Don (2:09)

Well, my thoughts. You know how I feel about it. There used to be a rule that you couldn't aid the ball carrier, and they got rid of that. And Philadelphia's used it to their advantage up until recently, though not as successful. And you turn the ball over five Times four interceptions from Hertz, and you're still hanging the game. I don't know how good the Chargers really are, but that's the death knell now for the Chiefs and the Eagles. I think maybe their chances of going to the super bowl are on a respirator. I still think they're going to win that division.

Hahn (2:37)

Oh, yeah.

Don (2:38)

Who's going to. You know, so they're going to be a division champion.

Hahn (2:41)

It's more about, like, how do we feel about them as a. As a real. As, like, you know, returning to the super bowl, defending the title.

Don (2:47)

No, it doesn't feel like they're in the same. You know, whoever comes out of the north, obviously, whoever comes out of the west, are going to be superior teams to Philadelphia. They're not going to be able to get a buy. And I. You know, they might win a playoff game, but, you know, the Chargers are a fun team. The Chargers are a team that took advantage of Philadelphia's mistakes, but more importantly, they got to their ninth win. And when you consider where Jacksonville is, you figure they should be able to beat the jets and somebody's going to end up being in second place in the South. They're just not going to be any tape. There's not going to be any chairs left when the music ends for the Chiefs.

Hahn (3:21)

Right.

Don (3:21)

Even if they were to find a way to run the table, which I think I'm very dubious about, I don't think they're going to the playoffs. And the Chargers, I think, probably sounded death knell last night, but what an entertaining game. I feel bad for people that have to get up really early in the morning because that game was pushing midnight. Yeah, that was last night.

Hahn (3:39)

Yeah. Good thing we did a Monsters Inc. Though. I watched a little bit of it just out of curiosity. They all look kind of the same. You know what I mean?

Don (3:47)

I don't. I don't know if I were a child, like, what's the age group they're going after? That's for those things.

Hahn (3:53)

That's really got to be the young. Like, young. Like 5 to 10 at.

Don (3:58)

Okay, so 5 to 10 on a school night. Kickoff is at 8:15.

Hahn (4:02)

Now, that's eastern, so the rest of the country, it's a little.

Don (4:05)

You could dvr it and play a lot of what Marco watches. Like the Golden Knights and the Rangers went into overtime on Sunday night and he had to get to bed, so I DVR'd it for him when he got up in the morning. He watched overtime. He's only 8. He doesn't know what's real time or not. Imagine we had that DVR and played.

Hahn (4:23)

With the kids when we were kids, Don. Imagine if we had this ability, how much sports you'd be able to consume.

Don (4:30)

I have a classic memory. I don't know how I could probably look it. I was probably like Marco's age, probably 8 years old. The Giants were playing on Monday night. And you remember back in the day, kickoff was 9 o' clock on Monday night, so you were definitely going till midnight. So I stayed up till halftime. My father made me go to bed. And I remember sitting at the top of the stairs quietly listening to the television broadcast to see what the Giants were doing. And then I think there was a creek. And all of a sudden I see my father at the bottom of the stair.

Hahn (4:59)

Get to bed.

Don (5:00)

And I ran up the stair. That's how you know there was no dad dvr. It wasn't even dad. Can you videotape it for vcr?

Hahn (5:08)

Right.

Don (5:09)

You're going to bed. And if he was in the mood to tell you what happened the next morning, then maybe you'd find out what happened, you know, But a different world for sure.

Hahn (5:16)

It's. That's the funny part is you. You would. That's how I really learned how to read, was reading a newspaper. Mostly I was reading headlines as a little kid, big bold type. And. And I learned how to read a lot that way. And most of my reading as a kid was the sports pages because most of the games I wasn't. I didn't see the end of it. So I'd read the story the next day. No.

Don (5:39)

So. So maybe a DVR did for the kids or whatever, but.

Don (5:44)

Was interesting. And apparently they didn't know what to do with the Hertz fumble. I did see it was on social media this morning, the interception at the end of the game.

Hahn (5:51)

Yeah.

Don (5:52)

And I guess nobody shut off the. Them running to the other end zone after the interception. So there was like still fire coming out of one of the monsters after the pick because they thought like it was an actual play, like he was returning it or whatever. But, you know, fun stuff, I guess. And I also didn't think about it yesterday because I was late to the show.

Hahn (6:11)

Right.

Don (6:11)

But a good job last night by ABC because It was the 45th anniversary of the John Lennon shooting.

Hahn (6:19)

Yes.

Don (6:19)

And that was announced by Howard Cosell during a Monday night game between the Patriots and the Dolphins. And he announced it before The Patriots, with 40 seconds to go, were about to kick a field goal to take the Lead. And they did show the announcement of it late in the game last night in case people didn't stay up late for it. So 45 years ago to the day, and for people that don't know the inside, ABC broke that news because there was somebody in the emergency room when John Lennon was brought in that worked at abc, so he was able to call it in to say that John Lennon was, was, was shot. So ABC was on top of it. And of course, the game was on abc. So Howard got word that John Lennon was dead. And during the commercial break, as they called timeout before the field goal attempt, and Howard asks Don Meredith and Frank Gifford, I don't think it's appropriate to announce this. They're about to kick a field goal to take the lead. And Frank Gifford's like, this is John Lennon. We have to do it. You have to say it. The game doesn't matter at this point. This is one of the biggest things that has ever happened in history. Musically, it's one of the biggest names on the planet. And Howard's like, no, you're right, and made the announcement, dead on arrival, 45 years ago yesterday.

