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A
Talk about stepping up. Bang, bang.
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It's time to level up your game. Introducing the all new ESPN app. All of ESPN all in one place. Your home for the most live sports and the best championship moments.
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The electricity is palpable.
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C
Todd.
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This isn't Vietnam. It's Radio Han.
C
I mean, he had a handful of twig and berries and Rosenberg.
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Everything about it was pure, unadulterated ass.
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This isn't North Dakota. This is New York.
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This is Don Han and Rosenberg.
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The best threesome I've ever heard on.
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ESPN New York and streaming live on YouTube.
B
How about that? Happy Saturday. Or Saturday. Friday, everybody. Saturday. Tomorrow. That's when it starts for the Yankees. But what a glorious Friday. If you're a Yankee fan. It's a beautiful day outside and your team made you proud. Right now. How are you feeling, Alan? Honestly, how are you feeling?
C
Very satisfied. That was so satisfying to watch. Maybe more satisfying if they gave the kid the ball for the ninth inning just to see a complete game shutout, which, I mean in today's game you just never see something like that. We literally never see what Cam Schlitler did. But yeah, it's. That was as satisfying of a win as you could possibly have if you were a Yankees fan. That's the best way I can describe it.
A
What about, let me not to throw shade or put rain on it one level more satisfying if judge had also gone yard yesterday.
C
Yeah, okay.
A
Yeah, it's be nice to get one of those in the series.
C
It is, it is fair to say that. But I'm not going to nitpick. There's. He had a good series as far as just numbers go. And I think the bigger things are coming for him. I think more important moments are coming for him. But satisfying considering the opponent at home, all the things that you would want. That's, that's how I looked at it. And, and really now when it's over, you can look back and say the Red Sox really weren't very good. They were missing a lot. And so you should, you, you, you better had beaten them. And they did. And now the, the challenges continue. The tougher challenges continue. And you see George Springer has his rally cry already up in Toronto. Boys.
A
What's, what's the Springer rallying cry?
C
Tarp off. Police horse ready Here we blank and go. That's, that's his line.
B
So from run Rival to another, from one hated team to another. Now you get to take on the Blue Jays and see if you can get. Take care of business there. Another team that won the season series, they got the tiebreaker. You had the same record as they did. They had the tiebreaker, and now you can get your revenge. The thing is with these wild card series, you don't have any time, man. You celebrate. You get off the field on Thursday and you get on a plane. You fly Saturday, 4 o' clock in less than 20, less than 48 hours, you're at it again. Now it's the best of five series. So you don't have any kind of way to you spray some champagne. But man, let's get, let's get to work. Quick turnaround for a team that's rested. They've got their rotation in order, but I'm telling you, I said it. I'm going to, I'm going to double down on it. Yankees win against the Red Sox, they're going to the World Series. And I'm sticking with that. You don't have what happened last night just to get eliminated in the divisional round or the league championship series.
C
You think this is one of those magic things? Is this what you're referring to?
B
I'm just saying that that performance deserves better than a second round exit. Man, this is going to put. He's going to be in history as maybe pitching the greatest game any Yankee has ever pitched. I mean, he's a kid making his.
C
16Th start and against his hometown team.
B
Eight innings of shutout baseball facing elimination. When does that ever happen? When.
C
Literally never. That's, that's the best part of this. Everything we were seeing. That's why I kept going Again. I don't want to nitpick because it, like, I called it satisfying, Very much so. It's funny because, you know, you, you have said this, Don, about the, the Boone criticism, and sometimes maybe it's just let the. Can the player, can the player just perform? So Cam Schlitler made Aaron Boone look brilliant because he was brilliant, right? That's really all that happened, is the kid made him look brilliant. And all I wanted was to see what he let him bring. What? He let him take the ball in the ninth, and he did. And so Bednar pitched three, three straight days. You're gonna need them Saturday. At least you, you expect to. And that was a moment where I wondered, would they give him the ball and let him close this thing out? Complete game, shut out in an elimination game in your first playoff appearance. Like that. That would have been extra special. But yeah, it's the, it's one of the most. One of the most scintillating pitching performances we've ever seen by a Yankee pitcher in playoff history. And that's saying a lot. That's saying a lot.
A
Contradict something I said at the top.
C
Of the show already.
A
That's. Yeah. Quickly. Well, because. Because I guess the one. The only thing that felt sort of dissatisfying at all about this series, in my opinion, if you're Yankee fan, guys, is the fact that you didn't see the power from Judge, and obviously you'd like to see a better series from Stanton as well. Right. But on the flip side of that, it's pretty cool that they won yesterday by putting runs together. You kind of love it, Alan, from a playoff standpoint, to see that this team can win playoff games without the long ball.
C
Yep.
A
That's exactly what they've lacked in the playoffs. Every year it feels like.
C
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Manufacturing runs or the ability to get on base and create traffic, that, yeah, that's, that's great. But we do know it's not the formula for how this team wins and how this team's going to have success. And we all know that if the Yankees are going to go on a run, like Don just said, he believes that whoever won that series was going to go on. If they are going to follow what Don believes, we're going to need them. You know, smash the ball a few more times, you're going to need more out of Stanton and you're going to need more when it comes to home run power. But you know, you got it when you needed it. And it is good to know and good to see that they are a different looking team. They were earlier in the season. They got way more athletic. Right. With. With, with Jazz, certainly from last year's acquisition from. From bringing in Caballero. They are way more athletic on the base pads. They're faster and they're more willing to move on the base paths, which, Which I think is it. It says a lot. I remember two years ago we said this team's so unathletic. You, you don't say that about the Yankees anymore.
