaron, why are these things happening? Why is a Gold Glove shortstop making a mistake? Why are people out of position? Why are there base running errors? Don't explain to me what happened. I saw what happened. I'm watching the game. I want to know. I want to know why it happened. I want you to give me your theories on why. Don't explain baseball to me. I know what an errand throw is. I know when the ball doesn't come enter the pocket of the glove just the right way. I get that. But you understand, like, he's almost giving you the technical version. I don't need the technical version. I need you to give me some reasons why and how you're going to stop this garbage from happening. It's costly.

[Jordan Ronan]

We know he's not going to do that, Right? Like, at this point, like, we know what he. We know what he's going to say publicly.

[Don LaGreca]

I know, I know. I'm just.

[Jordan Ronan]

He's going to protect his guys at all costs, basically, and never criticize him and then say, fine, you know, we handle it behind, close. That's fine. I'd be fine with that, Don, if these things were cleaned up.

[Don LaGreca]

That's it.

[Jordan Ronan]

They never get cleaned up.

[Don LaGreca]

Because, you know, you're a reporter and your job is to ask questions, and the players roll their eyes, and I'm sure you've had. I know I've heard it where Dable's had issues with your questions all the time. The reason they have issues with your questions because they don't want to hear it. Because they know that it hasn't been cleaned up. And as long as it hasn't been cleaned up, you're going to continue to ask about it, right? You want me to stop asking it?

[Jordan Ronan]

Be better just say, oh yeah, me and Wink, we never fought over anything except a slice of pizza when we all know you hate each other's guts. So it's the same thing. We all know there's some kind of problem. Like we saw it. How many years did we see with Gleyber Torres making bonehead plays? And it never got fixed. Right. And now we're seeing it again. Yankees making bonehead. Jorge Vivas is, is loafing to third. I mean, that was, that was one of the most ridiculous plays I've ever seen. Amazing throw. Don't get me wrong, amazing. But from a Yankee perspective, just an unbelievably pathetic lack of effort there. Yeah, and, and, but, and that'd be fine, except it's an extension of everything else. And now the same thing with Volpe. It's like he just allowed to make mistake and mistake and mistake. And there's no repercussions for Anthony Volpe making the same mistakes.

[Don LaGreca]

And he was asked about Volpe having 12 errors.

[C]

Yeah, I mean, it's a few too many. That said, you know, errors get handed out a lot of different places in a lot of different ways. So I'm not so worried about it. It's making plays. He' making a lot of plays, but he hasn't been as consistent as, you know, he, he wants to be and, and as consistent as he normally is. So there's a few. Table. Few balls he's left on the table, you know, one tonight included. And those are plays, you know, he expects to make and we, we need him to make too.

[Jordan Ronan]

Is that, is it. Was that originally him blaming some of the scoring officials?

[Don LaGreca]

Yes. It sounded like, well, again, the initial defend, defend, defend. But then I think he hears himself and realizes, dude's got 12 errors, man. It can't all be official scoring and it's costing his games. Now, Aaron, on what's holding Volpe back.

[C]

We'Re talking about a few, few extra errors. I get it. That's the separator of when he wins a Gold Glove and when he's not, he's still a top shortstop. He hasn't made a few plays that have generated a Lot of noise and more.

[Jordan Ronan]

He's 12 errors. I know it's not a few plays anymore.

[Don LaGreca]

And more why he isn't worried about Volpe.

[C]

He's still making a lot of rangy plays. He's still making a lot of plays. He just hasn't been as consistent as he has in his first two years. And that's three or four plays we're talking about in a couple games here where he hasn't completed some plays. And it's changed his overall defensive season.

[Jordan Ronan]

He's got not three or four plays.

[Don LaGreca]

No, it's not three or four.

[Jordan Ronan]

Goldsmith has saved him a lot. He's. His throws have been a problem all.

[Don LaGreca]

And I always. And I always felt that throwing errors are more mental than anything else, you know, because I think that. I think there's an instinct to fielding a ground ball. Sometimes there's a bad hop. Some things happen, but I think there's an instinct there. And then you start to think, I got time to throw, and then the mechanics are all wrong. I didn't think. Sometimes it just gets into your head. You're rushing when you're not supposed to rush. You're thinking, I got to throw an accurate ball. And you don't end up doing the opposite of what your mind's telling you to do. But the point is, he's got no choice but to defend Volpe because he's got no other alternative. Right. If. Let's. All right, Lombard Jr. Can play shortstop. He's 19. If he was 22 and itching to play and they called him. That's the difference. Right, but. So there really isn't an option, right?

