Hour 1: Yankees Deadline Plans

Summary

Don, Hahn & Rosenberg – Hour 1: Yankees Deadline Plans (July 20, 2026)
Podcast Summary

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Main Theme

This episode centers on the New York Yankees' looming trade deadline and the philosophical divide between fans who clamor for bold, "all-in" moves, and the Yankees’ front office, which is perceived as risk-averse and prioritizing long-term consistency over championship-or-bust seasons. The hosts debate whether the American League currently being 'wide open' should motivate the Yankees to act urgently, especially with Aaron Judge injured and the threat of a potential MLB lockout on the horizon.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Vacation, Fanatics Fest, and Media Access (00:46–09:02)

• The crew opens with playful banter about staff vacations and being back on air after time off.
• Jake shares experiences from Fanatics Fest: running into Don LaGreca's brother, difficulties accessing athletes for interviews, and how TikTokers/YouTubers now receive prime access over traditional radio.
  • Jake: "Apparently, I'm not a tiktoker where I could do, like, 'let's play trivia with insert athlete.'" (06:17)
• Autographs & fan culture have changed; high costs of photo ops and shifting generational interests in sports memorabilia.
• Alan took a friend's son to meet John Cena, noting how the event catered to influencer culture.

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2. Yankees at the Trade Deadline – Should They Go “All-In”? (09:03–26:12)

Yankees’ Needs & the Case for Aggression

• Don notes the Yankees lost 2 of 3 to the Dodgers; Judge is injured with no timeline, and the AL is perceived as weak.
• Jake makes the case:
  • With pitching aging and the Judge window closing, the time to strike is now.
  • "How often is the American League going to be this weak and Judge is going to be another year older? ... you have to strike right now." (09:59)
• Alan echoes: “Who do you even fear in this AL, even without Judge?” (13:49)

Cashman, Ownership Philosophy & Fan Frustration

• Don predicts GM Brian Cashman won’t make dramatic moves, given his tendency to protect prospects ("holds on ... like grim death”) and the organizational comfort with perennial playoff appearances over high-risk, high-reward maneuvers.
  • "Brian Cashman may look at this and go, I think we can win this thing without having to make a deal." (10:21)
• Jake (echoed by the crew) criticizes:
  • “Isn't that the problem with what the Yankees are like? They have not won a championship in 17 years.” (11:53)
  • The front office’s view that "the playoffs are a crapshoot" is infuriating. Other teams (like the Astros/Dodgers) repeatedly make deep runs because they build better teams, not because of luck.
• Don explains the Yankees’ guiding philosophy: sustained success, steady profits, and playoff consistency, even if it means sacrificing the occasional championship run.
  • "They count the money they made, they high five, the fact that they've gone to the playoffs again, that they haven't finished under .500 since the early 90s, and they're happy." (16:27)

Championships vs. Consistency

• Don recounts a conversation with ex-NBA exec Scott Layden: “10 years of playoffs every year and not win a championship.” (15:18)
  • Many organizations, including the Yankees, value consistent relevance and profit over taking massive risks that could win a title but leave the team in a prolonged slump.
• Jake and Alan respond that most fans would gladly trade 10 years of playoff appearances for a real title run, as seen with the Astros (championships amid some busted seasons).

Prospects and Missed Opportunities

• Jake laments the Yankees’ prospect-hoarding habit:
  • "You have Judge and Ben Rice. As far as offensive players. ... They're these guys that they just held onto until they turned to dust." (25:45)
  • The Yankees have rarely been burned by traded prospects, but often miss out by overvaluing young players who don’t pan out.
• Don: It’s by design; past mistakes in the ’80s (trading away stars for instant gratification) haunt the current regime.
• Alan: “You can think of way more prospects that they hugged and turned out to be a dude than ones that actually turned out to be Aaron Judge.” (25:46)

Lockout Looms & Front Office Reluctance

• Possible MLB lockout adds to the reluctance—uncertainty about next year's league economics makes aggressive trading riskier.
• Don: "Any great executive ... to be able to be in the position that he’s been in, he’s got to be pretty good at what he does, right?... None of them like to fly blind." (21:35)
• Jake pushes for a happy medium: “Let’s be more proactive, let’s get a catcher, let’s send down Volpe because he can’t play. He’s hitting .050.” (24:48)

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3. Yankees' Fan Disconnect and Media Criticism (26:12–32:01)

• Don and Alan explain to Jake: as a fan, you can ask for a championship mindset, but the ownership and front office think differently and are unlikely to change posture, even in a year with “once-in-a-generation” opportunity.
• Don on organizational inertia: “...what you look at as a failure, they look at as a rip-roaring success.” (17:57)
• Alan summarizes fan perspective: “There are some players who are okay with it. Management’s okay with it. As a fan, Jake, you’re not okay with it, right?” (18:07)

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4. Non-Baseball Segment: Singing, Betrayal, and Group Dynamics (32:01–41:21)

• Light interlude with a self-deprecating discussion about Don’s recent Beach Bash singing performance.
  • Don feels betrayed by colleagues who didn’t give him honest performance feedback, sparking playful accusations and banter about honesty and traditions.
• Nostalgic riff on Don’s show routines, Alan and Peter’s history, and Don’s brother’s habit of demanding elaborate birthday shows.

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5. Listener Call & Broader Context of Salary Cap/Lockout (42:00–46:18)

• Caller Dave: If a salary cap is coming, why not go all-in at the deadline?
  • “I think baseball ... owners have been waiting for this time for a very, very long time. ... why not just make a dramatic move and roll the dice if you’re the Yankees?” (43:07)
• Don: Salary cap works in NFL/NBA; great players still get paid. Why can’t MLB do the same?
  • "I just don't understand why baseball is exempt from this, but hockey, basketball, and football could have a salary cap... Explain that to me." (45:07)
• Alan and Peter joke about not wanting to know how the "sausage is made," underscoring fan frustration with the business side of the sport.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• Jake on the Yankees’ urgency:
  “How often is the American League going to be this week and Judge is going to be another year older? ... you have to strike right now.” (09:59)
• Don on Cashman’s approach:
  “Brian Cashman may look at this and go, I think we can win this thing without having to make a deal.” (10:21)
• Jake shredding the 'playoffs are a crapshoot' philosophy:
  “The playoffs as a crapshoot is nonsense. Build a better team.” (13:49)
• Don on the franchise’s values:
  “They count the money they made, they high five, the fact that they've gone to the playoffs again, that they haven't finished under .500 since the early 90s, and they're happy.” (16:27)
• Alan, blunt about prospects:
  “You can think of way more prospects that they hugged and turned out to be a dude than ones that actually turned out to be Aaron Judge.” (25:46)
• Don, on tough executive decisions:
  "None of them like to fly blind... You're asking general managers to fly blind having no idea what the system is going to be next year.” (21:35)

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Important Timestamps

• 09:03: Yankees’ trade deadline debate begins
• 13:49: Philosophy clash: going all-in vs. protecting consistency
• 15:18: Layden's “10 years of playoff berths over 1 championship” anecdote
• 21:35: Lockout uncertainty and GM risk aversion
• 24:48: Jake proposes a "happy medium" for deadline moves
• 25:45: Prospect hoarding debate
• 32:01: Light segment on Don's singing performance, honesty among hosts
• 42:00: Caller weighs in on lockout, salary cap, urgency for moves

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Tone & Atmosphere

• Candid and passionate: Hosts express heartfelt frustration, mix in banter, and poke fun at both themselves and the Yankees’ front office.
• Knowledgeable, New York sports insider flavor: Deep dives into baseball strategy, team history, and business.
• Sarcastic and self-aware: Particularly in the non-sports moments—emphasizing camaraderie, honesty, and the traditions/rivalries among hosts.