B
They need to get a little bit more offense going again, scoring all their runs in one inning. So. Right. You lost, you lost in game one, getting your one run in the first and then you had the big fourth inning last night and that was all the offense that you had. So, yeah, there's nitpicks and there's things that need to get better. But I just don't want to ignore when history happens. And I'm somebody that. I love sports, but I also love sports history. You don't see that. You don't see a kid, you know, the most strikeouts ever for a rookie pitcher in his playoff debut. 12 strikeouts, 8 shutout innings in the cathedral of baseball facing elimination when he, Ford goes out and does it. If Andy Pettic goes out and does it, if Mike Messina goes out and does it. I mean, that's what they're supposed to do. That's what they get paid to do. But this is a kid that nobody knew existed when the season started. And he had a great year. But I'm sorry you had to be a little apprehensive. First playoff appearance, what can we expect from the kid? And then nobody had that on their bingo card. Nobody. I mean, what would the odds be that he is going to go eight shutout innings before the game started?
C
No, no, not at all. Zero.
B
And it happened. And yeah, it's.
C
Anybody that believed that was, is, is, is lying. Anyone that believe that is lying. No one would think he would go eight shutout innings. That doesn't happen. But I'll tell you what, like when you think about you, you, you know, you name like Whitey Ford.
B
Right, Right.
C
And. And I don't want to get too caught up in hyperbole because we do get caught up in the moment. He was fantastic. It is the wild card round. I mean, it's not Don Larson. Right. Like we can. It's not the greatest performance in Yankee history, playoff history, but it's certainly up there and especially in more recent history because of just how important this game was. Despite the fact that we're still talking about a wild card round, not the, you know, the league championship series or the World Series, but what it means going forward, I think says a lot too. You know, Michael was asked a question on his show from a caller which I found very interesting because Michael actually paused a while before answering it. And it was simply this. What do you do now against the Blue Jays? Because when you set up your pitching, do you want to get Rodin twice or do you want to get Schlitler twice?
A
Something to think about at this moment. I mean, talk about struggling to be a victim, a prisoner of the moment. But how do you not be a prisoner of the moment at this second? You know what I mean?
C
You got to believe in hot. They don't. They don't believe in hot, but you got to believe in hot. And he's just. He's been very good for them since they called him up.
B
But you know, Rodon didn't pitch awful in his appearance.
C
Yeah.
B
But he win 18 games during the course of the regular season. So you got to be careful because as you said, this is not your quintessential Red Sox team. There was no, you know, there was no Ortiz. There wasn't even endeavors on this team. But it's a good team and it was an important game. So I don't want to make it anything more than it is, but what it is is still absolutely spectacular. But the Peter's point. Do you want to be a prisoner of the moment that all of a sudden you're going to escalate him to something that he may not be ready to be?
C
Did you hear Michael's answer?
B
I did not hear it, no.
C
He paused a while and he said, yeah, Shitler. I found that. I like that because I was wondering what he'd say there, you know, because he's. He's somebody that obviously would never. Wouldn't get caught up something like we like, you know, fans would say, oh, you got to go with sliding. Look how great he is. But even Michael said, I probably would go if I had to choose one or the other of who would get two starts in the. In a seven game series. Because Freed obviously is your ace. But if you had to choose one over the other, you'd probably choose. He said he would go with Schlitler.
A
Well, Rodon, over the last. Over his last 10 games, you feel. Do you feel decent about where he's been at?
C
He's been good. Yes. He actually. He has been steady.
A
Yeah. I'm looking at his numbers now. Looking over the last 10. It's pretty steady.
C
Yeah.
A
But if I'm assuming that I'm not on a fugazi side here, it looks like he hasn't allowed more than three runs over the last 10 starts. One game on August 29, he gave up seven hits but one earned run. No, he's. He's been solid. I mean, they haven't been Schlitler like performances. But. How many times has Schlitler given you Schlitler like performance?
C
He's been good.
B
I don't want to.
A
Very good, but not a freak of nature.
C
I don't want to get this worked.
B
I don't want to get into Michael's because I didn't hear. But I would think that Michael's not just going by last night's performance. He's got an earn run average under 3 over 15 starts. So if you projected that out and he was here on opening day and he made his 30 starts, would his numbers be similar to Rodan's? And, and my thinking is that they, if they are, then what are we talking about? Of course you would. Now there's more experience and this could be just a one time thing as far as that kind of ability to go out there and pitch eight shutout innings. But he's been good all year. Just he didn't get all year to do it. He only had those 15 starts. So I can understand the logic. But I can also understand the other side of it is, is can you expect him to do something like that again against a more potent offensive team in Toronto? So that, that's what's interesting about it.
C
But I'll tell you what, it does tell you that he's got the stuff though in a moment like that, right? Like that, you know, you're not. He's not going to get rattled. No, you know, it's. He, he's not. Somebody's going to get rattled. He could have a game like any pitcher that just doesn't have it that day. But he was locked in and you know, it's funny, remember when we played Boone saying, you know, I saw him before, after the game and looks like he got, he was locked in. And I said that. It just sounds like something that a coach would say.
B
Right?
C
He wasn't. Clearly that kid was locked in.
B
Clearly he was definitely locked in.
C
Clearly he was.
B
I. You brought up that we'd love to see him complete it. Right. Because that would have been the old school. Complete game shutout.
C
Yep.
B
With a 4 nothing lead. I do think it's a conversation. Did he feel the need to go to bed now? I guess he did. I mean that's your closer. But it's not, it's a, it's not a closed situation. Because that's what I mean, like a.