Hahn (7:36)

That's. It's amazing. That's really, truly the day the music died for at least our generation. Right. Like, when you think about. I just will never forget my mother, who I've told the story many times, is she was a Beatles fanatic to the point where she was at JFK when they landed. One of those teenage girls screaming her head off, played hooky from school, got in a lot of trouble that day, but because she wanted to be there when they landed. And so I just never. She cried the whole day. The whole day. And I was, what was I, 7 years old, 8 years old? I had no idea really what was going on, but she just was really sad. And then I, I really got into their music right after that. Yeah, right after that. Even as a little kid. So. But yeah, that was, that was something last night. So a busy night, it was. There was not much going on locally. But tonight, something big locally, Don. The Knicks play. It's a double header on NBC. The reason why the Knicks played 8:30 in Toronto against the Raptors in the quarterfinal for the NBA cup is because the first game's at six. Tonight's the east, tomorrow's the West. Six o' clock is the tip off for Miami and Orlando, and that's one of the quarterfinals. And obviously the winners will play each other in Vegas in the semifinal on Saturday. And so, you know, we'll do More tomorrow. Cause I'd like to talk more if, like, we'll know the outcome and what it really matters. Cause this, the Knicks have been in this quarterfinal. This is the third year in a row. The thing with them is, can they ever win this thing and get to Vegas and see if they could show that they've got some type of winning pedigree, Right? That, hey, we can win a big game in a big moment. It's a one or done type situation. So that's an interesting game tonight, even though it's. It is the NBA Cup. I know both of us, we do both kind of roll our eyes a little bit, but there is. I don't know. Tell me I'm wrong. Is there something. Just because you want to see a team that's trying to prove they can be winners. Okay, there's something here to win. Can you do it?

Don (9:31)

It's. It's a, It's a nice dress rehearsal, I guess, you know, you're not going to be devastated if they don't win, but if they do, I think maybe we can even do it. I just thought about this, like, run it up the pole.

Hahn (9:44)

Okay.

Don (9:45)

Do you care about this game in the sense of the Knicks advancing to Vegas, or is it just another regular season game to you?

Hahn (9:52)

That's a great question.

Don (9:53)

All right.

Hahn (9:53)

800-93776. Does it matter tonight?

Don (9:57)

Does it matter tonight? And we can run up the poll on social media. So whatever that percentage is at the end of the show, we'll. We'll make the announcement, Right?

Hahn (10:04)

Okay, I like that.

Don (10:05)

And then we'll run it up the poll again tomorrow. And I bet you if they win, it'll go.

Hahn (10:12)

It'll go higher.

Don (10:13)

The percentage will be higher. Because I don't think you know what it means until you actually see it. Yeah, like, I think it's fugazi. I don't care about it. And then if you actually see them win and how they treat it and how they talk about it after the fact, now they're going to go to Vegas. I wonder if it could possibly win some people over and use it as a precursor to, hey, this is step one of what you hope is going to be many steps to at least getting to the NBA Finals, but I bet you the percentage will be higher.

Hahn (10:40)

The Knicks haven't won really anything, including a lottery, in over 50 years. Right? They won one lottery. They won the one lottery.

Don (10:49)

Right.

Hahn (10:49)

But they haven't really done that kind of winning where whatever it was, it's like, okay, in this moment you're the best. And as corny as it sounds, they do give you a banner to hang in your arena. The Lakers did it. They put it up. They had a ceremony. I was there for it. I kind of laughed in a way because like the Lakers have all these championships. They're having this moment where they reveal a banner and I'm going, really? But it's, it's a thing the NBA wants to celebrate. So. But for a Knick franchise, especially one with this current group of players that have really brought back a sense of winning and the idea of, hey, this is an elite team, they're one of the best teams in the NBA. And does this sort of just. Okay, so they got a little something about them. So that's all. But we'll see tonight. They play at 8:30.

Don (11:35)

I guess, I guess the. Because we want to get to the baseball, but.

Hahn (11:39)

Oh yeah, the.

Don (11:40)

I guess the hockey equivalent would be winning the President's trophy. You know, it is a thing. They do hang a banner for it the next year or whatever, but it's not anything that anybody really cares about. Because if you win the President's trophy, that means you're the best team in the regular season. You should win the Stanley Cup. I don't think whoever wins the NBA cup is going to be necessarily the favorite to win the whole thing. Although I'll say this, unless it's Oklahoma.

Hahn (12:02)

City, the runner up in the last two, the runner up at the last two.

Hahn (12:09)

NBA cup, the runner up team advanced to the NBA Finals.

Don (12:13)

Okay?

Hahn (12:14)

So that's not nothing.

Don (12:15)

Maybe there's a correlation. So this is what, Year four.

Hahn (12:19)

This is year three.

Don (12:20)

Three. Year three, Right. Year three.

Hahn (12:22)

Yeah. You and I did. You and I did. Year one, remember?

Don (12:24)

Yeah, Year one, that game against the Heat where they advanced to where they are now to get to the quarterfinal.

Hahn (12:29)

Right.

Don (12:29)

And didn't they've never been to Vegas.

Hahn (12:30)

No. Team by the Bucks. Yeah, yeah.

Don (12:33)

They're the only team to advance to the knockout round all three years of its existence.

Hahn (12:38)

Right.

Don (12:39)

But in none of the three years have they advanced to Vegas. So I have a feeling they're going to be doing it. They should be able to beat the Raptors. Unless they flat out just don't care.

Hahn (12:46)

Oh, no, they do. That's the thing.

Don (12:47)

But then if they do, they should win it tonight.