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Takeaways for Non-Listeners

• This episode offers a lively debate about whether the Yankees should change their methodical ways in a “wide-open” AL year, balancing fan desperation for a championship with ownership’s contentment for playoff consistency.
• Key insight: The Yankees’ status quo is both their strength and a source of fan frustration—rarely suffering but also rarely taking the risks that bring championship glory.
• The looming lockout is making already cautious executives even more reluctant to gamble with prospects or new contracts.
• Don, Hahn, and guest Jake provide an unfiltered, real-world glimpse into the passionate, sometimes exasperated mindset of New York sports talk—where the love for their teams is matched only by the relentless demand for more.

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Transcript

[Don LaGreca]

You know, when you're locked in, focused and fearless. Welcome to the wnba. Your vision narrows. You can't look away. Every assist, every stop, every logo.

[Jake]

Three from beyond the logo, every.

[Don LaGreca]

Did you see that moment?

[Jake]

You bet.

[Don LaGreca]

What records are going to be broken this season? All of it. Right here.

[Jake]

Lock in.

[Don LaGreca]

It's the WNBA on ESPN all season long. Don, where do we sit down on Sus Han.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It's lame.

[Jake]

It needs Viagra.

[Peter Rosenberg]

And Rosenberg.

[Alan Hahn]

I'm gonna lift my shirt up, take my pants down and shake it all around.

[Don LaGreca]

This isn't North Dakota. This is New York.

[Peter Rosenberg]

This is Don, Han and Rosenberg.

[Dave]

The best threesome I've ever heard on

[Peter Rosenberg]

ESPN New York and streaming live on

[Don LaGreca]

YouTube 300 one of the big city. Don, Han and Rosenberg. One comes in, the other goes out. I'm back for my week's vacation and now Alan's gone, so. Well, you know what we got?

[Alan Hahn]

Captain Consistency.

[Don LaGreca]

You know what we got?

[Alan Hahn]

Wolf pack.

[Jake]

That's right.

[Alan Hahn]

Wolf pack.

[Don LaGreca]

Yeah. And all of a sudden, you're gone a week, and Jacob is a completely different human being. He looks just like Julian Kushnik.

[Alan Hahn]

I didn't know, like, what you were referring to because I just put together that Julian for Jacob.

[Dave]

Yeah, right.

[Alan Hahn]

I just thought he wanted to join our meeting today.

[Don LaGreca]

I was like, oh, more than welcome, honestly. 25 years at the station, 30 years in sports radio, 40 years in the business. I did not know boredops took vacation.

[Alan Hahn]

Well, it's not a thing that's ever allowed.

[Don LaGreca]

He didn't take vacation. They were allowed.

[Alan Hahn]

Oh, what?

[Don LaGreca]

See, now, why don't you tell us that? I did and you acknowledged.

[Alan Hahn]

It's unfortunate.

[Don LaGreca]

Jacob is ill. What does he have? Was he lost?

[Alan Hahn]

Don't say it's the explosion.

[Jake]

Well, no, I'm waiting for my Taco Bell apology.

[Alan Hahn]

Well, no, but just because you want a Taco Bell apology doesn't mean that there's still not explosive diarrhea.

[Jake]

That's true, but it's not Taco Bell's fault.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I just want that.

[Don LaGreca]

No, no, no, I'm with you, but is that what he has? No, I think he's got the beautiful day disease.

[Alan Hahn]

What is? Oh, you mean like, oh, it's gorgeous.

[Don LaGreca]

You know, I want to make up for the rain on Saturday and then not come in on Monday. So Julian Kushnik is here and we've got a full vehicle.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, but now are you saying that Anthony. Are you taking any. Like, is Anthony taking any real time this summer? Like more than a minute?

[Don LaGreca]

Yeah, yeah, he's going away.

[Alan Hahn]

You're taking. You're taking a week?

[Jake]

Yeah, mid August.

[Alan Hahn]

God bless. You think Jacob will take one?

[Jake]

I think there's one on the. On the schedule.

[Dave]

All right.

[Don LaGreca]

You gotta take it. I didn't know that. I did not know that Board Ops were allowed to take vacation at radio station.

[Peter Rosenberg]

They can.

[Jake]

They just won't get paid for it.

[Don LaGreca]

Well, and. But when you find out they're sick, it's almost like they forfeit any chance of vacation.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, that's it. You're not allowed to be sick or. I will say this. Speaking of the people on vacation, I gotta. You know what I enjoyed this morning? I really enjoyed, I got to say, the Rick D. Pietro Ty vehicle today.

[Don LaGreca]

Ty is really coming into his own. I've always been a fan.

[Alan Hahn]

No, no. This has been a big summer for Ty. But no question.

[Don LaGreca]

But something happened.

[Alan Hahn]

No, I agree.

[Don LaGreca]

I think he was on the same cruise that Griffin was on. And I think evidence suggests he's already

[Alan Hahn]

done what we hope Griffin did.

[Don LaGreca]

Well, yeah, but that doesn't mean that you can't just have a discovery on

[Alan Hahn]

some sort of discovery.

[Don LaGreca]

There's a different way of going about things. Jake aspire. He made an effort to come in and say hello. I want Jake. Have Jake come in for a second too. Because I didn't get a chance to say hello to him. He took a picture of my brother at Fanatics Fest.

[Alan Hahn]

He didn't say a word to me. Now granted, I wasn't there the same day as your brother, but still I would have liked an effort.

[Don LaGreca]

Why were you at Fanatics Fest? Were you as a fan or you weren't working?

[Jake]

I was there for a good time and trying to get some interviews.

[Don LaGreca]

Why am I not surprised? Why am I not surprised?

[Jake]

I was with some friends too. I met your brother. Is that what you guys were talking about?

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, that's what he just said.

[Jake]

Yes.

[Don LaGreca]

Listen, Fanatics Fest is a time.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, I'll say.

[Don LaGreca]

But for a 58 year old man with a family. I'm not going there on a bet. I'm just saying.

[Alan Hahn]

Well, what if you wanted to bring your kids to get autographs? That would be the reason. A 50 year old. You do have a. You do have a ten year old son.

[Don LaGreca]

You do. No, my son is eight.

[Alan Hahn]

An eight year old son.

[Don LaGreca]

I don't think autographs are a thing anymore. Like an 8 year old, he's rubbed elbows. He had a rod critique his swing. I think he's not in the wheelhouse yet for getting autographs. He thinks everybody's Jake.

[Alan Hahn]

Don't you?

[Don LaGreca]

Yeah. He took pictures with Jack Hughes and

[Alan Hahn]

he didn't care because it's.

[Don LaGreca]

It's common for hold now what am I doing here? I had to give example.

[Alan Hahn]

Weren't there Jake? Weren't. Didn't you see a lot of 8 year olds at fanatics?

[Jake]

There were a lot of kids there, Don and like online proposals, autographs and then the photos. You gotta have money though. Your parents need to be willing to spend money.

[Alan Hahn]

He said willing to spend the money.

[Jake]

Different story. That's the question.

