Don, Hahn & Rosenberg – Hour 1: Mets Walk Off

Date: August 27, 2025
Platform: ESPN New York
Hosts: Alan Hahn, Peter Rosenberg (absent this hour), Don La Greca (“Don”)

Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the red-hot New York Mets’ dramatic walk-off win over the Philadelphia Phillies and assesses the state of both the Mets and Yankees as the postseason nears. The hosts blend sharp baseball analysis with signature New York banter, discussing bullpen conundrums, team momentum, music generational gripes, and sprinkle in classic “list” segment hijinks. A current of cautious optimism for the Mets’ divisional run permeates the discussion, along with skepticism about their ability to sustain playoff-caliber performance.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Mets’ Walk-Off Win and Bullpen Woes

• Hot Start vs. Sustainability

  • The Mets have claimed the first two games of the series against a “reeling” Phillies club, but questions remain about the legitimacy of the winning streak due to bullpen instability.
  • Don notes a pattern: “The Phillies are starting to remind you of the Yankees in some ways. They also play sloppily.” (01:26)

• Unreliable Closers

  • Extended conversation about Ryan Helsley’s struggles as a new Mets reliever; juxtaposed with other closers like Devin Williams.
  • “Game should have been over and somehow, someway gives up a tour...they gotta stop bringing him in to Hell’s Bells.” – Don (01:51)
  • Running joke about how pitchers should have walk-up/entry music reflecting recent performance, rather than career highlights:
    • “If you blow three saves in a row, instead of Hell’s Bells, you’re coming out to the Benny Hill theme.” – Don (03:25)
    • “How you play is what your walk-up song should be.” – Don (03:51)
    • “That would almost inspire me to pitch better.” – Rosenberg (04:54)

• Bullpen Depth and Meritocracy

  • Mets are forced to use deep bullpen arms nightly due to short outings from starters.
  • Commendation for manager Mendoza’s merit-based approach:
    • "Performance matters. We're at a point where we've got to see performance.” – Don quoting Mendoza (08:17)
  • Discussion of rookie auditions (e.g., McLean, Tong, Sproat) and postseason eligibility.
    • “It’s a glorified audition for everybody.” – Rosenberg (11:38)

2. Mets’ Surge and Playoff Prospects

• Offensive Awakening

  • The Mets’ bats are finally hot, averaging 7.1 runs/game since August 12, leading MLB (06:12).
  • Resilience showcased by late-inning comebacks, specifically referencing Nimmo’s crucial knock.

• Playoff Stakes and Division Race

  • “If you win tonight, don’t lay an egg against the Marlins the way you did against the Nationals...Take care of business. Build on something here.” – Don (15:20)
  • “There’s really not that much of a difference between the Mets and the Phillies...They are very sloppy, just like the Yankees.” – Rosenberg (15:31)

• Cautious Optimism

  • Many teams are “flawed,” which keeps the divisional and wildcard races open.
  • Multiple mentions of the “confidence” the Mets are building, especially in matchups vs. Philly:
    • “The Mets have to feel like, like the Red Sox do against the Yankees. Like, I’m not scared of this team. I can beat this team and confidence with athletes goes a long way...” – Rosenberg (15:40)

3. Philosophy on Building a Winner

• Pitching Philosophy & David Stearns’ Approach
  • Don relays insights from Stearns’ interview:
    • The front office’s reluctance to hand out long-term contracts to pitchers over 30.
    • Commitment to homegrown pitching for "long term sustained success".
  • “No, we’re not going to make a desperate swing at somebody over 30...We know the best way to do it is to develop our own pitching.” – Don (10:41)

4. Yankees Update (Interwoven, to be covered post-game)

• Yankees trouncing Washington; Stanton praised for a big game; Volpe’s prolonged slump highlighted multiple times.