C
Four run lead on. Didn't we say that too? Like how many runs and all that stuff. A four run lead tells me why not? Like you remember game five, Andy Pettit, World Series 96. Right. He got smoked in game one and they had to win game five and he was unreal. And he actually went into the ninth inning.
B
Different time for sure.
C
I know it's. But, but like it's almost like, like did he, didn't he earn it? Like did he earn it to take, take it all the way home? Take this whole thing.
B
Never mind. Listen, that would have been Satisfying. But never mind that. What about just the idea of Bednar pitching on three consecutive days and now you might need him tomorrow? Well, to close out the Blue Jays with that would be four times. And I'm just thinking, do you have the luxury up for nothing in the ninth inning to think about the Blue Jays? Or is it. No, I can't. I've got to respect my opponent. I've just got to shut this down and I'll worry about the next series. The next series play for today. Question is at 4. Nothing. Do you have the luxury, Allen, to say, I want to save Bednar for Game 1 against the Blue Jays?
C
I. I would have. How do you not? I would have. Wouldn't you? Come on.
B
Well, because it doesn't matter.
C
He was pitching. He was so strong. I don't think the pitch.
B
107.
C
Yeah, he wasn't like. It wasn't. He wasn't at every egregious pitch count.
B
And really, you could go to anybody and just say, all right, listen, Bednar's there. Just somebody gets on. Well, that's a little out of control.
C
You do the. You're. You're a. You're a. You're a batter to batter situation at this point. And I think that's how Tory handled Pet at that time. Pet was young then, but he handled it like you're. You're battered about it at this point, and I'll see what it looks like. But. But if you could take it home. Take it home. The way I would.
B
The way I would have done it is I'd have him start the ninth inning, and if any kind of trouble. Yes, then he's gone. But maybe you get lucky, you get a ground out and just keep him. I, I just try to avoid Bednar just because, you know, the conversation is going to be on Monday when, when we're on after games one and two, that if Bednar is not good, they're going to say that he really have to pitch in game three against the Red Sox. But again, it's a nitpick. You can nitpick the offense, you can nitpick that decision, of course. But now we. And also now we see why Cora managed the way he managed in game two, because I think he sensed he knew that his team would not have much in game three. But I don't want to take anything away from what the Yankees accomplished last night. But clearly their best chance, their only chance it appeared at the time now is if they had won game two.
C
This is, this is now where it Gets real. I think this series was, I mean, I could call an appetizer. It just, it just felt to me like just get this out of the way. And they did. I feel like the Blue Jays are that annoying team they have been for a couple of years for the Yankees. They now, again, they, they're also dealing with some injuries. They, they did not have a great finish to the season, but they've had a week off. But there is something punchy about them. Springer's a guy you love having on your team, but I'll tell you what, like, you hate playing against him because he's just a pain in the ass, but he's the first. He's always, I, I always feel like he's the guy either busting it around third to score on like what looks like a, you know, a dink and dunk base hit, or he's the one that hits it, just gets that hit at the right time. He has been that guy against the Yankees. And so there's a lot to watch here with how this, how it's managed, of course. But there's something that also still feels, even though the Blue Jays don't feel like a true rival, they don't feel like a team that you would hate. I feel like this series will create some of that animosity. I don't think there's a lot, there's respect, but I don't think there's a lot of. I don't think these two teams like each other. And I, I would like to see the Yankees kind of again roll up the newspaper and bat these guys down.
B
Well, this is a team and we can take your calls at 1-800-919-3776, which we will today. We got a big day. We got fraud alert Friday at 4:30. We got picks at 5:45, Peters back into the fold. All that is that this is a team that's every bit as good as. You had the same record beat you during the regular season, but the Yankees have a little bit more experience in the postseason than the Blue Jays do. Going to the World Series last year, Blue Jays kind of had a dark cloud over them in recent years. You got to go back 30 years. The last time they came up big in the postseason. But when you look at it up and down, I think it's a team that's every bit as good as you. The Red Sox, you did beat you during the regular season, but could you honestly say they were as good as the Yankees overall? I don't think you could and it showed when it mattered in the postseason. But this Blue Jay team is a different animal. I think this is a team as good as you might feel about the Yankees. I think this is a Blue Jay team that is your equal. And it's going to be a hell of a series.
C
I hope so. I hope so. What do you think is going to be like going into this series? Because the short series, all we talked about was starting pitching, right? Are we worried about the bullpen? I kept playing the deadpool game. I was going to be the guy that comes in and blows up this series. Feels less about that and more about the big hits, right? This. Who's going to be the unsung hero? Who's the guy that we don't know about or we don't talk about? That's going to end up being the one that at the end of the series, we're going to talk about. Is it going to be the managers or is it going to be someone that we haven't talked enough about? Like Grisham did not have a great wild card round, but we know this guy's had a hell of a season.
B
He certainly has.
C
Is he somebody that suddenly emerges in this. Is it Ben Rice? Is it Volpe who's been good? You know that they were killing him a month ago? There's a lot like that. That's the kind of like, now that we're out of the best of three portion of the dance, there's a little more, I think, meat on the bone for a series like this. And you're right. By Monday, we'll kind of already have a feel.
B
And I think what would be scary for me, if I'm a Yankee fan, what you should be worried about is what you're worried about all year, the Yankees kicking, the fundamentals being exposed because this Blue Jay team will expose them. They put the ball in play. They don't strike out a lot. They're very difficult to play in that way. They're not going to help you out. All right? They're not going to make the mistake.
C
Right?
