Hour 2: Baseball Struggles & The NFL Binge

Summary

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Don, Hahn & Rosenberg: Hour 2 – Baseball Struggles & The NFL Binge

ESPN New York with Don La Greca, Alan Hahn, and Peter Rosenberg
April 13, 2026

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Episode Overview

The second hour of the show centers primarily on the recent struggles of New York baseball teams, especially the Yankees, combined with listener frustration over years of postseason disappointment. Don, Hahn, and Rosenberg debate what’s wrong with the Yankees' core, the team's philosophy under Brian Cashman, and whether anything will really change. Later, the crew dives into an "NFL Binge" segment, touching on Giants and Jets draft needs, the state of the Mets, Islanders' collapse, hockey trades, and some classic banter about music and video games.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Yankees Lineup Frustrations and Organizational Philosophy

(00:44–15:05)

• Lineup Weaknesses: Alan recites the Yankees’ starting lineup and notes absences (notably Ben Rice getting a rest and others underperforming). Discussion of outfield struggles, particularly with Gritchick and Grisham.
  • Alan: "Once that's done, like I'm telling you, I am...that's why I love the cable last channel button. I'm out. What am I looking for? The bottom of this order has been really bad. It's cavernous." (02:42)
• Recurring Disappointment: Alan frames the team as stuck in a rut—good enough for the playoffs, never good enough to win it all.
  • Alan: "It's more frustrating to me to fall right before the finish line than it is to fall halfway through the race." (05:55)
• Don’s Counterpoint: Don pushes back, arguing that regular-season struggles don't guarantee postseason failure and that Yankees fans' standards are uniquely high.
  • Don: "...at the end of the day, they're going to be sitting there, 94, 95 wins, probably winning this division." (05:11)
• Fundamental Flaws: Alan cites a recent game as symptomatic of larger issues—poor baseball IQ, inability to adapt, and recurring fundamental mistakes.
  • Alan: "Death by a thousand cuts games where fundamentally the other team looks just way smarter at the game than you do..." (05:55)
• Calls for Change: Alan and a caller argue for a shift in front office philosophy, rather than a focus solely on the on-field personnel.

2. Cashman, Roster Moves, and Trade Philosophy

(09:45–15:05)

• Prospect Protection: Discussion of reluctance to move on from highly-touted but underperforming prospects like McMahon.
• Front Office Criticism: Alan criticizes Brian Cashman's "run it back" philosophy, questioning if the team is doing enough to truly build a championship squad.
  • Alan: "It's the philosophy thing that has been here for 20 years...for 15 of them, they've been good, but not good enough." (10:49)
• Caller Justin adds: Team lacks 'winning plays' and urgency, especially from the front office:
  • "It feels like a movie that we've seen three times and we're expecting a different outcome." (21:24)

3. Baseball’s April Apathy – Fan Experience & Modern MLB Critique

(16:24–20:49)

• Rest Days and Load Management: Both Mets and Yankees criticized for sitting healthy players early in the season, sending a signal to fans that April games "don't count."
  • Don: "Baseball is begging you not to watch...We're just making the food, right? We're just warming up the pots. Come back when the food's done." (17:45)
• Season Length & Urgency: Hahn and Don both bemoan the “it’s early” mantra, arguing that every game should matter, particularly divisional matchups.
  • Alan: "I don't care how long your damn season is...Especially division games, you gotta value those." (19:13)

4. The NFL Binge: Giants, Jets, and Ravens Draft Talk

(26:32–35:25)

• Giants and Dexter Lawrence: Jordan Raanan (via clip) discusses the deep need for defensive linemen if Lawrence leaves.
• Jets Draft Strategy: Matt Miller (via clip) suggests a shift in the Jets’ draft focus from constructing a future team to “win-now” defensive help.
  • Matt Miller: "The Jets are a team that's building for the future... But I think Bailey is the preferred pass rusher in that building because they need someone that can help Aaron Glenn keep his job right now." (30:26)
• Fun Stat: Don and Alan share a tongue-in-cheek Jets stat:
  • "Rory McIlroy has won two Masters since the Jets last had an interception." (31:18)
• Ravens QB Future?: Mel Kiper’s hot take (via clip): Baltimore could draft a quarterback in 2027 if Lamar Jackson doesn’t succeed; the hosts debate its plausibility and laugh at Kiper’s “running out of material” ahead of the draft.