[Alan Hahn]

Not with Don. Clearly it's got a coming out of his ears. But does he want to spit it

[Don LaGreca]

on the pours right into their hands.

[Grainger Announcer]

Right.

[Don LaGreca]

And today. No, there'll be a time. I'm kind of just half kidding around at some point. Well, he's not really interested now in sitting online waiting to get an autograph from somebody that he just thinks dad already knows.

[Alan Hahn]

Oh, he thinks?

[Don LaGreca]

That's my point.

[Alan Hahn]

Oh is that he thinks like oh yeah, sure. Not a big deal. Because if dad wants to get me Brunson's autograph, he'll just call Brunson.

[Don LaGreca]

You ran into my brother?

[Jake]

Yes. He was doing his show from there, so I walked by.

[Don LaGreca]

Now you had never met him.

[Jake]

No, but my friend Dan, I said this to Dave yesterday when I was talking with him. I go, my friend Dan, a guy who I was the best man in this wedding, like my best friend in the world is obsessed with Dave in the show. He listens every day and he also listens to you guys. So I have been hearing about Dave through him and through you guys, talking about. I've heard him on the show. So I was so excited to meet him and it was awesome.

[Alan Hahn]

He's a great guy. Dave Lega. One of the best. Top two Lagreca for sure.

[Don LaGreca]

Yeah, definitely.

[Alan Hahn]

And I can't say which is gone well. Yeah, I don't think me and your dad would have gelled.

[Don LaGreca]

Honestly.

[Alan Hahn]

I think me and Dave. I think me and Dave are a

[Don LaGreca]

better Somebody would have needed gel after like you know, like a Ben Gay or something. Now, now who else did you.

[Alan Hahn]

Did you see anything else interesting at your. On your fanatics day?

[Jake]

I didn't see you, which is unfortunate.

[Alan Hahn]

I was there Saturday.

[Jake]

I didn't run into you. Saturday was the crazy day because Bieber was there and you had some of the other like real A listers. I interviewed Johan Santana and I played that interview when I was on Saturday.

[Alan Hahn]

He's doing the work. That's what I'm saying.

[Jake]

He's out there doing the work to interview him, though. It took me, like, somehow getting in the back area where I thought with my media pass, I was allowed to be do this interview. And then immediately when I'm done with the interview, this woman from Fanatics is like, you can't be here. I'm like, but I have a press pass. She's like, how'd you get back here? I'm like, I don't know. I just walked back and the security guy said, media that way. So I got thrown out of there because I wasn't approved. Apparently, I'm not a tiktoker where I could do, like, let's play trivia with insert athlete.

[Alan Hahn]

If you were. If you were a tiktoker, I'd be. You could have gone where you want.

[Don LaGreca]

See, that's why I'm not. This is not for me.

[Jake]

It's not built for radio folks like us.

[Alan Hahn]

No. I was back there and I saw. I brought my friend. Saturday, I did something with lids. We love lids. Had a great time. And the main other reason I went is my friend Mark, his son Bronson, it was his 10, 11th birthday. And so I said, mark helps me out a ton in my life. And I said, I'm taking you and your son, and we're going to see what we can do. And the first thing we did when we walked in there was saw John Cena, and I got him a picture with John Cena.

[Jake]

Nice.

[Alan Hahn]

And so I said, I'm done. I mean, whatever happens after this icing on the cake. And I will say that his son pointed out a guy in the green room where, like, all the talent is mingling. And it was. It's. It's like a YouTube. A big basketball YouTuber. Yep, that was there. So that's like a lot of the crowd that's there. Basketball YouTubers and people of that ilk, Neon and different streamers who I would, you know, I would sooner slap than have a conversation with a lot of them wandering around.

[Jake]

And it's not like your media pass lets you, like, go up and talk to all these people. It's like, very few that are, like, selected to be able to get to the area where these guys are. So if you showed up, like, you wouldn't even be guaranteed to get, like, a photo with some of these people.

[Alan Hahn]

No.

[Jake]

Like, it's a. You might get lucky and see someone, like, walking on the floor that no one recognized. Like, Braylon Allen of the jets did, like, a free photo op. I actually was with my friends on Friday Walking through the main concourse area, and Flo Baligan is doing a free, like, picture just out and about, taking pictures with people, like, behind a Dick's Sporting Goods backdrop. And the woman was like, do you guys want to meet Flo Baligan? And my friend Dan's like, who's that? I go, that's the red card guy. Come on, let's take a picture with him. Why not? And, like, that was fun, but there weren't that many free photo ops. Did you attempt.

[Alan Hahn]

Now let me ask you a question. Did you attempt to get a conversation with Flo Baligan on record?

[Jake]

You know what I said to him? I go, thanks for choosing us, man. Thanks for choosing us. Because he was the guy that could have played for England or.

[Alan Hahn]

Right, right. That's it.

[Jake]

He laughed.

[Alan Hahn]

But you didn't get it. But you didn't get an interview. You didn't try to get an interview.

[Jake]

No, because it was so quick. They literally, like, take your phone. Boom, boom, boom. They have it, like, down to, like, a science. But, like, where I spoke to Johan was that private area where all the tiktokers are and the YouTubers. And I thought, I don't know. Credential. ESPN, New York, home of the Mets. It'd be easy to get some interviews with some of the New York guys there. But not so fast.

[Don LaGreca]

You're a pro, and I wanted to. I don't know if you're busy. You got a date, and you got to be someplace.

[Jake]

I have all the time for you, Don.

[Don LaGreca]

But the reason I wanted to have you, because we were talking about what to open with, and Yankees lost two out of three to the Dodgers. Can't freak out. You don't have your best player. But the question is, when will you have your best?

[Alan Hahn]

We don't know, Don.

[Don LaGreca]

And will he be as your best player when he comes back? It's healing, but he's not ready yet. And July's almost over. And you seem to share the same opinion that a lot of other Yankee fans have. I've heard Ty mention it, heard Michael mention it, that you got to strike all the iron. Top man. The American League is wide open. American League stinks. You can't leave anything to chance. You've got to go out and be aggressive at the trade deadline.

[Jake]

1,000%. Now, the only caveat is if they know that judge is not coming back at all. Okay, that will change some of my thought process. But even. Even if they're unsure 100% whether he's back, you still have to go for it. Because look at the pitching they have. Look at the bullpen that the Yankees have. And I still think they maybe need another like high strikeout reliever. But how.

[Alan Hahn]

Also look at the rest of the ale.

[Jake]

Yes. How often is the American League going to be this week and Judge is going to be another year older? I don't know if there's baseball next year. Garrett Cole's 36, Stanton's 37. Like you have to strike right now. How many years are you going to do the same thing over and over again?

[Don LaGreca]

Well, whether I agree or not is irrelevant. But the point is, I brought this up because don't you know who your general manager is? And there's an outstanding chance that none of this that you want is going to happen. Correct. Because the American League is so weak. Like Brian Cashman may look at this and go, I think we can win this thing without having to make a deal. Look at us. Tampa's in free fall. I like what the Red Sox are doing. You can't ignore 13 straight. But at some point they're going to lose. And let's see how they actually bounce back from that. There's still four back at the Yankees, six back from the Rays. Let's see where this all transpires.

[Alan Hahn]

Okay.