B
You look at some of the things that happen in Game 2 when they didn't score on that throw to Rice. Blue Jays score on that play, right? Maybe the Blue Jays aren't. They get jazz at home when he tried, when he scores from first. But like that, the way that they kind of force the issue is that they're going to be a little bit more cleaned up. They're just. They're a better team. And we saw during the year you said it during. When they were playing the Blue Jays is that they're pesky because they put the ball in play, they force you.
C
To make mistakes, they put pressure on.
B
Your defense, and that's what the Dodgers did in the World Series last year. So the things that really were exposed when the Yankees were at their worst, the Blue Jays are the type of team that can expose those things.
C
And the Red Sox tried to, but it. The Yankees were excellent defensively. You do have to say that as well.
B
Well, man in. And he makes that.
A
I thought. I thought it was the end. I thought it was good night and good luck.
C
And credit to Weisser2 for catching them. You know, like, sometimes in the dugout, you'll just clear out of the way. But, I mean, players are players. Like, you see a guy go head first into the dugout, they did a.
A
Good job giving him a soft landing spot, but that was scaring him in.
C
Yeah. Hell of a catch, though.
A
And I just got to say, we talked about this a couple of times this week, about what this place feels like, what Yankee Stadium feels like in October. It was. The last two days was magic in that building. Like, when I did my hit on D.C. radio today, I said, listen, I know everyone listening in D.C. people grew up, Orioles fans, they hate the Yankees. There's no love lost for the Yankees in that market. You cannot deny that when this team is in the playoffs, it feels bigger, it feels more fun. There's not the vibe in the building. The last two nights was what playoff baseball feels like to me. That is it at its absolute best.
C
It's what Bill Daughtry always says, the bunting goes up. It just feels a little different.
A
Not only does it feel different in the Bronx, it feels different than all the other ballparks, too, respectfully. And I'm sure, by the way, and I'm sure Toronto will be lit. It will be awesome in there, I'm sure. And we know Michael, Michael K always told us, Don, that, you know, Toronto is a sneaky, awful crowd. Nasty and very nasty crowd, but it's. It's going to feel electric. But, man, nothing hits like the Bronx in October.
C
It's a big Vlad Guerrero series, right? We all know the whole story with him. Like, there's just so many little pockets of. I don't know. Tell me if I'm crazy about how I. It's not that I look at the Blue Jays like the Red Sox are that team you just hate and you want to beat them and you just. That's why it Was so satisfying. This Blue Jays team and I go back a couple of years remembering when they, they were still younger, they hadn't figured it out yet, but late in the season, man, they were a pain in the ass to play against. And it was like I was just. They were annoying. And I look at them more in that way, more with like disdain. I do respect them. They play hard and they play smart. But there's a part of me now watching this series from the Yankee perspective is saying, like, you just like, send these guys back, let them know. Like I had just. I look at it more that way than it is like anxiety of losing to a rival. This is more of a, you know, like, like knock these guys down a pick, let them know.
B
Well, like I said, this is a team that beat you out of your rightful division title, right? And that's got to irritate you. You finished with the same record, but because you couldn't win the season series, getting swept in a four game series in Toronto. Remember that? First time ever, like, so this team.
C
And they let you hear about it, they got the broadcaster here, Michael, were going back and forth. You got Springer telling the umpires, if you just want New York to win the division, just hand it to them and let us know. Like you could see they can't help it. They have got, they've got a little brother complex up there. Yes, they do about this. And that's why it's going to be. I feel like this is going to be personal. This series is going to be personal.
B
Because the Red Sox went through it. Because, you know, the Boston feeling inferior to New York, it's the little town, like Philadelphia feels it from New York. Like, hey, we're a great city too, but everybody talks about New York. And then of course the rivalry that the Yankees and Red Sox have. But it happened in Toronto. We saw it in 93. It was either 92 or 93. It must have been the 92 World Series when they played the Braves and they had the Canadian flag upside down and they were, everybody was up. Nobody wants Canada to win. Nobody wants the Blue Jays to advance because then Fox won't get any great ratings. MLB's got it rigged for the Yankees to beat the Blue Jays and all. Like they're there. That's what they're talking about in Toronto right now. They're talking about how nobody wants us to win. They want the Yankees to win. Springer said it. We read his lips a couple of weeks ago. That's on their mind. They're trying to play the Cinderella. We're the underdog. But meanwhile, they're just as good as the Yankees. But their narrative is going to be nobody wants us to win. We're the little engine that could. And the Yankees got to go and say, oh, you think you're the little engine? You know what we do with little engines? We stomp on. And that's what we're going to do.
C
That's why I'm hoping they are ready for that, because I do think that's something you have to like. The Yankees tend to be buttoned up again. They, they follow the personality of their captain. Buttoned up. They don't get involved in a lot of this kind of, this kind of silliness. Right? They don't get involved in trash talk that much. I mean, they talk a lot from their dugout. But I just wonder, are the Yankees ready for exactly what you're talking about, Don? Because you're going to have. This is going to be personal whether you like it or not.
A
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C
Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.
A
I didn't listen to anything you just said.
C
Catch the show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts.
B
Game TIME is brought to you by Telemardu Irish Whiskey. Because when it's game time, it is Tully time. No locals in action tonight. Yankees won't play until tomorrow at 4 o' clock and the hockey locals are off until the weekend as well. So we've got nothing as far as the locals are concerned. But on ESPN proper we've got 23rd ranked BYU playing host to West Virginia at 10:30.
C
At 10:30.
B
10:30.
C
So after the. After the date with the missus, come home, watch some football.
B
That's it.
A
So that's what you get.
B
So I guess the date didn't go very well. The first thing you want to do is turn on a college football game.