Hahn (12:49)

They talked yesterday and it's like all the same kind of look. You got these Villanova guys, like they're used to winning. So for them it's sort of like, you know what we've been here three. Like, this is our third time. We got to get over the hump. Like we got to show something here, you know, and it's like, if there's something to win, you might as well go win it. They're using a lot of that. And then Mike Brown was even saying, this does not compare to the playoffs, of course, but it is sort of a precursor. It's almost like a way to see what are we about in winter winner take all moments.

Don (13:19)

Yeah.

Hahn (13:20)

And then we can learn from it. So when we get to April, we're like, hey, remember that experience we had back in December? We can build off that. So that's what makes tonight a little extra interesting. And that's what we'll have. And we'll have the coverage for you on 880, I believe pregame is at 8. Right. Because 8:30 is the tip off. So we have all that. But Don, as Don, by the way, is in Ottawa for those wondering what the sound effects are about as the Devils play the senators tonight at 7pm Just to point that out.

Hahn (13:49)

Baseball news is very interesting. Now there's more Nick news when it comes to Giannis that we'll get to a little bit later on, but I do feel like the baseball stuff is a little bit more immediate. So before we get to calls again, 800 now 193776. Edwin Diaz now no longer a Met. Yep, he goes to the Dodgers. I don't think that's a huge surprise. It's for a few million more. It does feel like.

Hahn (14:14)

He wanted to go to the Dodgers and you can understand why. And Schwaber's off the table and man, Cody Bellinger now suddenly feels like he's gonna volley between Flushing and the Bronx. And there's a lot happening now with the Yankees and what they're going to be versus what we're used to them being in the off season and a Met team that we thought again, Daddy Warbuck's gonna write checks and go crazy. But he has a general manager that does not believe in that same type of approach. Are you. How do you feel now about the Diaz situation with him being gone and going off to the, to the Dodgers and choosing basically to go there instead of staying with the Mets?

Don (14:56)

Well, listen, the Dodgers are the defending champions two times over and they desperately need a closer despite the fact that they've won the championship in back to back years. So I can understand Diaz chasing the ring because I do give the Dodgers a better chance to do it than the Mets because there's a we're in a state of flux with the Mets. Right. There's a lot of things they have to do. And he made a business decision to make a few extra bucks. Now Met fans sitting there going, well, we've got Mr. Cohen. Why are we being outbid? Yeah, it's not a case of being outbid. It's as Stearns is saying, listen, this is a guy that's been hurt, a guy that at times has been ineffective. We got Devin Williams, who we believe at this stage of his career could be a better closer. I'm not throwing good money after bad. This is a business decision for the Mets to say, I think we're better off with Devin Williams ultimately. We'll see if that's the case or not.

Hahn (15:39)

Right?

Don (15:39)

Diaz goes out there and 35 for 35 and saves, and Devin Williams loses his job like he did with the Yankees last year. It's going to look bad, but, you know, David Stearns is the little angel on the right shoulder of Steve Cohen that whispers in his ear and goes, dude, he's not worth it. Don't write the check. And so even though Steve Cohen is a guy that's sitting on $16 billion, he's not going to spend like a drunken sailor. And Stearns is going to make the good business decisions for his team. I trust Stearns, so I'm going to go with it. I'm a little worried that Devin Williams can do the job. I'm a little worried that you've made the Dodgers even better, a team you're going to have to go through if you fancy yourself as being a World Series team. So I'm not in love, but I'm going to trust Stearns that he made the right decision and maybe that money will go to maybe keeping Alonso or stealing Bellinger away from the Yankees. We'll see.

Hahn (16:31)

Now you're using a word, trust, that you don't have enough time with Sterns to say that you fully trust him. But first of all, you know he knows Devin Williams because their history in Milwaukee, they have Clay Holmes there. And there's always the option of telling Clay Holmes, we tried you as a starter, but now we really need you as either the setup guy or a closer, which he's done both, right? And so you could just say, well, we do have a good back of the bullpen. We're fine. We have two experienced guys that have done the seven, eight, nine, you know, inning rotation and we'll figure out which guy is going to be the guy. But both of Them in closers, both of them had set up, right?

Don (17:10)

Yeah.

Hahn (17:11)

So if you're Stearns, you can argue that there's other way, places you can go with your pitching. Michael King is someone they're looking at. We all know that. Everybody's just kind of waiting to see, you know, the Tarek Skubal who's willing to offer something for him. Detroit will listen. Those things are real things. But I just feel like the first order of business for the Mets has been about the clubhouse more than it's been about anything else. Run prevention, want to be better defensively to make our pitchers better, and also, you know, kind of deal with whatever was happening in that clubhouse that we all saw last year and said, something's missing with this team. We couldn't figure it out. But the more things are talked about, the more it does sound like it just clearly was some disconnect in the clubhouse.

Don (18:01)

Well, if you want to change the culture of a team, you got to change the team, right? So you think of the Mets and the team that won 101 games a few years ago, the team that went to game six of the league championship series two years ago. Who do you think of? You think Alonso, you think of Nimmo, you think of Lindor, you think of Diaz. All right, well, Diaz, you could change because he was a free agent. Alonso, you can change because he's a free agent. Nimmo, you were able to find a trade partner. Lindor's here. Lindor's not moving, okay? Because he's in the middle of a huge contract, and then I don't want him to go. But you got to change something. And you can't say, we need to change the clubhouse. We need to change the image of this team and just keep trotting the same players back every year, Right? So it's not a case of I don't think Diaz is any good anymore. You can say, well, at the stage of his career, is it worth paying really big money to keep him here, or do we take the opportunity to kind of make the change? And I think this is what you have to do. You know, everybody wants change, and as soon as you start making the change, it's like, oh, I don't know about. Where do you want the change to come? All right? You just can't. This isn't a board game where you just go, you know, turn to. Turn it over and start a new you. You got to move. The guys that are able to be moved doesn't mean they're bad guys. Doesn't mean that they're not good at what they do. Just. You want to change it now you got a chance to change it. Devin Williams is now your closer over Diaz. They're gonna have a new center fielder this year. They may have a new first baseman this year. Although, as we know, it's. It's not gonna be the guy in Philly because he just re upped. So Schwaber is not going anywhere. But, you know, and now Sanga is probably not your ace. Right? Clearly. Because he's not good enough to be your ace. And they've got a chance now to maybe go out and get somebody that can be their ace. So this is not Peter's ace I'm talking about.