[Don LaGreca]

But they're still in really good shape. I don't fundamentally disagree with you, but just knowing Brian Cashman, who likes to hold on to these prospects like grim

[Jake]

death, which is my biggest gripe, that

[Don LaGreca]

he's going to look at it and go, yeah, you know what? I think we can do without him. And then we get, we get judged back and we get all our pitchers back. I feel like with all these people saying the Yankees should go for it, I think Brian Cashman's gonna sit tight. I'm not saying he won't make a maintenance deal, and I'm not saying he won't make a deal if one falls out of the sky. Cuz sometimes there's just deals you just can't pass up. But Brian is always so concerned about being fleeced because it feels like he's got to pay a Yankee tax. Whenever they're trying to make a deal and there's just so few teams that are out of it. Like you were talking earlier about Houston. I don't know if Houston's out of it or not. Their owner never wants to sell. All of a sudden they could pull a Red Sox win 10 in a row and they're right back in this thing now. You're obviously running out of time because you're talking about July 31st, but I feel like all these people that are talking about, you got to do it. I feel like Brian's not going to do very much of anything. Am I wrong to feel that way?

[Jake]

You're not wrong. But isn't that the problem with what the Yankees are like? They have not won a championship in 17 years.

[Don LaGreca]

Because it is. It is. I brought this up on Michael Peters. Heard it before, too. It is. I don't know if he realizes it or not, but they're gonna put it on his gravestone and it's gonna haunt him and his legacy forever. I'm not about the championship, I'm about the championships. So he's always thinking about, I'm never all in. Oh, the Blue Jays were all in and look what happened. They lost in game seven of the World Series and now there's six games under.500. Look at the Red Sox. Yeah, they won a few championships, but they also had a couple of 90 and 100 loss seasons in between. There's a reason why The Yankees are above.500 every single year. Because that's the design. Jacob. Jacob.

[Alan Hahn]

Jake.

[Jake]

We lost his real name Jacob.

[Don LaGreca]

Yep, but that's not what we call you.

[Jake]

No, but to your point.

[Don LaGreca]

But my point is, is that that's why they're good every year. Because they don't have the mentality to be all in. They never look at it and go, oh, the American League's wide open. We got to be all in. I don't think. I don't know. I know Brian's not going to do that, man.

[Jake]

It starts with ownership, though, from what you're saying. Because I believe Brian Cashman has convinced Hal Steinbrenner that the playoffs are a crapshoot. And when I hear that, it infuriates me because again, I used to do radio in Houston every day for six years. The Astros went to the American League Championship Series seven straight years. They were in the World Series four times in seven years. They won it twice. Throw out the first one with cheating, that's fine. Explain all the other examples where they got there. You build a better team. The Dodgers, before they won back to back titles. World Series 17, 18, won it in 2020. The Yankees have one World Series appearance since 09. So the playoffs as a crapshoot is nonsense. Build a better team. So if Cashman looks at it like, well, I know I'm going to make the playoffs, I don't need to be all in. Well, that's on House Steinbrenner to Stop buying into this playoff as a crapshoot and go for it. When you have this core that's getting up there in age with a golden opportunity and a weakened league.

[Alan Hahn]

Do you. By the way, I agree with you

[Don LaGreca]

100% and I don't disagree. No, I know. So this is the fact.

[Alan Hahn]

You're just saying evidence suggests they're not going to do it because they never do. To Jake's point though, Judge, judges availability being in question to me really shouldn't change very much. They should be trying to go for it. Because who do you fear, even without Judge in this, Al?

[Don LaGreca]

Because it's just the general philosophy. And again, I'm not agreeing with it. I'm just telling you what it is, is that if they put themselves in a position where the future is unknown, they don't like that you brought up Astros. Four World Series in seven years. Where are they now?

[Dave]

Right?

[Don LaGreca]

Where were they last year? Like so.

[Jake]

But that's the problem because Hal is like, well, as long as we're profitable, we want to win. But it's not win at all costs. There needs to be an aggressive sense. We need to win a championship, not just be a wild card or maybe every other year, win the Astro.

[Alan Hahn]

And for the record, anyone, there's not a soul on earth who would tell you, if they were being honest, that they wouldn't trade the last 15 years for the Astros.

[Jake]

Last 15 years, 1000%.

[Alan Hahn]

Of course you would take that. So what, that they're down a couple years? They're also there. They were there all the time.

[Don LaGreca]

They would then throw out while they had to cheat to do it. And that's all okay, that's a different conversation.

[Alan Hahn]

But it's not.

[Don LaGreca]

But overall, all the examples. Again, the Blue Jays are the perfect example. Oh yeah, they. They got the better of us last year, but look at us now. We're a playoff team and there's six games under.500. Like they keep throwing that out at you. Peter gets mad when I repeat myself because we've been working together for 10 years too long and it shows an irritation that maybe is a replica. We'll have to deal with that another time. But. Scott Layton, Remember Scott Layden? He was with the Utah Jazz. His son ran the Knicks for a little while and. But Scott, I think he's no longer with us. I don't like Julian. Just quickly double check. But the dad, he had been in Utah and he happened to come, this is 20 years ago, came into the studio and we were just talking about basketball and I Asked him, I said, what would you rather the Knick, because we were talking about the Knicks and the Knicks hadn't won. The Knicks finally win the elusive championship but miss the playoffs the next nine years, or would you rather be in the playoffs all 10 years but not win a championship? And he said without hesitation, 10 years of playoffs every year and not win a championship. And I was kind of laid back. I was like, you realize they haven't won since 1970 because I know. But consistency is where it's at. Constantly being a playoff team is where it's at. And I thought he was the outlier. But you start to look around and there are teams that are like, they're content. That's why I'm trying to let Yankee fans know that this is by design. I don't know if they don't get

[Jake]

me one or the other, though.

[Don LaGreca]

They don't get together, Jake, at the end of the season, after they lose in the World Series and lose in a championship game and sit there and cry in their salads about what happened, they count the money they made, they high five, the fact that they've gone to the playoffs again, that they haven't finished under.500 since the early 90s, and they're happy. Do they want to win? Absolutely, they want to win. But they also are happy and content with where they are. Because nobody else, no one else in any, any other sport has been able to say that we are a winning team every year for the last 30 plus years. Spurs couldn't do it, Cowboys couldn't do it. Green Bay Packers, Montreal Canadiens. Talk about any of the historic franchises in sports. None of them can touch what the Yankees have been able to do over the last 32 years. You look at it as an albatross around the neck that they haven't won a World series since 2009. And they're disappointed about that. But overall, they keep looking at the, the money that they make and every year they're in the playoffs. Blue Jays can't say that. Red Sox can't say that. But Rays can't say that. Certainly the Mets can't say that.

[Alan Hahn]

Can I tell you, I'm going to tell you something. I don't mean to be offended or mad at me. You're playing the role of Caster right now.

[Don LaGreca]

I'm not playing.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, who cares that they say that they're wrong?

[Don LaGreca]

No, I don't care, but I'm fine. I'm trying to tell my friend Jake. Yeah, but Jake just did a brilliant two hours of Radio that him begging for them to be all in is not going to happen.

[Alan Hahn]

But that's.

[Don LaGreca]

I am not playing, K. You are your Yanks not Yank splitting.

[Jake]

I am.

[Don LaGreca]

As anybody could look at the history and figure it out themselves. I'm not giving you the secret sauce. I'm just telling you what you look at as a failure they look at as a rip roaring success.