5. Generational Music Talk & “List” Segment Antics

• Music of the Summer
  • A humorous and nostalgic break launches from a discussion about “walk-up” songs and morphs into lamenting the lack of definitive “songs of the summer” nowadays.
  • Don sheepishly defends using Billboard stats for his “top summer songs” list and gets roasted for the lifeless results.
    • “You let the analytics get in the way.” – Rosenberg (19:10)
    • “No, but that’s not what it’s supposed to be about...” (19:25)
  • K-pop’s encroachment (“Soda Pop”), Kidz Bop, and the changing way people (and kids) consume music supply plenty of punchlines and generation-gap observations.

6. Listener Calls: Deli Lunches & Mets Playoff Fever

• Classic New York banter arises in a “list” challenge:

  • “You spent a day in the yard...What are you getting [at the deli]?” (36:19)
    • Rosenberg: roast beef on a buttered hero.
    • Callers: chicken salad or the classic Italian hero.

• Mets optimism:

  • One caller (“Pierre from Putnam”) goes all-in:
    • “This series is going to springboard the New York Mets to where we’ve been wanting to go for over four decades now...The New York Mets are going to win the World Series in 2025. Loop it, save it.” (44:35)
    • This enthusiasm is met with Han and Rosenberg's blend of cautious realism:
      • “I want to build something sustainable to where everybody’s chasing after them and it’s not luck and it’s not hot and it’s not all of a sudden coming together late in the season and having to be a grimace...That, to me, is not sustainable.” – Rosenberg (46:14)

• Mets history as a series of near-misses and miracle runs is examined; 1986 and 1969 compared to modern teams, with longing for a “no doubt” runaway season.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Mets' challenge:
  • “He has been an abject disaster so far in a Met uniform.” – Don (06:51, re: Helsley)
• On bullpen management:
  • “If you’re going to the bullpen in the fifth inning every single night, at some point you can't hide. These pitchers, they gotta go.” – Rosenberg (07:34)
• On modern baseball parity:
  • “It just means you don’t stink as bad as a lot of the other garbage that you’re going to be facing...” – Rosenberg (39:23)
• Music nostalgia:
  • “At least they sang into a microphone! ... It was bad, it was corny, was pap, but it was real.” – Don & Rosenberg (43:31)
• On hope vs. process:
  • “I’m tired of that. Listen, I’ll take it because I don’t have a lot of great Met moments, but can it ever be just, hey, we’re the best team, everybody’s chasing after us instead of some miracle, some fluke, some hot run, some wild card team that catches fire late?” – Rosenberg (46:14)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:55 – Show proper starts; Mets and Phillies streaks, Yankees update.
• 01:45 – Who do you trust more for one out: Devin Williams or Helsley?
• 03:00–05:30 – Comedy segment on “walk-up” songs reflecting current stats.
• 06:12 – Mets’ offensive burst and critical inning review.
• 08:17 – Mets management embraces strictly merit-based decisions.
• 10:15 – Don recaps David Stearns interview on building a pitching staff.
• 11:38 – Roster battles, rookie auditions and playoff eligibility scenarios.
• 14:53 – Mets' recent record; confidence vs. Philly; playoff implications.
• 19:00 – “Song of the Summer” and generational music consumption.
• 34:27 – Listener call: deli sandwich choices & segue to Mets playoff path.
• 44:35 – Pierre from Putnam's Mets “guarantee”; hosts dissect hope vs. process.
• 47:44 – Revisiting heartbreaking Mets playoff history and fan expectations.

Tone & Style

Classic New York sports radio with a heavy dose of self-deprecating humor, no-nonsense realism, and a refusal to buy into empty hype. There is always room for a little hope, a little groaning, and lots of food and music debates. The hosts are conversational, sarcastic, and always aiming to keep listeners grounded — no matter how exciting the latest Mets walk-off might be.

For New Listeners

This episode is a quintessential example of Don, Hahn & Rosenberg: part therapy session for Mets fans, part sports roundtable, part old-school New York banter, with just enough music and lunch talk sprinkled in to feel like a true local hangout.

To hear more: weekdays at 3 pm on ESPN New York and wherever you get your podcasts.