Hahn (19:44)

Yes. No, no, not. You bet your ace. Right.

Don (19:47)

Not.

Hahn (19:47)

Yeah, right.

Don (19:50)

And that's what Stearns is trying to do. So this is kind of what Met fans want. But it does hurt to. Because it's. Guys, you're change until the change starts.

Hahn (19:58)

Yeah, right. Because what happens with change is what is players that you've gotten to know leave and you're. Oh, but I liked him, though. Oh, Nimmo.

Don (20:07)

He's great.

Hahn (20:07)

Hustle guy. Oh, I don't want to. But you have to understand that you're making choices on what fits in that clubhouse the right way, the pieces that fit. And you got to make some decisions based on player talent, player contract, all that stuff. So anyways, like I said, we saw something was missing with this team, and we. It can't be talent. It had to be something internally. Carlos Mendoza said this about the reports that there were issues in that clubhouse. It's amazing that. And I'm not going to get into.

Don (20:37)

What happens in the clubhouse obviously stays there.

Hahn (20:39)

But nowadays, for the past two weeks, it feels like we were fighting with each other pretty much every day. That's wrong, you know, because nobody talk about our club. You know, when we got to the second week of June with the best record on baseball, we had the best clubhouse. And then we started losing. And now everybody's talking about, you know, some of the issues.

Don (20:57)

Like, we had a professional clubhouse. Guys respected each other. Guys enjoy being around each other.

Hahn (21:03)

We just didn't play well on the field.

Don (21:05)

And that translated into whatever people call vibe, team chemistry.

Hahn (21:09)

But at the end of the day, guys showed up and they respected each other. So first of all, show me a team that gets along while they're losing, and I'll show you a loser.

Don (21:17)

But people are misunderstanding because this. This has gone on with the Rangers for a bunch of years, too.

Hahn (21:22)

Yeah.

Don (21:23)

It doesn't mean they don't like each other. Sometimes it means they like each other too much. Sometimes it just means that it's just not working. Especially baseball, because you spend so much time together.

Hahn (21:35)

Right.

Don (21:36)

That it's just. It's time for a change. Just time to kind of shake it up a little bit. We tried with these guys. Like Mendoza said, they had a great first half of the season last year. They had a great second half of the season back in 2024. Neither one worked. You know, one got them to the cusp of the World Series. The other one didn't get them to the playoffs at all. Some of that is just the way you play, but also it just. It's not working. We tried with these guys. It's not working. So let's try something else. That's why coaches and managers get fired. That's why trades happen. So people look into it. Oh, does Lindor not get along with Soto? Did Nimmo have problems in the clubhouse with a lot? All these stupid. No, one has nothing to do with the other. It's not about not liking each other. It's just about this version of the team. Doesn't work right now. We've got to shake it up to try something different. Same with the Rangers. Didn't work with Crider and Zabanejad. Kreider's got a chance to go now. He goes, and we'll see if that shakeup works. Can't keep firing managers. Can't keep firing general managers.

Hahn (22:34)

And.

Don (22:35)

And that's the way it works. You look at the roster and you say, does this incarnation of this team lead to a championship? No. All right, let's make change.

Hahn (22:43)

That's it.

Don (22:43)

I think that's what you're looking at.

Hahn (22:44)

Thank you. That's exactly what you start with when you're the general manager. Now, of course, reporters will find different things as well. The. Why did he have to go? Well, it seems like they didn't really get along anyway. Like, there's always that stuff that does pop up because, like I said, show me a team that gets along while losing, and I'll show you a loser.

Don (22:59)

But.

Hahn (22:59)

But when you're losing at the rate the Mets were losing the second half of the season, you can have a lot of miserable people, and you're going to also get a little bit too much honesty sometimes about each other, because nobody tolerates losing. These guys are competitors. So I'm not putting too much into it, but I did find it interesting that you use the word trust when it comes to David Stearns.

Don (23:17)

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Hahn (23:50)

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Don (24:24)

I didn't listen to anything you just said.

Hahn (24:25)

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Hahn (24:33)

What more he would have done? Or did he already peak? Is that fair to say?

Don (24:39)

Wow.

Hahn (24:40)

Is that like you could argue that maybe he did peak because there is some thought that once he and.

Hahn (24:49)

What'S her name, Susie Q. Got with him, like, he just was like Yoko. Yeah, he was all over the place map after that.

Don (24:54)

But imagine came out with Yoko and he.

Hahn (24:57)

Yeah, but that was. He had been working on all that stuff. He and George were working on a lot of that stuff, wasn't he?

Don (25:03)

I would think considering how all the other Beatles did solo wise, he would have crushed it too.

Hahn (25:09)

Yeah.

Don (25:09)

The thing that I wonder, as being a person over the last 30 years that spent so much time in the city, how. How many times will we have run into him or been in the same place as he was? Because he loved New York, because it reminded him of Liverpool. So he spent a tremendous amount of time here. He died here. This. He had a home here. Well, think about it, Don.

Hahn (25:33)

Where he died, where he lived was right by our old studio.