[Alan Hahn]

And I don't want to speak for you, Jake. So if I were on Jake's side here, what I'd be saying is cool. I'm glad. As Don Lagraec would say, that's cool, man. So there are some players who are okay with it. Management's okay with it. As a fan, Jake, you're not okay with it. Right.

[Jake]

Especially because the standard that we have been told is that they're cutthroat and all in to win a championship every year. And it's not just that they haven't won since 09. Don. One World Series appearance in which they beat two bad teams in the American League Central to get there and then got embarrassed.

[Alan Hahn]

Embarrassed against the Badgers who then celebrated on your feet.

[Don LaGreca]

And this is where I'm not gonna

[Jake]

be like, it's not good enough. Where I'm not going to replace Don Mattingly as the greatest Yankee ever to never win a ring. You know how eerie it was watching Don Mattingly present judge with his third NBA trophy last year. Remember all of it like that. By the way, can I just say, witnessing a Don Lagreco rant in person, it's like I won a contest to be a part of like something.

[Alan Hahn]

No, no, it's not quite rant. He's rant.

[Jake]

Just seeing that was awesome. I just want to throw that out.

[Alan Hahn]

I feel you.

[Don LaGreca]

But here's where I'm not like, kay, all right, cuz I'm going to tell you that you said it all. Their mission statement lies. There's no more mission statement. Stop. That died with George. There's no mission statement. There's no Second place is first loser. There's no losing his death. The winning is breathing.

[Dave]

Stop.

[Don LaGreca]

They could say whatever they want. Actions speak louder than words, Jake. You've been following this team closer than I have. You know that. There is no more mission statement. Win or die. Because if it was, then you would have saw Tory lose his job much quicker than he did. You certainly would have saw Aaron Boone be out of a job instead of them constantly doubling down. Brian Cashman's got a job for life. So if winning is breathing, if second is first Loser. Then how does Brian Cashman have a job for life when he's won one championship in a quarter of a century?

[Jake]

Clearly they don't adhere to the old mission statement. Right? But I think there's a happy medium. It's not hey, every year trade all your best prospects to be all in. It's the circumstances of this core. They have changed the idea that we might not have baseball next year. That certainly should be factored in. Judge getting older should be factored. I don't need them to get Scubal, Mason Miller and Hunter Goodman. But it'd be nice if the Yankees got the top guy and added another infield batter. They got Ryan Jeffers and Luis Arise and whoever the top reliever is. I don't think we're asking for that much. Like the, the idea that the Yankees are good every year so like the Yankee fan just has to sit back and enjoy it and enjoy being embarrassed in the playoffs over the last decade by the Red Sox. Multiple times the Rays have beaten them the diehards series. You imagine how hard it was to do daily radio in Houston as a die hard Yankee fan during the Astros run. Like, at what point are the Yankees.

[Don LaGreca]

I'm not telling you not to complain about it and win. I'm just trying to be the guy to tell you what's going to end.

[Jake]

So do you think they make like one notable move? They might just like a couple players here.

[Don LaGreca]

They might because there are teams that even though there is this perception that the Yankees have to pay a tax, I've seen enough Brian Cashman deals where I'm like, wow, he fleeced that. Like there are some teams that are just looking to get out from contracts because there's so much unknown with this pending lockout. There might be just teams that say just take them. I can't, I can't afford to have that happen. But overall what you're asking Brian Cashman to do is to completely change what he's about. And any great executive and you may not think he's a great executive, but still to be able to be in the position that he's been in, he's got to be pretty good at what he does, right? Is that none of them like to fly blind. And you are asking general managers to fly blind having no idea what the system is going to be next year. So for him to give up on prospects that will always gonna be cheap no matter what system you're in and add salary or bring in things that are gonna put them in a difficult situation next year. I can't see him doing that.

[Jake]

You know what's so frustrating about that, Don? Who are the prospects that they have ever traded that have come back to hurt them? In fact, they actually keep all their prospects. They keep Clint Frazier, Tiller's values, nothing. Gary Sanchez, Miguel and Dewhar, Anthony Volpe. If I have to hear about how untouchable George Lombard is.

[Don LaGreca]

But that's by design.

[Alan Hahn]

That's what we said about Volt.

[Don LaGreca]

That's by design because Brian was here back in 86. So what does Hal do then, growing

[Jake]

up with all this? Like, that's what's frustrating to the Yankee fan.

[Don LaGreca]

I think he wants to win, but he looks at it and goes, hey, listen, Brian knows more baseball than I do. We win every year. Our ballpark's full every year. The yes Network is the number one regional sports network in the country. Where are we failing? Like Yankee fans will say, you failed. You've won one championship in 25 years. You haven't won a World Series since 2009. They look at and go, where are we losing?

[Jake]

Right. That's the disconnect between the fans.

[Don LaGreca]

And it's always going to exist. And again, I'm not suggesting that Hal doesn't want to win.

[Jake]

The Knicks didn't operate that way. The Knicks were so desperate to win, they fired a coach that helped them get to their first conference finals in 25 years. And they were ripped, including by myself and many on the station for that, saying, what are you doing? That's too big of a risk. Like at some point, as good of a job as Cashman has done in totality, or Boone, who's had a winning record every year and they've had runs to the playoffs each of his years. Besides, I think you know, One of them, 20, 23, at some point does House Steinbrenner wake up and realize that just being good to very good is not good enough. We used to be great, and the Aggies have not been great in a very long time.

[Don LaGreca]

And quickly, I'll let you go. And we'll go to break and we'll take your calls on this at 1-800-919-3776. Yes, the Yankees have done a good job of not losing great prospects, but Brian came up in this system. I guess his first year was 1986, when. When I was growing. I was 18 years old in 1986. So I'm around the same age as Brian. Where it was, it was the Seinfeld. Yo, Jay Buhner for Ken Phelps, it was all Jose Reyes, Doug Drabek, they were great players everywhere, thriving on the majority of teams of Major League Baseball that had been in the Yankee system. And George, crazy George, not the George that you think you know. That is a manifestation of both people. The craziness that wants to win and the genius. There was a time where there were two and one of them was really bad, right? The real bad times where he was throwing prospects away to try to win immediately. And some of those times it worked, but it came at a price. Later on, they've made the decision that as much as they want to win, they don't want it to come at the expense of the future. That's why he said, and he knows what he's saying when he says it, I want to win championships, not a championship. He's always thinking two or three moves down the road. And what you're saying is right, hey, how about we occasionally win one and maybe I'll live with missing the playoffs a couple of times if I can finally get that elusive championship. I'm just telling you, there's the disconnect right there. What you want and what the Yankees want are two completely different things.

[Jake]

I get it. There's just. I think there's a happy medium, though. It's not, oh, we need Mason Miller, we need Scuba, we need. It's, let's be more proactive, let's get a catcher. Let's send down Volpe because he can't play. He's hitting point 50.

[Alan Hahn]

Oh, for sure.

[Don LaGreca]

Like the holding on.

[Jake]

There's not admit your mistakes. Like, that's what frustrates Yankee fans, the lack of admitting a mistake. A year ago I heard Jason Dominguez and Spencer Jones were untouchable in any move for Mason Miller. Yesterday there's a report that the Yankees are willing to use either guys in any deal, including for Mason Miller, because they prospect hog. So you tell me the prospect that the Yankees have traded, that has come down, come out to really hurt them down the line and their current guys that were hyping up again, I need to see it. Other than Judge and now Ben Rice, who are they impacted?

[Don LaGreca]

What do we do with our outfield? Brett Gardner not going to play.