[Jordan Ronan]

No, no, no, they don't. That's Brian Cashman's fault, though, right?

[Don LaGreca]

Right. There was an option at third with the injuries that I going to move Jazz there. Didn't work out. Jazz had a barky shoulder. They moved him back to second place. Second base. They had an option. And then they had an option to move him back to second because the shoulder was bothering him. If they had an option, they'd use it. So what. So what other choice you're going to have? Is he going to say. Is he going to kill the player and say the guy stinks, but I don't have no other option. You're not trading for a shortstop. So he's going to defend the guy because he's got no alternative. He can't bench him. He's got to stick with him.

[Jordan Ronan]

I mean, I understand it's a little different situation because this is professional sports and there's a lot of pressure and it kind of builds and people will harp on your negative comments, but don't. When I was younger and I grew up and I got back in the car and I knew I played poorly, and my dad would be like, you know, tell me I played poorly. My mom would be like, you played great. You played a great game. And actually ticked me off more to hear her tell me I played great. Anthony Volpe knows he's not playing well. Right. There's no way he doesn't realize that everything he. All his numbers are down, his batting average is down, his errors are up. Like, he knows he's not playing well. So what benefit does it really have for. For Aaron Boone to go out there and be like, he's fine, he's doing fine. He's making all these rangy plays. He's playing well. Anthony Volpe knows he's not playing well. How about just say we need him to play better?

[Don LaGreca]

Yeah, I don't think. I think these players want to be coached. I think they want to be held accountable.

[Jordan Ronan]

If you're that fragile and you can't handle that, then you're never going to.

[Don LaGreca]

Be successful anyway in New York.

[Jordan Ronan]

Yeah, you're not going to be successful about it. So I don't really understand why we have to. It has to be.

[Don LaGreca]

And to that end and the argument. And the argument about, well, you don't know what's happening behind closed doors. Was it a couple of weeks ago when Jazz told the secret to everybody that Boone told them behind closed doors to the best team in baseball? Like, so it sounds to me like he's probably continuing that process behind closed doors. And I get. The modern day athlete wants to be pumped up and you can't throw him under the bus. But I think if you're a real professional athlete. You were telling me during, like the break about how they handle social media. Right?

[Jordan Ronan]

Yeah.

[Don LaGreca]

That they search their names themselves like big players. Unless you're dumb. Unless you're functionally dumb. When you go to social media and search your name as a professional athlete, you know you're going to get negative. And I would think that maybe they're hoping some of it's constructive. Maybe they use it as motivation. Wouldn't a player want to hear how he can be better? Wouldn't a player want at least to be told something that's not BS because at some point Volpe knows he's made 12 errors. Volpe knows he's struggling at the plate. So if his manager tells him Everything's great. At some point, he's be like, this guy's full of. You know what? He's not telling me the truth. I want to hear it straight from the horse's mouth. Skip, how am I doing? Don't.

[Jordan Ronan]

Sugar point. Three months saved per game, and then compared to like 12. I think it was 12 last year. Was this that 12? Something like that. That's a significant difference. He understands.

[Don LaGreca]

And do me a favor, and I play the sound because it's here and I want to be able to analyze it. But if it's so much. Hey, Don, they're gonna feed you bs. Don't listen to anything that Boone has to say. He's telling him something different in the clubhouse. Then you know what? I don't want to hear from Aaron Boone anymore. Life's too short. I don't want to have to sit here and listen to BS if he's. If he's giving me pap, if he's talking down to me, hey, stupid, I'm not gonna give you the answer. The answer's behind closed doors. You're not supposed to know. Then why am I listening to it? Why am I playing it? Why are they having another postgame show? It's. You're telling me it's all an act. When I ask a. Do you want to ask a question and have an actor give you the answer, or do you want to try to get. I understand. You're not going to get 100% truth. I think you've been around long enough to know that some of it is going to be some pap. But you'd like to hear some truth behind whatever your. The answer to the question you asked, right?

[Jordan Ronan]

Absolutely. That's the whole point, is even if he's doing that in the locker room and that's his approach, and he's telling him we're the best team and this is how great we are. After a while, players. Players understand reality. Like, they know when they're not a good team. They know when they're playing poorly. They would then be in the locker room basically shrugging at what Aaron Boone is saying and being like, yeah, you know, he's. He's. He's doing his positivity thing again. And they don't really believe it because you can't just keep pounding that down people's throats and expecting them to believe it.

[Don LaGreca]

When the results say differently, then it becomes your mom. Right? You don't. You don't ask your mom, am I good at what I do?

[Jordan Ronan]

Yeah, exactly.