Don (25:36)

Right? Exactly. So we would have saw him walking down the street. Talk about in the wild. We would have ran into him. He would. You would see him at the Garden for Nick games because he was a big sports fan. That that was the thing that was going around social media last night too. In 1974. He was at A Monday night game. Being interviewed. That's right, by Howard Cosell. So you would have seen him at events. You would have walking down the street. There's John Lennon, more so than any of the other Beatles because none of them spent as much time in the city as John did. So that's what I always wonder. Wow, how many times would we have been in the presence of John Lennon?

Hahn (26:09)

I didn't even think, think about that. And what we, what we've missed just from that aspect of him being becoming a New Yorker, you know, like to that level. Didn't even think about that. But yeah, no, it's sad history of course, but history nonetheless. Again. 800 now 193776 we were just talking about the Mets and the Edwin Diaz contract that the Dodgers gave him. This is a reported three year, $69 million deal. That's a record.

Hahn (26:40)

The Mets again reportedly offered Diaz 66 over three years. With deferrals of course, but still you're talking about a difference of what, three.

Hahn (26:53)

So.

Hahn (26:55)

Do you see that simply as he clearly wanted to go to the Dodgers because the Dodgers right now represent many things, but the one thing they do represent is a chance to win a championship year in and year out. It's an all star roster. It's also a pretty nice place to live. If you do the tax thing, what's the difference? It's a wash. New York, Louisiana. You're going to get killed. Taxes and traffic, very similar. The only difference, weather now it's summer when you're really spending most of your time. So one's dry heat, the other one's humidity.

Hahn (27:31)

Well, I, I don't, I don't know if it's really location, Don. I think it's franchise, don't you?

Don (27:38)

Very. If everything is equal.

Don (27:42)

Yeah. You're gonna pick the Dodgers. They've got a better chance to win. Weather there is incredible, right?

Hahn (27:49)

Well, yeah, but it is still in the summer there. It's, it's, it's not as humid but still hot as hell. I guess their April's nicer. I guess maybe their October's nicer.

Don (28:01)

But honestly now his brother's in LA too, right? So that, that definitely puts, puts a feather in the cap of the Dodgers to win him over. Plus now you look at it and you say Stearns just doesn't do things for the sake of doing them. Right. He probably got Devin Williams known. We're not going to resign to you.

Hahn (28:20)

Probably knew but we're going to make.

Don (28:21)

Offers so that drives up the price. So The Dodgers have to pay more, you know, So I don't know. I don't know if there was ever a scenario where the Mets thought that Diaz was coming back the second that Devin Williams was signed that they knew Diaz was gone. They made an offer knowing the Dodgers were going to match or exceed it. They probably like Diaz, give him more money, make the Dodgers spend a little bit more cash. So I don't think it was ever realistic that he was going to be coming back.

Hahn (28:46)

Is this a devastating loss for you? Like a. Like a. Again, it's your closer, and there was a time he was special. He's got his walk in the whole thing. Is it. Are you like, oh, God, how do we lose that guy? Or do you feel like since the injury that he had at the World Baseball Classic, he really hasn't been the same? And he has. Melissa.

Don (29:04)

No, he hasn't been the same.

Hahn (29:05)

Yeah.

Don (29:06)

But there's a couple of things at play here, and we brought this up with Alonzo last year, and we'll probably bring it up again as we get closer to him signing. Wherever he makes his decision this year is that, hey, I'm a Met fan and he was a Met, and he did some pretty special things, right?

Hahn (29:20)

Yep.

Don (29:21)

Remember when he got the final out against Philadelphia and, you know, flexing. Those are memories that are now gone. Like, I understand these are all just commodities in the hopes that you're eventually going to win a championship, but especially in baseball, you get attached to these guys. They become part of your summer. You watch every single day. You're watching these guys play. There's big moments. You know, I'm never gonna forget the trumpet. You know, that was a big deal, him coming out. Like, I might sound silly to somebody who's not a Met fan, but that was. That was a special summer, right? That him coming out and that was a big. And now that's gone and it's. And maybe they are better off board. We're have to wait and see. But still, it was somebody that was a member of my team that did special things from my team that is now playing for the hated Dodgers. Now you get to the baseball aspect of it. Do I know Devin Williams is going to be better? I don't know that. I do remember Devin Williams looking like he was overwhelmed in New York. He lost his closing job with the Yankees. So it's not like you're going out and getting a guy that's coming off a year in which he was a contender for the Cy Young as a closer, you know, you're not going out and acquiring Mariano Rivera in his prime. There's question marks around it. We'll see if it's better. He's younger. Sterns obviously knows him. He came off a great second half of the season because, yeah, he did lose his closing job, but he got it back. But from a baseball standpoint, there's a question mark. But it still kind of sucks to lose a guy that did some great things for the Mets. I'm not in a fetal position about it.

Hahn (30:48)

Okay.

Don (30:49)

But I'm not exactly celebrating it either.