[Jake]

Really could have had Seger, could have had Correa, any.

[Don LaGreca]

That's the problem with Volpe. It's not so much holding on to him, what you lost while holding onto.

[Jake]

And that's the frustration among Yankee fans beyond just not.

[Alan Hahn]

And you can think of, you can think of way more prospects that they hugged and turned out to be a dude than ones that actually turned out to be Aaron Judge.

[Jake]

Correct. You have Judge and Ben Rice. As far as offensive players labor, Torres had a moment, but in the other big Sanchez.

[Alan Hahn]

They're these guys that they just held onto until they turned the dust.

[Peter Rosenberg]

No value.

[Jake]

They didn't get Garrett Cole because they couldn't trade Clint Frazier and Miguel Andhoar. So what happens? He goes to the Astros, and instead of you getting Garrett Cole early and having to then spend 300 million four or five years later in free agency to get him, you allow him to go to your rival that prevents you from winning a championship.

[Don LaGreca]

Good job today. You in tomorrow, too?

[Jake]

I'm in the entire week besides Friday, this guy's working. Michael K is taking an interesting, you know, radio vacation schedule here. Monday to Thursday last week, but then did Friday, big Yankee Dodger preview right here. And then Monday, the Thursday this week he's off. But he's back Friday, by the way.

[Alan Hahn]

Maybe it's. Maybe he's setting up for like the new Howard Stern.

[Don LaGreca]

Is he not doing the Pirate series?

[Jake]

I'm not sure.

[Don LaGreca]

Usually if he's not doing a game, he'll take off. But if he's doing a game, he might as well work. He's not missing Yankees, Dodgers. He's not missing Yankees Red Sox. So certain series he's not there.

[Jake]

Is Philly next weekend, I believe. Right.

[Don LaGreca]

So he'll work that Friday. So he's in Friday. Thank you.

[Jake]

Thank you guys for having me.

[Alan Hahn]

Awesome.

[Don LaGreca]

I'd like to work with.

[Alan Hahn]

I like what you've done with Jake. Maybe you can have me. Maybe you can have me removed.

[Don LaGreca]

Why did you. Why were you so defensive? We are light a person this week.

[Alan Hahn]

Oh, that is a good point by you.

[Don LaGreca]

And I do. And from what I understand, Jake will work for free.

[Alan Hahn]

Well, working here often, that's basically what you're doing.

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[Peter Rosenberg]

Thanks for listening to the Don Han and Rosenberg podcast.

[Alan Hahn]

I didn't listen to anything you just said.

[Peter Rosenberg]

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

[Don LaGreca]

I was a little taken aback by Peter. I'm not gonna be, I'm not gonna lie because he threw out a serious allegation that I was Yankee splain. I'm not defending the 80s, all right. I'm just saying that you really. I'm just trying to tell Yankee fans, do you really think that everything is going to change overnight because the American League is wide open? There is so much unknown going into this offseason now that might lead somebody to say, Peter, well, let's go for it. We don't know if there's going to be a season next year. This might be our last chance to take advantage of, of the one advantage we have, over 90% of major league baseball. We got the third highest payroll in baseball. There's a very good chance that this time next year when they finally resolve the lockout and come back for a lousy 60 game season, that it's going to be a salary cap and everybody's going to have pretty much the same advantages as everybody else to spend money. But that might be a reason for you to go for it. It could also be a reason for them to say this is exactly why you don't go for it. The American League is wide open, we can win this thing anyway and we don't have to put ourselves in peril for the unknown. When do you ever know an executive in any business, Peter, taking a chance when you're staring into the abyss of the unknown. Information's king. When you don't know something, that's exactly when you don't do it.

[Alan Hahn]

Well, shouldn't they. But for the record, shouldn't they know they know something?

[Don LaGreca]

How did they know anything?

[Alan Hahn]

You mean about Judge?

[Don LaGreca]

No, about what the, what the landscape is going to be after the lockout.

[Alan Hahn]

Well, it. Does the move have to be one where you're getting someone who has a five year contract. Like isn't there, aren't there some plays they could make for people who are on expiring contract and you're not making some sort of massive commitment or just

[Don LaGreca]

hey, we're still going to have Cole, we're still going to have Stan, we're still going to have Judge, we're still going to have Bellinger. So maybe some of these kids that the fans want us to trade away to go for it might fill some holes in a cheap fashion so we could fit ourselves under a salary cap. I don't know exactly. But when you don't know, that's exactly when you don't strike fans, what do they care? But they're not. Their job's not humble. Not that. Not that Brian's job is on the line, but you know what I'm saying?

[Alan Hahn]

No, no.

[Don LaGreca]

Their aces aren't on the line, but I am not. Maybe I am, but I'm not trying to Yankee splain. I'm trying to just tell you that what you're asking Brian to do, I think goes against everything that he stands for. I just can't imagine they're going to do it, But. And you could also make the baseball sense of it, Peter, that because the American League is wide open, that I don't have to make a grandiose stand here. I could just. I could win it without doing anything. If I get Judged back and I get Rodon back and I. And I get Freed back, I've got more than enough to be able to handle the Rays and the Red Sox and win the American League without him and make one.

[Alan Hahn]

When do these moves have to be made by?

[Don LaGreca]

July 31st. Today's the 21st, so we got 11 days.

[Alan Hahn]

So. And they were going to. As of Friday, they were going to take a look again in a couple of weeks. Can you. Can they look at Judge in a week? So nine days from his last scan or whatever it's been 10, whatever it's been, what could they know enough then and go, hey, we're getting Judge back?

[Don LaGreca]

So I. I think, Peter, that they know he's coming back.

[Alan Hahn]

He mean, he seemed to feel very

[Don LaGreca]

good about it, but do you know how he's going to be when he comes back? Having not played for three months, is it going to take him a while to get going? What if he comes back in September and it takes him a month to finally get his sea legs, and by then you've lost out of the division, you're playing on the road, and Judge is never quite right and you lose. That's possible, right? Of course. Even if he's there, he might be a shell of himself. I don't know. This is kind of rarefied air. This is a guy that always seemed to get hurt and then all of a sudden never got hurt.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, that's the weird part.

[Don LaGreca]

And now he's back to getting hurt again and being out a long period of time. And, oh, by the way, he's not a kid anymore.

[Alan Hahn]

He's no spring chicken.

[Don LaGreca]

And you're talking about swinging a bat. And the torque that he supplies to hit those home runs, it's a lot of torque. It Is a lot. Whatever.

[Alan Hahn]

Now, when you think about the amount of torque that. There's a lot of torque there, by the way. And you said, Peter, torque.

[Don LaGreca]

When you monkeys.

[Alan Hahn]

When you said you were upset with me just now.

[Don LaGreca]

Well, you went. You went.

[Alan Hahn]

That's not what I thought it was about, though.

[Don LaGreca]

I thought it was about the fact

[Alan Hahn]

that I played this the whole week you were gone.

[Don LaGreca]

It's not really mad. It's hurt because when I got off

[Alan Hahn]

the stage, I meant it.

[Don LaGreca]

You said your best.

[Dave]

My best.

[Don LaGreca]

And I thought it was Alan grabbed his phone and said, there are people on Instagram thinking that you did a great job.

[Alan Hahn]

No, Allen hated it. I'm here to tell you right now. Well, I was here for the whole conversation. I think this is a very funny clip, and I love it.