[Don LaGreca]

Oh, Mom, Son, you're the best at what you do. Oh, that's good. When you're 12. And then when you're 57, you realize, you know, she's got to say that she's my mom. I know because now I'm a dad. And when my daughter asks me, how do I look in this outfit and nothing matches, I'm like, oh, you're gorgeous. You're the most beautiful girl in the world. You know, and she's seven, so she loves that. But when she's 27, she'll probably roll her eyes and go, I'm not going to ask you. You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to look in the mirror. I'm going to figure it out myself. I'm going to ask one of my friends.

[Jordan Ronan]

My daughter's 14 through 27. She wouldn't ask. The last person she's going to ask how she looks is me.

[Don LaGreca]

Yeah, probably. But just, I wanted at least encourage you to feel like things could be a little bit better. 1-800-919-377-6 calls are lined up. We'll bring the Mets into the conversation as well. Talk about A Tuesday at 4:30, ENN at 6. It's a big, big show. Jordan's hanging in for Allen Hannah here on Don Hannon Rosenberg on ESPN New York. Close your eyes, exhale. Feel your body relax and let go of whatever you're carrying today. Well, I'm letting go of the worry that I wouldn't get my new contacts in time for this class. I got them delivered free from 1-800-contacts. Oh my gosh, they're so fast. And breathe. Oh, sorry. I almost couldn't breathe when I saw the discount they gave me on my first order. Oh, sorry. Namaste. Visit 1-800-contacts.com today to save on your first order. 1-800-contacts. Hey, it's Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile. Now I was looking for fun ways to tell you that Mint's offer of unlimited Premium Wireless for $15 a month is back. So I thought it would be fun if we made $15 bills, but it turns out that's very illegal. So there goes my big idea for the commercial. Give it a [e-mail] switch. Upfront payment of $45 for three month plan equivalent to $15 per month required. New customer offer for first three months only. Speed slow after 35 gigabytes of network's busy taxes and fees extra. See mintmobile.com after zoomies at the dog park. It's time for drive up at Target, in goes a big bag of kibble and one squeaky chicken toy for the good boy. Drive up. That's ready when you are. Only in the Target app, Just tap Target. Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast. I didn't listen to anything you just said. Catch the show on demand whenever you want.

[Jordan Ronan]

Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts.

[Don LaGreca]

It's Don Han and Rosenberg. Jordan Ronan filling in most of the week here. We'll have o' Keefe tomorrow because Jordan's got to go over to Giants camp as that's opening up. So we got football to talk about as well. Be ready to take some calls from disgruntled Yankee fans.

[Jordan Ronan]

Bring it on. It could be me.

[Don LaGreca]

Let's go to Artie and Farallon. You're on ESPN New York. What's up, Artie?

[Jordan Ronan]

Don Mission, buddy. How are you, buddy?

[Don LaGreca]

Good, how are you?

[Jordan Ronan]

I miss you, buddy. First of all, before I get up.

[Don LaGreca]

Wednesday, softball game, August 23rd.

[Jordan Ronan]

Got it. I'm bringing over five o'.

[Don LaGreca]

Clock. You know I take care of you guys. I know you're the best man.

[D]

I take care.

[Jordan Ronan]

Anyway, I am very, you know, I'm huge, big Yankee fan. I'm not a Boone hater. But you know what? From Friday night, after waiting five days, they go with a bullpen game and a guy at third base, I don't even know, he doesn't know how to run. And then last night, two easy ground balls. I mean, who are we blaming with this? I mean, what's going on with me?

[Don LaGreca]

You just wonder, Artie, sometimes. I was going to bring this up to Jordan in the last segment. You know, when this team is on, they can bash the ball. We saw it against Atlanta. They could have very easily lost all three of those games against Atlanta. But the definitely the second game, but they were able to bash their way through, came back from five, nothing down. Seven, two down. That can mask some of the mistakes. But when you don't hit, then those errors become a problem, those base running mistakes become a problem. And it seems like it's reared its ugly head. If you really look at even the best Yankee teams in recent years, they left a lot to be desired, sometimes defensively in base running. But they'd score 12 runs, they'd win the game. 12, 8 and. And nobody would mind because they won the game. And now other teams have caught up. They're not bashing the ball. I know they've got a great run differential, but that's come from a Few blowouts, but otherwise, more times than not, they're struggling to get runs. I mean, they were shut down last night, and that's happened a lot. So now you're not winning the 2:1 games. You're winning the 12, nine games, but you're losing the 2:1 games because the mistakes that you're making become catastrophic because you can't bash your way through it. And what's happened in the postseason, Jordan, when everybody can pitch and everybody's got a great bullpen, you're not bashing your way to a championship anymore. So the fundamentally sound teams are the teams that win. This team has to be fundamentally sound at all.