Hahn (30:51)

No, no, I didn't think he would be. Now, the reason why I asked you is because now I want to flip it to the Yankees because with the Mets doing these things or not doing anything and you can see a clear need for them in the outfield. And you know that Cody Bellinger is now the next guy up, right? Yeah, this feels like this is the next guy up. So when's. What's going to happen with him and what you heard about the Yankees? You know, Michael k. Mentioned house DMER doesn't want to go over $300 million. I have seen that. Really? Written by other reporters. There were reporters who have said the same thing. Eric Bolan of Newsday is one of them that I happen to see. So this doesn't sound like this revelation or this secret that got out, but for some reason, Brian Cashman wanted to call out Kay about it. I don't know if you saw that, where he's like, well, when they were asking about this apparent limit or budget. Well, why don't you ask Michael? I guess Michael knows. I guess. See, that's when you're telling on yourself because you get your beer backs up and you all of a sudden get a little like you want to get feisty about it. And that's telling me that it definitely bothered you that that got out rather than if it's not true, which he was trying to say. That's when you just dismiss it like, I don't know where that came from. Right. But he knows where it came from and he doesn't like that it's out there because it makes him look bad. You know why? Because the Yankees think about this. And this is. Now, this is what boils me, because Edwin Diaz wanted to leave. So you can be like, you know, it sucks, but clearly you don't want to stay here. Cody Bellinger, I believe, wants to be a Yankee. He wanted to be a Yankee. It's why he first came here in the first place. He has obviously the lineage, the blood in the ground, as I like to say. I think there is something special about playing with Aaron Judge that he likes. There's a lot about being a Yankee that he really enjoys. And I think he'd be more than happy to stay a Yankee. In fact, I'll go as far as saying, even though Boris will never allow it, I'll go as far as saying that he might take pennies less to stay with the Yankees. However.

Hahn (32:53)

This might not be able to happen because Brian Cashman gambled on something with Trent Grisham that is going to blow up in his face. And if I was Al Steinber, I'd be annoyed at him. Like, wait a minute, I told you under three. I didn't know he was going to take the qualifying offer. Nobody thought he would take it. Yeah, but he did. Now what? Now I got to go over again. Now it's on House Steinbrenner to say, fine, I don't want to lose Bellinger. Let's go over because right now it's Dominguez. That's who. The Martian. That's your answer right now in left field because Grisham is locked in at center because of your mistake for one more year and now it's Dominguez and maybe Spencer Jones as your left fielders. That's it. And I'm sorry, you can't lose Cody Bellinger and it's on you that you have to go hat in hand into that office and tell House Steinbert I'm sorry you got to go over your budget again because I goofed. He's mad at the wrong people. He should be mad at himself. And how should we mad at him? Don't be mad at Michael K. What Michael K. Said isn't a lie. It's accurate. It's true and we all know it. You're the one that caused this.

Don (33:58)

It's good for. And don't listen to Scott Bore saying, I haven't heard anything like that. Of course you haven't. Because your clients, Bellinger, you don't want one of the. The biggest teams money wise being out of the competition. So he's going to draw the Yankees back in.

Hahn (34:12)

How bad would that be? If. Yeah, well, I'm here. I don't think the Yankees going to spend so. Oh, okay, that, that's good to know. If I'm a. If I'm a team that wants it now, I don't have to worry about them coming in.

Don (34:21)

And all I would say to you is the same thing I said about all the other clients that Boris has. If it isn't. If it isn't just about the money, then why is Scott Boris your agent?

Don (34:35)

So I'm with you. I think he wants to stay a Yankee. Yeah, but you could have any other agent in the world, but you got the one that's always about getting the absolute most money and seems to have his finger or his thumb under the over these players when it comes time to where will Scott Boers allow him to take a discount and stay with the Yankees?

Hahn (34:56)

So do you want to hear Limerick?

Don (34:58)

Yes.

Hahn (34:58)

You want to hear another Boris limerick?

Don (35:00)

I don't, but go ahead.

Hahn (35:01)

Yes, you do. This is Boris doing his usual. He loves to get creative about what teams are interested in. Cody Bellinger Belly is. I mean, it's not for me to judge, but great players see red that.

Don (35:15)

They have a big bat yanked out of their lineup.

Hahn (35:18)

I haven't met a team that dodges.

Don (35:22)

A five tool player to fill the center field need is a giant step towards the playoffs.

Hahn (35:28)

North and south, outfielders that fly with power, they're rare birds. In the off season, there's a lot.

Don (35:35)

Of startup to organizations and for that.

Hahn (35:38)

Reason, there's a lot of angel investors.

Don (35:40)

That are looking for very versatile outfielders.

Hahn (35:44)

So other than that, belly doesn't have much interest. Did you get all the teams? How many did you get?

Don (35:49)

Well, you got the Angels.

Hahn (35:51)

Well, you got Judge. That's Yankees.

Don (35:52)

You got Judge. Yankees. You heard mentioned.

Hahn (35:54)

You heard the Giant. You heard Dodge. Dodgers. Right. Now Red.

Don (36:00)

Now Red. Is that Red Sox? It's not Reds.

Hahn (36:02)

The Reds aren't spending money, are they?

Don (36:04)

Reds aren't spending that kind of money.

Hahn (36:05)

All right. He said north. Yeah, north, south, birds. So are we talking about Cardinals and Orioles? Blue Jays, North.

Don (36:13)

You're talking Blue Jays, North, South, I guess. What you. I don't think the Cardinals are dancing there. Baltimore could. They've got some money, so there are plenty of suitors.

Hahn (36:26)

Oh, that's. What. You know what, when he said north, south, does he mean.

Hahn (36:31)

Chicago teams? Right. South side is the White Sox.

Don (36:37)

I don't know. Yeah, but he said north, South.

Hahn (36:40)

Birds. Well, he added birds. Birds. Birds could be.

Don (36:43)

Oh, okay. Well, I don't think the White Sox are dancing there.

Hahn (36:46)

Look what he's making us do though. Don see this? No, but look at us. Embarrassing.

Don (36:51)

That's why I don't.

Hahn (36:52)

Just give me the list. Don't sing me a song.

Don (36:54)

Don't like him. I think he's a scam artist.