[Don LaGreca]

Well, when you isolate it.

[Alan Hahn]

But I'm telling you right now, I could tell if I read between the lines, Allen was disgusted by what you did.

[Don LaGreca]

And so why not say it? We're not close enough that we can't just say, don, what the hell's going on? Like, really, this show, when I mispronounce one thing, it's a drop for a year, right? But I go on, and I've always told you, I know I'm not good. I want to just have some fun that you guys can have fun with me. Say, that's awful. I get off the stage, the first thing you say, that's your best. Alan looking at his phone saying, instagram's blowing up. They think you did a great job. I knew it sucked. I was disgusted. The whole. The whole after that, I'm like, I picked the wrong song. I got talked into it. I, I, I felt like I could do a good job. I knew what I was doing. It. It was awful. And so I walk off the stage, and all of a sudden, everybody's, like, throwing me roses. I'm like, well, maybe it wasn't that bad. I never went back to listen because deep down in my heart, I knew it wasn't good. But when you get lied to by your friends, people who said information, well,

[Alan Hahn]

okay, here's the part I'm gonna tell

[Don LaGreca]

you, and then you get made fun

[Alan Hahn]

of when I'm away. That's the heart.

[Don LaGreca]

That is not what this show's about, man. This show is right in your face.

[Alan Hahn]

Here's the thing. I meant when you. When I said that was your best performance, I thought it was the best version of a song that you've done. Now, as time went on and I thought about the nature of the words of the. I didn't know the song very well. Understanding now what the song really is. Is it an odd choice for an outdoor beach party? It's a little heavy.

[Don LaGreca]

Well, what happened is that the band.

[Alan Hahn]

And they were great, but.

[Don LaGreca]

Yeah, they were. They're surfing for days.

[Alan Hahn]

Surfing for days. They were great.

[Don LaGreca]

I started. I started asking them, like, what are some of the songs you do? And like the third song in there, like, Babe, I'm Going To Leave youe by Led Zeppelin. I said, you kidding me? It's one of my favorite songs. Really? Because I think we'll have some. I think we could have some fun with it. So they sent me their version of it and it just. It got away. I just never felt it. It didn't feel. It didn't feel right to do. We never rehearsed it or anything, you know, so it just didn't work out. And then looking back at it, I thought we'd have some fun with it. Because the fallback is always this. I either blow everybody away and they're shocked how good it is.

[Alan Hahn]

Right.

[Don LaGreca]

Or it is such an atrocity of epic proportions. I'm not exactly. Word ostrocity. What word was that?

[Alan Hahn]

I'm gonna need a drop.

[Don LaGreca]

I know, that's awful.

[Alan Hahn]

I was gonna say off the air, but since you caught me. No, I'm gonna say on the air. I'll need ostrocity later on in the program.

[Don LaGreca]

It is such an atrocity. Atrocity.

[Alan Hahn]

That's right.

[Don LaGreca]

That we'd have fun with it.

[Alan Hahn]

Right.

[Don LaGreca]

But they betrayed me and my trust. I meant instead of having fun with me and then we could have all just like, no. Good job, Don. That's one of the best you've ever done. Which I think insults some of the actual efforts that I've made in the past. Weren't that bad.

[Alan Hahn]

Meant it when I said it. I. At the time.

[Don LaGreca]

But Alan didn't.

[Alan Hahn]

No, he didn't. I'm telling you. Anthony, I want you to weigh in here and be honest. You listened to the entire conversation? Cuz it came up probably three times. We did a lot of it on the.

[Don LaGreca]

Which is also one today. The one show where you're held accountable for everything you do.

[Dave]

Right.

[Alan Hahn]

And now you're gone.

[Don LaGreca]

That you wait until I'm gone.

[Dave]

It's.

[Don LaGreca]

So at least admit it's weak.

[Alan Hahn]

It's very weak. But it's also early July. What do you want me to do? I got to dig for some material. When you heard this conversation that we had, didn't you get the Sense, based on what Allen said that deep down he hated it. He thought it was awful.

[Jake]

I think he definitely didn't love it.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, he thought he wanted. Here's the thing about Allen. He's gonna have to live with this. He and I said this to him. I think he was kind of too gutless to pull a Michael and say, remember what Michael said to you, Little pitchy dude.

[Don LaGreca]

Well, Michael, even if Michael liked it, he still hit the road of. You're. You're terrible at what you do.

[Alan Hahn]

Correct.

[Don LaGreca]

And you're taking away from me. Shining for 15 minutes. Let's be honest.

[Alan Hahn]

No, no, I. I think.

[Don LaGreca]

I think the one time that I did the one song and I'm like, I'm honoring Michael. I'm talking about how great the show is. And he's like, you know, now he loved it. No, he still was like, don't ever forget.

[Alan Hahn]

Don't ever forget. At our last show with Michael, I wrote a speech that moved me to tears.

[Dave]

Right.

[Don LaGreca]

And he wanted.

[Alan Hahn]

And when I looked at him at the end, I could. His eyes just said, shut up so I can keep talking.

[Dave]

Exactly.

[Alan Hahn]

I could see it.

[Don LaGreca]

And if he was, you can't get to him anyways.

[Dave]

A lot.

[Alan Hahn]

It was. It was. I just wanted to at least have an open conversation.

[Don LaGreca]

Nose it to be closed for a long period of time. Like two weeks. The beach bash wasn't yesterday. The beach bash was two weeks ago. Two weeks ago on Thursday.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, we're past two weeks.

[Don LaGreca]

We're going on three weeks. And now it's. Oh, it's an open conversation, to tell you the truth. And for nearly three weeks, you sat on.

[Alan Hahn]

I didn't think about it that much. And then when it came up, I gotta give Jacob credit. I said, jacob, can you find a clip from the song? And this was the clip that he found. And now it sparked a conversation.

[Don LaGreca]

I. I never looked at social media. I just knew it wasn't good.

[Alan Hahn]

I didn't think it was. Wasn't good. Even this clip that I think is funny. I believe you're still in key, but

[Don LaGreca]

it just was the wrong choice. And what would have been so fun to say that?

[Alan Hahn]

Remember when you did creep on Christmas? This is like when you did creep,

[Don LaGreca]

I was a little tone deaf in more ways than one. But Allen is the. Is the true villain.

[Alan Hahn]

That's the point.

[Don LaGreca]

Because you think. And you know, I've known Allen a lot longer than I've known Peter.

[Alan Hahn]

That's a good point.

[Don LaGreca]

And I've always felt like that I was in a position with Alan.

[Alan Hahn]

He tells you truth.

[Don LaGreca]

I can't trust him. I can't trust him as far as I can throw him. You can't because he lied. He lied right to my face.

[Alan Hahn]

He looks right at you, and he lied.

[Don LaGreca]

This show has proven that. We don't let you get away with anything on this show because we're open, we're honest with each other, and we're able to get on each other for that. No, that would have been the perfect moment. I stepped down from there, and you guys could have been like, what the hell was that? Now Peter's got the excuse of in the moment. I thought it was really good, and I will. I choose to believe him.

[Alan Hahn]

Thank you.

[Don LaGreca]

But from what I'm being told, Allen knew from the second that it was garbage and still played it off as I did a great job and also lied and said other people on social media thought I did a good job.

[Alan Hahn]

That definitely made up. I think he had to make up.

[Don LaGreca]

And that hurts.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, that's painful.