C
Yeah, it didn't work out. You definitely ordered the wrong wine. Well, you know, like what you. But that gives us a Friday night, right?
B
That's right. A Friday night with loved ones. Tullamore Dew. The original triple distilled, triple blended and triple cast matured Irish whiskey. Be sure to grab a Tullamore Dew or try the new Tullimore Dew. Honey. During today's action glasses up to enjoying Tullamore Dew responsibly.
C
So you guys, this week is going to be difficult when it comes to our picks.
A
Oh yeah.
C
Like you know that I probably do way too much. I put too much effort into this. I probably shouldn't.
A
You do.
C
And if you look at my picks I it doesn't help. It didn't do anything. I might as well just have my. My beagle pick these from for me. Probably.
A
Although in our group you're the Maserati. I'm a Pinto.
B
A broken Pinto.
C
Yeah, I think we're all Pintos. Just I have an engine that works. But like this week especially this is not a good week. It's a tough week. So later on be interesting to see if we any of us are on the same.
A
No what we should do. All you got to do is the right thing and stack everything you have on the Cowboys. Maybe maybe put not even your three point pick.
C
I don't like can you put six.
A
Points on the Cowboys?
C
I don't like picking the locals. I did last week.
A
You got it. You know best and I was wrong and you don. You're maybe we're misreading this and maybe the fact that the lines only two and a half tells us that the jets are going to win outright. But I didn't see anything from the jets this week that would make me think they're going to beat the Cowboys. Not that the Cowboys are good, but the Cowboys at least appeared in a couple of games. Can Certainly move the football.
C
Cowboys have the better quarterback.
A
Yeah, that is true.
B
Cowboys have a better quarterback. But Vegas could be looking at the fact that Russell Wilson, who lost his job, threw for 450 yards against this defense.
C
Yep.
B
And so the Cowboys might get in a shootout, the Cowboys might find a way to win the game. But are they prepared right now to really blow anybody out?
A
They don't have to blow anyone out, Don. It's two and a half points.
C
It's two and a half. You don't have to.
A
As Don Legreco would say, that's a pickup. Yeah.
B
The fact that it's under three makes the Cowboys a very sexy pick.
A
See, you didn't realize it, did you? Now you're hearing two and a half going.
B
No, I knew it was two and.
C
Now it's dead sexy.
B
But you know, I guess that people are looking into. The gase was 04 and he got his first win against the Cowboys. And in three of the four games the jets have played to a point where break here, break there, they can win and immoral victory kind of deal. So at some point does it all come together.
C
You would hope that they're going to get one eventually, right? And where is it going to? Sometimes you don't even know when it's going to happen. But I hate when, when it comes to picking games, they give you history on a team. When it comes like against the spread, it's like it's a totally different team.
B
What are you supposed to go on? Who had the Rams losing last night on their bingo car? Okay, why did we not cover in the eight and a half?
C
But we knew not to touch that game.
B
And we're in week five. We knew not to touch it, but dude, how many people are out now of, of their king of the hill or whatever you want to call it when you, when you.
C
When I'm not touching eight and a.
A
Half, by the way, and I wasn't on, I wasn't on the show yesterday and late in the day at like, right, sun went down at 6:30, so the holiday's over. I go, oh, let me go look at the pick and see if I could send it in in time to the guys if I like it. And I looked at the second I saw eight and a half, I went, oh, this is not. You'd have to be a psychopath. Two division rivals that you're not. You're still trying to figure out no chance in hell. But I see a couple interesting things on the board. There are a couple of things but but they seem like traps, too.
C
But speaking of NFL, before we get to the calls, Donnie, just one more thing because everybody likes to correct us when we talk about football in New York and they say, you know, you forget about the Buffalo Bills. They're a New York team. Are they?
B
No, not a New York team. Yeah, I saw it today. They're wishing the Blue Jays well.
C
Yeah.
B
So friends up north. Yeah. So if they truly were a New York team, would they be wishing the Blue Jays well or would they be wishing the Yankees?
A
You know what though? I'm very grateful that this happened.
B
Yes, thank you. That's it. That's the drop the mic moment.
A
It's, we're done. We've had this fight 50 times and now we never have to have it again. Because the Bills themselves said thank you very much. And by the way, this isn't wrong. I'm not offended. The area that they're a part of is the Buffalo Toronto area. They're not a part of this area. And all they did was let the lunatics who don't know any better. No, no, we are not a part of that area.
B
And the reason why that, for people that don't know, and I've had the luxury of going up to Buffalo and calling games. Okay. Is that when the Rangers were up playing the Sabers? So I'm in a game in Buffalo, Peter. Sabers play. They play the Canadian and the American national anthem. That's how close they are to the border.
A
So stop.
B
Yeah, they happen to be in the same state as the jets and Giants, but they're not in the same area. They're not in the same region to the point that they are wishing the Blue Jays luck. So done. Don't bring it up anymore. It's history.
C
You're dead to me.
B
It was stupid to begin with. We didn't need that.
A
No, it's a different area. It's not even that short a flight. It's colder. It's completely different.
C
It's on the other side of the falls.
A
You would be better off saying, you know what? Peter should talk about the commanders as much as he wants. It's the same market. Because DC's closer. I mean, the weather is at least the same right now at my parents house as it is at my house. It's a different world. Buffalo in New York, what are people talking about? It's done. We move on.
C
It's over. Okay, so it's official now, right? Anybody ever brings it up again, hang up, done.
A
Commerce. No, done.
B
And I actually got an apology text from Jake Montgomery because, remember, I gave Jake all kinds of heat because whenever he did, like, New York things, he would include the Bills and the Sabers and I'd rip them for. And finally he realized the error of his ways.