[Jordan Ronan]

It has been fundamentally sound for several years. And look, I'm not a, I'm actually not a boon hater either.

[Don LaGreca]

I'm not.

[Jordan Ronan]

But, but when, when you see the same problems and the same mistakes happening, like, I get it. We don't want to sit here and blame him for the lineup, fine. But if he's not, if he can't do anything about them making the same mistakes, fundamental mistakes, base running mistakes, and stop them from the lazy, loafing things, like what, what does he, what does he do then, Don, tell me, like, what does Aaron Boone do? If he can't be held responsible for that? Like, I don't. Then he's responsible for nothing.

[Don LaGreca]

And it's also, literally nothing, but also to defend Aaron Boon. A lot of these guys came up through the organization. I mean, Volpe played for Somerset. He played for Scranton. Right. Were those guys working with him? I mean, by the time you get to the major leagues, as a major league manager, manager, shouldn't I believe that the kids that I drafted several years ago that came through the system should know how to do some of these things? I, I, it's, it's hard enough for me to manage a team trying to win a World Series. I now got to teach them fundamentals. Now where I think so then it's an organizational failure. I think it's an organizational failure. I do. I think it's all about the analytics and the launch angle and exit Velo and all the things about offense. Are they focusing on defense? Think about it. Think about the decisions this organization has made, whether it's playing Jazz out of position, having Judge play center field right, not having a left fielder, how many times guys playing out of position, force feeding them into places they shouldn't be. Dominguez, a center fielder playing left numbers.

[Jordan Ronan]

Say they could play there. So they're good.

[Don LaGreca]

Because I need to put his bat in the lineup and the defense be damned, position be damned. I need one through nine to slug. And if that means I'm deficient at third, I'm deficient in left, I'm deficient in center, I'll live with it. Well, guess what, you're not living it now because now it's costing you.

[Jordan Ronan]

Good enough to make the playoffs, but not good enough to win the World Series. That's what they've proven to be.

[Don LaGreca]

Yeah, that's what it looks like. And you look at, you look at fundamentals around Major League Baseball, not good. And that's why I think they'll make the playoffs. But when it's time to go out there and win, are they going to be able to do it? Right now, neither of these teams, Mets or Yankees, look like they're going to be able to do that. Javier in Port St. Lucie. You're on ESPN New York. What's up man?

[D]

Hey, gentlemen, good afternoon. Hope all is well. Phenomenal. Phenomenal show so far. You guys are touching on a lot of points that I wanted to make. But I want to do two things real quick. I want to give you my lock for the World Series, I want to support it and then I want to make a statement, okay? So real quick, my lock for the World Series as we speak is going to be the Chicago Cubs versus the Toronto Blue Jays. And I'm going to tell you why. They're the two most balanced teams when it comes to offense and defense, okay? They have good pitching and they have something that the Yankees haven't had since the early, since the late 90s. They situationally hit. So I'll give you an example. The Yankees right now in extra innings are going now, I think one in six, one in seven. You know why? They don't situational. They don't situationally hit the point you just made, Don, about launch angles and all that. That's part of the issue. So you don't have situational hitters. And so I feel really confident with the pick I just gave you. And the statement I'm going to make is very simple. This is not going to change until the ownership changes because it starts with the owner. Never seen an organization that has allowed this amount of flexibility with the amount of failing that we have done. Now you're going to say, well, making the playoffs not a failure. When you have a 330 million dollar payroll and you're continuously just toying with it. When you have other teams that are 1/4th like the Tampa Bay Rays and other teams that are playing Just at that same level and they're going either the same distance or even further. That's an issue. I've never seen someone like Ryan Cashman having so much, so much of a leash. When is it going to stop a question until it does, it's going to always be the same song and death. That's my point.

[Jordan Ronan]

Not, not anytime soon.

[Don LaGreca]

No, but you see, this is the same conversation, Javier, and thank you for the phone call that we have every year. What you believe is success and what the Yankees believe is success are two different things. Actions speak louder than words. If the mission statement is champion disappointing, then wouldn't something have changed by now?

[Jordan Ronan]

Shouldn't that be what the standards are? What's wrong with having high standards? The Los Angeles Lakers aren't happy when they make the playoffs, right? They shouldn't be like the Los Angeles making Lakers. Making the playoffs is not an accomplishment for them. The New York Yankees making the playoffs every year should not be an accomplishment for them.