[Don LaGreca]

Even though it probably came from a good place because you don't want to hurt my feelings. But if you know me, man, you're not hurting my feelings. I know what I'm doing there.

[Alan Hahn]

Right?

[Don LaGreca]

And I know. I find out things. I listened. They broadcasted the show when I was on vacation. You were able to. Peter called up my brother on his birthday. On his birthday. My brother has a birthday show. The ego on this, by the way.

[Alan Hahn]

Hold on.

[Don LaGreca]

The ego on this guy, by the way.

[Alan Hahn]

No, you two are covered from the same cloth. You got Don, who has to do a big song routine every year. And then you have Dave, who, in the weeks leading up to his birthday, every time I turned on Busted Open on Pro Wrestling Nation 24 7, it was Dave going, hey, Paul. Producer Paul. My birthday show better be good.

[Don LaGreca]

Every day, every year, he asks his producer, whoever it is.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah.

[Don LaGreca]

To throw him a birthday.

[Alan Hahn]

He wants a surprise party. He wants to demand a surprise party every year.

[Don LaGreca]

And what comes from it is usually some wacky guests. Did you see the big guest on his birthday show?

[Dave]

No.

[Alan Hahn]

All I knew was me, which I

[Don LaGreca]

thought was, you know, my brother. It makes sense. You may not even know who this is. I mean, Adrienne Barbeau.

[Alan Hahn]

Adrienne Barbeau.

[Don LaGreca]

Take a glance.

[Alan Hahn]

All right, let me go ahead and take a look. Is it something that was on his wall back in the day?

[Don LaGreca]

Yeah.

[Dave]

Oh, yeah.

[Don LaGreca]

And she was in some show, some movies that he loved. Adrienne Barbeau, Cannonball Run thing.

[Alan Hahn]

Okay. She was born in 1940. 5.

[Don LaGreca]

I understood. But you know what? On the Internet, time stands still.

[Alan Hahn]

Oh, my. Go to images. Oh, goodness gracious.

[Don LaGreca]

And then I hear people. Oh. So I had to ask. I had to ask Don's brother dav, does he sing to be good or does he just sing the goofball?

[Alan Hahn]

Is it a goof or does he think this is his future still? And Dave said he wasn't sure. He thinks this is.

[Don LaGreca]

You both came to the conclusion that you think that I secretly want to be like a Vegas loudspeaker one day.

[Alan Hahn]

The moment's gonna come that. What is the. From the guy from Sharp Records in Wayne's world, he's going to show up one day.

[Don LaGreca]

Well, all I got to say is that every year.

[Alan Hahn]

Oh, my God. I'm going to look at Julie, the

[Don LaGreca]

only one that hasn't betrayed me.

[Alan Hahn]

I got news about Adrian Barbeau.

[Don LaGreca]

Julian, I'm just gonna look at you because you have never betrayed me.

[Alan Hahn]

Not yet.

[Don LaGreca]

Is that every year I look forward to the Beach Bash because I sing because it's become a tradition and it's been entertaining. We've had some fun. I've had some hits that have made some people and some misses have some fun. And then the misses are even better because then we all can have a good chuckle. But at the Beach Bash represented the very last time that I will perform.

[Dave]

No

[Peter Rosenberg]

thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[Alan Hahn]

I didn't listen to anything you just said.

[Peter Rosenberg]

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

[Dave]

All right.

[Don LaGreca]

1-800-919-3776. We got a lot to get to, including the. The weekend recap we're going to do at 4:30.

[Alan Hahn]

There are a few things from the weekend, though, that, like, could easily be a couple of segments today, depending on how the show goes. I think. I think there's a lot of meat on Nick's stuff from the weekend, and I think there's some, you know, there's some solid meat from the World cup final as well. There's some things to chat about.

[Don LaGreca]

That was an odd day yesterday.

[Alan Hahn]

An odd sports day.

[Don LaGreca]

Yeah, it was just an odd. The World cup was odd. It was. I'll give you. I'll give you more on it when we. When we decide, but I want to get some calls. 1-800-919-3776. Dave is in the car. You get us started off here on Donna Rosenberg. What's up, man?

[Dave]

Thanks, guys. You know, I've been bouncing this, like, Yankees making A move thing off my head a little bit. And just on a, just on a goof, I went to my Android phone and put in, you know what? Three teams would suffer the worst if there was a lockout. And they give a really insane description. The Yankees would suffer the most. Next the Dodgers. The next the Braves. But I agree with you, Don. I agree that we're looking at a Yankees organization that's been doing things a certain way and they're not going to change. But here's the thing I will add, and I want your thoughts on this. I think baseball, I think the owners have been waiting for this time for a very, very long time. I think they're ready to hold out. And I think baseball is going to be like the last free for all salary sport in America, team sport. And since that is going to be such a dramatic change, why not just make a dramatic rule move and roll the dice if you're the Yankees? Because all the teams are going to suffer, especially the teams that are top heavy.

[Don LaGreca]

Well, clearly they're not going to have the advantage. Those teams specifically, you could throw the Mets in there as well though the Mets can't seem to take advantage of any format. Is that they have an advantage over everybody else and that's why they've got the best chance to win. Dodgers trying for their third straight World Series. Yankees are good every single year because they're able to spend a ton of money. Money doesn't guarantee you anything, but it sure better having it than not having it. But all I'd ask these players, honestly, I get accused of being, you know, on the side of the owners. I do think in this country you have got a right to try to turn a profit. Okay. And that winning shouldn't mean that you're losing money. And some of these franchises, in order to win and compete financially, would have to lose money. And that's not right to do. But Peter explained to me why football and basketball specifically can work under a salary cap. Have their franchises thrive, but have the players thrive as well? Doesn't Mahomes make $60 million a year? Aren't there basketball players making $70 million a year? The great players are going to make it.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, right.

[Don LaGreca]

So the baseball players are like, oh, they're going to drive our salaries down. Well, Aaron Judd is going to make his money. Mookie Betts is gonna make his money. Shohei Ohtani is gonna make his money.

[Dave]

All right?

[Don LaGreca]

And it might have some of the smaller, less known players make some money because all of these franchises that are literally stealing revenue sharing by having no salary whatsoever. Would have to spend money because there'll be a floor. But I just don't understand why baseball is exempt from this, but hockey, basketball and football could have a salary cap. Have the sport thrive. Have the players thrive and still have players making way more money than current baseball players do. Explain that to me.

[Alan Hahn]

I wonder what the real answer is.

[Don LaGreca]

The answer is, is that anything the owners want, the players want the opposite. I swear to God, they would lock out on what color the sky is and the players would say it's red and they'd fight to the death for it because that's the way Marvin Miller wanted it. They're honoring his spirit. And there was a time, Peter, back in the day where the players were taken advantage of. They didn't have free agency, they didn't make money. But believe me, that has changed. But we don't care about it in New York because the Mets have the second highest payroll and the Yankees have the third highest payroll. So what are we talking about? But if the other sports can make it work and make it thrive, then why the heck wouldn't you try it? But I have a feeling not going to. And if they're not going to do it, let's figure it out early so we can have a season, all right? Not all of a sudden figure out they can't do it and you miss an entire season. Or have one of these bogus 60 game seasons like they had during COVID Nobody wants that.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[Alan Hahn]

I don't want to know how the

[Peter Rosenberg]

sausage is made, man.

[Jake]

I just want to know.

[Peter Rosenberg]

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.