Don (36:59)

And he actually has outlived his usefulness because he was into analytics before baseball was. Now they're all into it. So he's just trying to listen. He's got the clients, I'll give him that. And that's like the leverage that Roger Goodell has, like everybody. Oh, Roger Goodell's great at his job. Look at all the money he's made for the league with the television contract. It's because 50 million people are watching your sport.

Hahn (37:20)

Yeah.

Don (37:21)

So it's. Yeah. I could walk in and negotiate those contracts with those types of ratings, I can negotiate for some of the best players in the league. But you're starting to see there's been plenty of players that didn't have a team at the start of spring training the last couple of years because he overplayed his hand. He knows the Yankees have a budget, but he's trying to make it seem like they don't. So the Mets and all these other teams will drive up the price. The Mets can drive up the price. The Blue Jays will drive up the price. I think Cody Bellinger, without question, is going to have to take a discount to stay with the Yankees. Is he willing to do that? And is Scott Boris doing limericks at the winter meetings, knowing deep down that Bellinger is going to take a pay cut to stay with the Yankees? There's no shot of that.

Hahn (38:04)

Or it's just I got to make sure that if Belly wants to stay with the Yankees, he gets the most he can possibly like the. Like. It's not like the Yankees first offer. I got to make sure that I get them as much as I can, even with their restraints, their constraints. And again, I don't want people to come after House Steinbrenner for this. Don't do it.

Hahn (38:31)

Your. Your ire is directed in the wrong place. The, The. Your frustration, your anger should be at the only place it should be in the organization, not Aaron Boone. It should be at the general manager.

Don (38:44)

And if you're not paying, still paying. Hicks and LeMayhue, and at these $72.

Hahn (38:48)

Million to four players who are relatively useless.

Don (38:52)

And you would be able to work that out. But the other thing Boris is hoping is like what happened in 2009, where how will just say, okay, right, go get to share. I'll pay more than we want to. But you know what? I got. I got it. I can't have, of all teams, the Mets steal one of our players back to back years. That's what Boris is going to say is, do you really want to go out there and have the Mets steal a player from you again. Wow.

Hahn (39:18)

Wow. 800. Now a nine.

Don (39:22)

But. But Alan, there. There is a number that the Yankees can't. They just can't write a check.

Hahn (39:28)

No, I know. That's. That's exactly it. And the Mets have a need. This is not a want for the Mets. This is a need.

Don (39:35)

Yeah.

Hahn (39:36)

And he fills it. And it's right there for you. Yes, there are other teams. I can't see Bellinger bouncing around to different places like some of the teams we threw out there. I don't see that. But could I see the Mets? Of course I could.

Don (39:49)

Sure.

Hahn (39:50)

And it's the worst nightmare back to back years. But don't be mad at the owner. It's the general manager that deserves all the ire.

Hahn (40:00)

Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

Don (40:03)

I didn't listen to anything you just said.

Hahn (40:05)

Catch the show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts.

Don (40:12)

I don't expect you to get it.

Hahn (40:14)

I don't get it. I don't understand what. I like the song. What bothered me was when they would. Sny would cut to the dopey Mr. Met with his dopey bugle, plastic bugle dancing on the. It ain't about you, Mr. Met. Stand down. This is about Diaz and closing a game out.

Don (40:31)

This is that the history of the men is my team. So I could talk ill of my team. Okay, so sometimes the best criticism comes from the fans. Right?

Hahn (40:40)

Okay.

Don (40:42)

The Mets ruined it. It was a great moment that the Mets mucked it all up by. Because they got their fat hands all over. Oh my God. The same decision. And, and I like Steve Phillips. And, and we, we got along very well. We did shows together. I'm like, what made you think the Baja Men performing what a four game three of the World Series?

Hahn (41:01)

As a Yankees fan, that was such. What a moment.

Don (41:04)

It was just disgusting. Right? It's, it's. They've got a history of, you know, the, the. The Joe Pig Detado potato tomato patch they had in 1975. Their mascot was Metal the Donkey, which means that their mascot was a jackass. Yeah, no, I had a whole rant about it 20 years ago about, you know, the, you know, the Dynamet dash, where more 5 year old kids were on the bases than actual Mets. And that's what happened. It was a great moment. The Mets were playing terrific baseball. Diaz is doing tremendous things. Remember, they had a no hit, a combined no hitter that year that Diaz closed out. And the song was really cool. And it was A great moment. And then they messed it all up by having Timmy Trumet perform their live. And then. And then showing Mr. And Mrs. Met doing it, and it just. It got too metzy. Now, I love the Mets, but you can't get too messy. They started playing with it and they screwed it all up. We're right in a wheelhouse. So, like corn pong.

Hahn (42:05)

Yeah.

Don (42:06)

And that's what happened. It took a really cool, natural moment.

Hahn (42:09)

Yes.

Don (42:09)

And then everybody's got to mess with. Like, sometimes things happen without even trying. Right. Like you get this great thing that nobody planned, and then all of a sudden, people start planning, well, how can we make it better? And 90% of the time, you end up making it worse.

Hahn (42:23)

It's unreal because it in its. In a vacuum. It actually was pretty cool because of the way the song begins. It has this anticipation, the pounding of the drums, the lights go down, the doors open. It's like. It just. It does have, like this feel of, you know, the gladiator or the. There was just something cool about.

Don (42:45)

It was just cool.

Hahn (42:46)

Yeah. And then thing that's. But I don't know, do you blame. Do you blame the Mets or do you blame the director? Like, why are you cutting to Mr. Met and Mrs. Met with a stupid bugle? Like, why are you doing that? This ain't about this. It's about the player walking in. Right. It's. It's about the fighter in the arena. That's what this is.

Don (43:04)

Yeah. Once you start showing the mask.