C
Good man. So good man, Jake.
A
Hopefully now once he gets over once, of course he gets over putting up that horrible Aaron Judge whiteboard the other day, we can move on with our lives.
B
I don't think he's ever sent an apology to, to Allen for that.
C
I'm never letting him forget that.
B
By the way, Manny Ramirez is up there. He was like, doing offended. All right, let's get to your calls on what happened last night. 1-800-919-3776 let's dive right into it. Talk to Steve in Middle Village running ESPN New York. What's up, Steve?
D
Thanks for taking the call, guys. I appreciate it. I've been thinking about this since the summertime when Cam came up and I looked at some numbers. Cam could play the same role with this team as Mel Stadelmaier did in 1964 when the Yankees got into the World Series. And let me go over quickly a few numbers. Cam was 4 and 3, 296 ERA, 73 innings pitched, 14 starts. Stottlemeier 93206, 96 innings pitched and 13 starts. Stottlemeier pitched in the World Series. He was one of the few people to ever beat Bob Gibson in the World Series. They are very similar in the role they played since both of them came in during the summertime and kind of helped save the season for each team.
B
What you have to hope for, Steve, is that the Yankees don't go south the way the Mel Stallemire Yankees went south after his appearance in the World Series. It got really bad after 64. But I hear, I hear what you're saying, man. I kind of thought the same thing last night because that's all we ever heard about Bell. Stallemire was a hell of a pitcher, but just the Yankees weren't very good. But when he got called up in that 64 series and that 64 season, he contributed very well and we'll see.
C
He pitched.
B
We never got to see how good Stoudemire could be because the Yankees weren't good. But the Yankees are not going to make it. They got kind of a turn. This could be something pretty big.
C
No, it's a good. I mean, he pitched. He pitched game. Think about this. He pitched games two, five and seven. Now, game seven didn't go well, but in game. Game two, he went the distance with. It's.
B
It's a World Series, is the first round. That's why I said we. We got to see what happens here.
C
Yes.
B
Because if you lose to the Blue Jays, it's going to be a footnote. Right. But if this ends up being the stepping stone and if he goes out and pitches similar.
C
Right. That would. That's a good point. I don't know which one of you said it, but you. You. It's. This was too. This was too dramatic of a performance for it to just end and, like in a nothingness of a division loss. Right. This feels like one of those magic, magic moments along the way to something bigger. That's what it feels like, and that's what you hope it lives up to, that it becomes. And again, we won't know, but it certainly was one of those moments that made you feel like, okay, it's. You can start to believe now that you got over this hump. But it only gets. I know you think they're going to the World Series. Whoever came out of this series, the more you looked at the Red Sox, the more you realize that's. That was a wounded animal. That was not. That was not a fully operational Death Star like we've seen in the past meetings in the playoffs with them.
B
You were still nervous going into the fourth in a scoreless game.
C
I wasn't nervous because of the Red, so I was nervous because of the Yankees. That's what I was nervous about.
A
I tweeted earlier that Holy Schlit was such an easy choice for the Post. I got one sent back to me that was pretty solid from a listener, which I appreciate. Ain't that some Schlit I thought was not bad. You got. You got to get creative here. New York Post. You can do better. You know what I mean?
C
Yeah, that was easy. They'll save the good stuff for later in the playoffs.
A
Yeah, I guess. I guess if he has another one, they got to dig deeper.
B
Let's go to Lewis in Poughkeepsie. You're on espn.
A
New York.
B
What's up, Lewis?
D
What's going on, guys? Big fan of the show.
B
Thanks, man.
D
And just to circle back to the Buffalo thing, people don't realize that both the Giants. Well, all three, the Giants, the Jets and the Buffalo Bills are named after their areas, not the states. So it's New York City that the Giants are named after, not New York State.
C
Correct.
D
Anyway, you guys didn't want to be nitpicky before. I'm A huge Yankees fan. You guys didn't want to be a nitpick before. I'll be a little nitpicky. I'm absolutely ecstatic, happy I'm with this team. I'm not at all critiqued the team, but this team has been on the door, right by the door of winning A championship since 2017. It's about time. You need to get over the hump. This was too good of a story, dramatic win for you to just fizzle out in alds. Please, just, just get after it. Get over the hump, please. Since 2017, it's been, oh, this team is right there. It's right there. Speaking of the Bills, it's kind of like them too. It's just like, it's after a while of them just going deep into the playoffs, you just kind of get like, hey, that's great. I'm so happy that they advanced, but the time has come. Get over the hump, please. I want to see a championship. Everyone does. But. But I'm just so tired of them fizzling out. Come on, man.
B
I thought about this. I even brought it up to Alan last night during the show is that, you know, by the time we hit the air again on Monday, we'll be two games deep into the Blue Jay series. Yeah, it's amazing how quickly this is not like hockey or basketball and certainly football where you wait one week between games. I mean, we're going to be right at it again. Next time you hear from us, it's going to be whatever the series one two zero two, really. And all this could be forgotten in a good way or a bad way.
C
Yep.
B
You know, but yeah, championship. I said it and I doubled down on it. But right now the focus has to be on beating the Blue Jays and getting by there because you, you gotta be the Blue Jays and then beat the winner of Seattle and Detroit and then beat whoever comes out of the National League. We got a long way to go here, gentlemen. A long way to go. But it's a nice first step that could have fizzled right out of the box. So I get you want a championship. I get you're feeling it. But get ready, Buckle up, man. Because even if you get there, there is going to be a roller coaster where times you think it's over and then they're going to take it back and we're in for a strap in, man. It's going to be a long, bumpy ride and you hope it's going to be fun, but you will. Years on your life will Be absolutely shredded as you do this.