[Don LaGreca]

But if you look at their actions, doesn't it tell you that they're fine with it? The building is full, they're, they're usually in the playoffs every year. They always, in the last 30 plus years, finish above.500. Always relevant to the conversation, never out of it every other team. You look at the Mets, you look at the Red Sox, there have been awful seasons, 90 lost seasons, completely irrelevant in the middle of the summer. Never the Yankees, they're always right there building, always full. Ratings are great, like so I'm left to wonder, this standard that you talk about, the callers talk about, the fans talk about, is it the standard inside that room when they're counting all the money they make, they see the buildings full and they look at the standings and go, what's everybody worried about if the season ended today, we're in the playoffs. And what do they say about the playoffs? Oh, it's just a crapshoot. You never know what's going to happen.

[Jordan Ronan]

That's the part that bothers me. It's not a crapshoot. You have to give yourself the best chance to win. And all those little edges are what's the difference? Are. And that's why we're all upset. Because the Yankees, we all know, if you watch, anyone that watches this team regularly knows that when it comes down to it and these little mistakes matter and these, these little things such as base running and you know, moving, moving runners over all the little intricacies of the game, that's what makes the difference at the end, right? For the most part. And that's where they're falling short and like that fact that they don't realize that. And I know he blamed it on how's leaving it to his baseball people. So if you want to blame how I believe it's, it's his just loyalty to his baseball people. Right. Because he's not, he's not getting involved in the, all these minor decisions or developmental decisions of how they're going to go about building their team and build and teaching players to play baseball.

[Don LaGreca]

You're right.

[Jordan Ronan]

But I don't know, it's, it's just disappointing if, if that's, if the standard has decreased to.

[Don LaGreca]

But what else am I getting?

[Jordan Ronan]

World Series else? Am I supposed to throw my hat in the ring? Okay, if we get there we go.

[Don LaGreca]

What am I supposed to think when Boone has, you know, just got a contract extension now he went to the World Series last year, but the first World Series he's ever been to as the manager of the team. Brian Cashman appears to have a job for life. So there is no real accountability unless they look at and go we're a successful team. Now to his point about, you know, just looking at the batting average with runners in scoring position.

[Jordan Ronan]

Okay.

[Don LaGreca]

Dodgers are number one. Blue Jays are number two. The Yankees are 17th in the league. The Mets are 28th.

[Jordan Ronan]

The Met's been terrible, you know, so.

[Don LaGreca]

Unless in the Yankees, that's not half bad, but it's still at the bottom rung. Right. You're in the second half of the teams. So that kind of explains so for, you know, the Yankees. When I look at the stats, you know where they are home run wise. Like you just look at the overall stats. I mean the Yankees seem to have the best statistics in all of it. Right. They got, they've hit the most home runs, they've driven in the fourth most RBIs. Right. They seem to lead all of the, their batting average overall is fifth in the league. So they have accumulated a lot offensively. But where it matters with the runners in scoring position, it's been below average. So that's why I used to like goal differential, run differential, point differentials is usually a good way to target how good a team is, but sometimes it also could be fugazi because you can win a game 20 to nothing and lose the next six games by one run and you're still going to have a plus run differential because of the 20 nothing game you had. And that's the Yankees, right? Oh, they'll, they'll, they'll they'll club you to death one of the games in the series. But if he becomes tight, close last night, couldn't get the big hit, couldn't make the big play, lost the game. You know, maybe tonight they'll score for some reason, 15 runs and win 15 to 1. But is that a true gauge of how good the team is or how bad the team is? It's not.

[Jordan Ronan]

I think for the Yankees, it's just the differential. When you watch closely against good teams and good pitchers. Well, that's compared to when they're playing, you know, the demoralized Atlanta Braves pitching, you know what I mean? And there's, and there's a big difference there.

[Don LaGreca]

And they're losing record in the division because they can't beat the Red Sox, can't beat the Blue Jays.

[Jordan Ronan]

But these are, these are, again, these are decent teams. These are teams with winning records. Like maybe the Red Sox aren't world beaters, but they're, they're winning records with the winning record.

[Don LaGreca]

And right now, the team of the winning record, one of the best teams in baseball. 1-800-919-3776. Bring the Mets into the fold as well. Talk about a Tuesday at 4:30 enn at 6. Don Hahn and Rosenberg here on ESPN New York. Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast. I don't want to know how the sausages made, man.

[Jordan Ronan]

I just want to know.

[Don LaGreca]

It's good. Hear more of Don Allen and Peter.

[Jordan Ronan]

Weekday afternoon starting at 3 on 8.

[Don LaGreca]

80, ESPN, the ESPN New York app.

[Jordan Ronan]

And your smart speakers.