Hahn (43:06)

Oh, my God, enough. You know, mascot. It's. It's. It's good for the kids, it's nice for the kids. But in a big moment of a game when it's like lock it down time, where you just want to have piss and vinegar, you don't show me the big baseball face guy.

Don (43:21)

It's.

Hahn (43:21)

Sorry.

Don (43:22)

No, you're. You're right.

Hahn (43:24)

My whole family's Mets fans, so I've grown up with this. Even though I haven't rooted for it. I've grown up with it. I've seen it. It's.

Don (43:30)

It's just something that's always bothered me about this organization. And a lot of it comes from the fact that they were the little, you know, kids coming in as an expansion team and Casey Stangle. And it's what they had to do.

Hahn (43:42)

Right.

Don (43:42)

Because the only reason to see the team was because of Mr. Met, because they were losing 115 games every single year. So you had to. You had to do things to get people to come out to the ballpark. Take advantage of the team being bad. And once the team got good, well, then you just let the baseball speak for itself. And sometimes it just gets a little crazy. Listen, I've got kids now and NJ Devil's running around the arena and they want to see. I get it. But when it becomes the face of your franchise, when it doesn't have to be anymore, like now, you know, in 2022, the Mets were good. They were going away to win 100 games. They were the talk of the town. They had. The Timmy Trumpet thing was happening. You know what, Mr. Met. Layout, we're good. Mr. Met, you. You come out and you dance and when you're down 10 runs, do the Macaren.

Hahn (44:32)

Right, Exactly.

Don (44:32)

You know, take me out to the.

Hahn (44:34)

Ball game, all that.

Don (44:35)

You know, there's great traditions over at Citi Field where, you know, you play piano, man. The Garden has them too. They happen. We get it. But you know, sometimes let's focus on the court, the ice and the field. The big boys got it now. And we'll save you for when they don't have it. Who let the dogs out? Makes the Macarena sound like Bridge over Troubled Wolf.

Hahn (45:02)

It's not that far from the church.

Don (45:03)

It really is. I was so sick and I asked Steve, he's like, well, we did the mark and they all. And you know what's crazy? They, they, they all. It cost a fortune to screw it up.

Hahn (45:14)

Oh yeah. Oh yeah.

Don (45:16)

I'll never. And I'm not even going to tell you who it was or. The year doing the jets was early 2000s. All right, so I will give you the year for one year on the Jumbotron. They literally had a stick figure character that would get the fans going and all that. It was a stick figure with like a jet hat on. It looked like it was ridiculous. Like some 5 year old won a contest in kindergarten.

Hahn (45:39)

Right?

Don (45:39)

And I asked people around. What the hell is this? Oh, it's some marketing thing, you know, you don't pay for that. Oh, they paid a quarter of a million dollars for it. So you embarrassed yourself and you paid for the privilege.

Hahn (45:54)

Someone got a quarter of a million dollars for making a stick figure animation? They could.

Don (46:00)

Yankees go through it. I Michael, about this. The. What is that? The Death Star time. Every time that somebody's got two strikes sounds like a whale, right?

Don (46:11)

If you remember, Garrett Cole didn't like it.

Hahn (46:12)

He hates it.

Don (46:13)

And they kept doing it. I'm paying you $35 million a year. If my $35 million a year pitcher doesn't like it, not only do you get rid of it, you might have the person who had the idea killed. You don't keep doing it.

Hahn (46:25)

It was a whole play off the evil Empire thing, and it. But by the way, though, that alarm is that the Death Star was about to implode. Right.

Don (46:35)

So I guess that bat's gonna implode. He's gonna strike out. I get it. No, but the second. No, it doesn't like it, then it goes away.

Hahn (46:43)

There it is.

Don (46:44)

And. And here's. You know what? Because you want to talk about woke, it's like, we don't want to tell the person that he had a bad idea, all right? Because we don't want to discourage them.

Hahn (46:54)

We don't want to be upset.

Don (46:55)

So. So let's. Let's double down and invest in the whole thing so he doesn't feel bad.

Hahn (46:59)

This is what we're doing wrong. Don't we're criticizing something when we should be coming up with the next dumb idea that pays somebody a boatload of money. What's the next dumb idea you and I can come up with? Because I, my friend and I, My friend Craig Pinto and I had an unbelievable idea many years ago.

Don (47:16)

Is he related to Shane?

Hahn (47:17)

No, he's not. But he's also from Long Island. Yeah, he's a Long island guy, but he's not related to Shane.

Don (47:22)

Okay.

Hahn (47:22)

But he loves hockey. He's a big hockey guy. And he and I one day were coming up with, like, concepts for Islander jerseys, and he and I both said, what if you took everything out and just did the NY part? No island, no word islanders, no circle, nothing. Just that because the Yankees have the interlocking, the Mets have it, the Giants do it. Everybody's got a version of just ny. Let's do this. So we did it. He mocked it up, we made some T shirts, brought it to the team, showed it to him and said, like, we think this would be an unbelievable hit. And they're like, no, you can't just. You can't take the island away. Like, it's just ny. We're not New York. We're on the island. And it was just holding. No, it's never going to happen. So we just. All right, whatever. I guess we liked it. We moved on. And then they go to Brooklyn. What?

Don (48:09)

They do ny.

Hahn (48:11)

They found this brilliant idea of ny. So I had a good idea. I just didn't get money for it. Oh, well, we need to do better. We need to do better.

Don (48:20)

You're right.

Hahn (48:22)

Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast. I don't want to know how the sausage is made, man. I just want to know what's good. Hear more of Don Allen and Peter Weekday afternoon starting at 3 on 8 80, ESPN, the ESPN New York app and your smart speakers.

Don (48:38)

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