C
It's the best time of year and the worst time of year when it comes.
A
And what we get to this on the other side also Dom. But how do we also feel now that one series is down? We speculated on how big this could be and I originally said, you know, if they had to play Houston and if it's. If it ends up being that they start with the Red Sox and the Blue Jays and then in the end had to get through the Dodgers, it would be up there on. In terms of impactful.
C
Yes. Yeah.
A
Rivalry road, you know, filled with rivals. Be amazing. Pellets on the wall.
C
Right Pete? Yeah, that's what it is.
B
Well, think about, I mean the way it could line up. You could slay a lot of dragons here.
C
Yep.
B
Red Sox, Blue Jays. Maybe you get to shut the whole Cal Raleigh people up by beating him in the league championship series. Or you get your revenge on Detroit when Jeter broke his leg. Or you get the Dodges like no.
C
No, you already got me. I want the Mariners. I want them. You know why? Because that does set up for judge having a monster series in the lcs. And it really that that changes and by then we'll know, right? But I believe by then we'll know the mvp.
B
Well, you know what? You know what it is because you know what? If you're a Yankee fan, you know what you want. If, if Cal's going to win it and the Yankees beat him and knock him out, like when he's handed the award, he's going to want to throw up on it, right? Oh look, I got the mvp. Yay. Anybody else beats him, he'll still take it home. It'd be great. But if he loses to judge of the Yankees, it'll be like. That would feel like the consolation prizes of all consolation prizes. Talk about participate the first time. The American League MVP would feel like a ribbon for participating. You have the Yankees.
C
Please give me that. I want that series.
A
I've mapped it out, Peter.
B
I've mapped it out for Alan.
C
I'm ready to go. Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.
A
I didn't listen to anything you just said.
C
Catch the show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts.
B
Braun alert Friday coming up at 4:30. Our picks at 5, 45, ENN at 6. We got a four full frontal today until 7 o'. Clock. And that's the way it's going to be moving forward.
A
People so look forward to every day.
B
Until until we get, until the Ranger season gets going. But their first game is Tuesday and that's an 8 o' clock vehicle. So we'll have, we'll be full there. So it'll be, we'll be a while. And then I said, I demanded it.
A
I went to them and said, if it's up to me, please, I don't want any shows to end at 6, 30 or.
B
Oh, you demanded some things once the show went seven o', clock. But it wasn't that one. 800-919376.
A
Let's go.
B
Oh, we lost them.
A
Who?
B
I hate that because I did the work. We had somebody who was saying, look, look what happened when Harvey, they brought Harvey to pitch the ninth inning in the World Series in 2015.
C
Oh, stop.
B
That was a two nothing game. And it wasn't so much, it wasn't so much that Terry allowed him to pitch the ninth inning. He faced two batters. So the tying run came to the plate right after the first batter got on. But this was a non save situation. So you could have had Schlitler start the inning. And if he allowed a couple of guys on, all right, then I will bring Bednar in or anybody else for that matter. Just because I just didn't want to have Bednar pitch a third consecutive day and maybe compromise him for game one. I think. Four nothing. The Yankees did have the luxury of kind of peeking at what was coming up next at 2 Nothing. No way. Because one mistake, the tying run comes to the plate. Can't afford to do that. But with four nothing, you had a little bit of wiggle room. So forget, oh, we'd love to have him pitch a complete game. I, I would have just liked to, to save Bednar because, you know, pitching three straight days and then maybe having to pitch on Saturday, that's 4 and 5 and plus you want to use him up as much as you, you might need to use him four times in the next round. So, so that's all I'm saying.
C
It's, it's apples and oranges, man. I mean, honestly, to stay on the, on the same wavelength, that's low hanging fruit. I can't come up with anything else. But everybody always goes to the Matt Harvey thing. Everybody goes to that. That was in the World Series in a what felt, I mean, must win situation like that. That's totally different that I know this was must win also. But it was, it was the wild card round, so it's a little bit different.
B
Yeah, but still it's an everybody goes to that one.
C
Like it was like this egregious error. It was not an egregious error and everybody would have done that.
B
And you could talk about there have been better pitching performances by the Yankees in the postseason. Don Larson pitched a perfect game.
C
I brought up Andy Pettit. Andy on the road though, Don.
B
And that's a veteran. I mean we're talking about a kid in an elimination game.
C
Well, Andy Pettit wasn't. It was 96.
B
No, I'm saying Schlitler did last night. Is going to be up there.
C
Oh, it's, it's up there. But let's not, let's not make it the greatest ever.
B
If it's in the conversation. Just because of what. Who he was.
C
Yes.
A
If we, if today were a Wednesday, I would ask Don, do you think a top five Yankee playoff performance list could be in your. In your conversation?
B
Yeah. And he would be in the top five. Now you brought up Pettit. Pettit was, Pettit was young, but Pettit I think finished second in the Cy Young that where that year and probably should have beat Hatkin, who won the Cy Young. You know, this guy made 15 starts, he pitched half the season. So there again, there might have been better performances, but when you consider what was on the line and who he was, it's got to be in the top five. No.
C
It'S got to be Clemens against the Mets. What do you have, like 15 strikeouts?
B
He's Roger Clemens.
C
But still an amazing performance.
B
No, again, they're amazing performances, but you gotta, you gotta bring in the extenuating circumstances.
C
So you're saying Roger Clemens, you're talking about all things on the table you got.
A
Yes. Considering it all.
C
Yes. Yeah. Probably the. One of the most unexpected.
A
Don, I've been informed that while you just promised that we'll be on the air full frontal for the foreseeable future, we are off at 6 o' clock on Monday. That's came up. Came up a tad short. Playoff baseball?
C
Not yet.
B
Well, listen, my head was in the right play. If I was running the place we never wanted it.
C
He wanted to be.
B
I wanted it. So foreseeable future though it's today.
A
That's how far into the future depends.
B
On, you know, my foreseeable Future doesn't have 2020. My foreseeable future has glaucoma.
A
Yeah, it's tough.
C
The older we get, the more we're just about to die, you know, worry about Monday.
A
So.
B
So you're saying that that email we get from John about the schedule is something I might take a little, if you will.
A
Only if you wanted to say something about the schedule.
B
But my heart was in the right place, right?
A
Completely. Oh, yeah, you.
B
Most people complained about having to work longer. We were, we were anxiously anticipating it.
A
Yeah. And then that's what you get for your truck.
B
Although I got to say, 6 o' clock Monday ain't nothing. 1-800-919-3776, Chad on Long Island. You're on ESPN New York. What's up, Chad Fellows?
D
It's Chad. Rocky Point. Thanks so much for taking my call. Just so you guys know, and it's pretty cool now that you're on YouTube, you could be flipping through reels on Facebook and see Don flipping out. So awesome. Love it. I don't know if you know that that's enough.
A
Listen, it's nice for us to be in the algorithm, you know what I mean? May it bring you as often.
B
Marco and Jalen sometimes end up on, on those reels and I take the phone away. So it's nice to know that if I didn't take the phone away, they might run into me on there eventually.
C
Wait till your kids get older, Don. And you know, Marco is going to hear from, from friends of his and is like your dad yell at you like that. Wow.
B
And the answer is. Oh yeah, go. What do you got?
A
Your dad's scary.
D
I just wanted to, you know, you're talking about, you know, the memory going and I want to talk when you, you know, Monday o'.
A
Clock.
D
But anyway, point is, Jim Schlitner had a historic outing last night. We know that in its history. You can't argue the numbers they plastered all over television. We got it this morning. Dave said if Slitler goes in against Toronto and gets obliterated, it eliminates the aura of what happened last night and the impact or the story of it. What are, what is your opinion? I'm going to shut up and listen.
C
Well, that's, that's, that's, he's being that guy. That's ridiculous.
B
Well, he's just, he's countering. We were talking about you want to be able to, to make a run, to make this seem historic. It's not going to be remembered as much, but I don't want to go that completely negative.
C
It's not Andy Chavez. I mean, give me a break. I mean, still an unbelievable performance against a historic rival in an elimination game.
B
Well, Andy shave. I bring up Andy Chavez because they lost that game. You know, I, I, I bring up Robin Ventura. Because they lost that series. They won this series. It happened. It's always going to be big.
C
Thank you.
B
But if you want it to be like the. The chapter in the book, if, if you want it to be the COVID of the dvd, you want to make a long run. If not win the whole thing naturally.
C
But. All right, I'll give you. I'll give you my background. Ready? Larry Johnson four point play. They win the championship?
B
No, but at least on the series did they win.
C
But so they. The Yankees won this series. It's not that the Starks is dunk dude. Did they win that series, but did they the. Which one The Starks dunk game two went up two. Oh, they lost the series.
B
I've always stocks people still talk about that today. But that's not the Larry John. The Larry Johnson play is way bigger in Nick history than the Stark song. But the Stark stunt was nice because of who it was against.
C
Yeah, of course. But it's still one of those things that just. It's a moment that you won't forget no matter what happens in it. So it stands alone. That's why what Dave said, I disagree with completely. That performance by Schlitler stands alone no matter what happens from here on out. But I'm with you if you want it to become an iconic moment right on the COVID of the dvd. Yes. They got to go on now and finish the job like the previous caller said. Get it done. Thanks for listening to Madonna and Rosenberg podcast.
A
I don't want to know how the.
C
Sausage is made, man. I just want to know. It'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.
This episode centers on the Yankees' dramatic wild card series win over the Red Sox, highlighted by rookie pitcher Cam Schlitler’s historic, electrifying performance. The hosts—Don La Greca, Alan Hahn, and Peter Rosenberg—break down the aftermath of the Yankees’ win, expectations for the looming divisional matchup with the Toronto Blue Jays, and the emotional highs and nitpicks that come with playoff baseball in New York. The tone is energetic, passionate, and occasionally irreverent, mixing analysis, fan emotion, and playful banter.
Comparisons to Yankee Legends: Parallels are drawn between Schlitler and great Yankees pitchers like Whitey Ford, Don Larsen, and Andy Pettitte. The hosts emphasize not to overhype, but recognize the singularity of Schlitler’s elimination-game performance.
Divisional Series Rotation Debate: Now facing the Blue Jays, listeners and hosts debate whether Schlitler should supplant established starters in the rotation, given his momentum.
Toronto as a Different Challenge:
Potential Rivalry: There’s real anticipation that this series will create new “bad blood” on top of the regular season’s close finish and tiebreaker.
Keys to the Series:
Caller Lewis and others urge the Yankees to get over the playoff hump, stating fans are tired of “almosts” since 2017—that this year’s story demands a championship.
The hosts empathize but remind listeners playoff baseball is a “roller coaster.”
The episode captures a classic New York sports radio mood: joy at witnessing history, cautious optimism, healthy skepticism, and a refusal to let big moments pass without overanalyzing what they might mean next. The looming Yankees-Blue Jays clash promises more drama, and fans are ready for the wild ride—expecting magic, but unable to spare themselves the anxiety of “what if?”