5. Mets, Islanders, and Hockey Deadline

(16:13–51:52, intermittent)

• Mets’ Disarray: Alan and Don compare the Mets’ mismanagement and woes to the Yankees, noting that sometimes major changes make teams worse.
• Islanders’ Collapse: Caller Glenn in Smithtown decries the team’s free fall post-deadline, poor trades, and star players (e.g., Barzal) struggling to uplift the team’s culture.
  • Alan: "Your best player has to have some type of impact on the culture...he’s an all star, but when does he give you the bump that a star player gives a team in certain situations?" (48:11)

6. Lighter Moments & Banter

(41:11–end)

• Music & Parenting Talk: The crew swaps stories about how fatherhood changed their music listening habits, with Rosenberg’s daughter favoring Tribe Called Quest’s Midnight Marauders as a lullaby.
• Video Game Nostalgia: Don nerds out about replaying GTA: Vice City and Half-Life, surprising the crew with his gaming cred.
  • Don: "I loved Vice City when it came out like '02..." (44:43)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

The State of the Yankees

• Alan Hahn [02:42]: "Once that's done...I'm out. The bottom of this order has been really bad. It's cavernous. There's nothing in there."
• Don LaGreca [05:11]: "At the end of the day, they're going to be sitting there, 94, 95 wins, you know, probably winning this division."
• Alan Hahn [05:55]: "When you see another one of these death by a thousand cuts games where fundamentally the other team looks just way smarter at the game than you do…"
• Caller Justin [21:24]: "It feels like a movie that we've seen three times and we're expecting a different outcome."

Fan Apathy & Team Decisions

• Don LaGreca [17:45]: "Baseball is begging you not to watch...We're just making the food, right? We're just warming up the pots. Come back when the food's done."
• Alan Hahn [19:13]: "I don't care how long your damn season is...Especially division games, you gotta value those."

The NFL Binge

• Matt Miller [30:26]: “This team I talked to a week ago thought maybe it would be ARVL Reese because the Jets are a team that's building for the future. And I'll tell you that the tide has turned on that.”
• Don LaGreca [31:18]: “Rory McIlroy has won two Masters the last time the Jets had an interception.”

Islanders & Hockey Culture

• Caller Glenn [46:14]: “I think Sorokin was just so good. He was covering up so many defensive mistakes…And then they just traded for Carson, Susie. Like, come on.”
• Alan Hahn [48:11]: “Your best player has to have some type of impact on the culture...he’s an all star, but when does he give you the bump that a star player gives a team…”

Classic Banter

• Don LaGreca [44:43]: "I loved Vice City when it came out like '02...a couple years ago I found an app and you can play it authentically."
• Peter Rosenberg [44:56]: "Vice City is the kind of game, you could still keep playing it for years and years and years."

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:44–04:17 – Yankees lineup breakdown and early season frustrations
• 04:17–08:16 – Core debate: are the Yankees stuck in a loop?
• 16:24–20:49 – MLB’s April “apathy” and fan frustration
• 21:23–23:20 – Caller Justin: Yankees’ postseason futility and leadership problems
• 26:32–35:33 – The NFL Binge: Giants, Jets, and Ravens draft chatter
• 46:14–51:52 – Islanders collapse and fan anguish; hockey culture
• 41:11–45:35 – Hip-hop and video game nostalgia (Mobb Deep, Vice City banter)

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Tone & Style

The show is lively and opinionated, blending informed sports talk with classic New York banter and humor. The hosts are candid—especially Alan in his frustration with Yankees “sameness.” Don plays devil’s advocate and brings veteran perspective, while Peter injects levity and pop culture references.

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Summary Takeaways

• Yankee fans and hosts alike are feeling burnt out by the repetitive “good but not great” cycle, with fundamental issues that persist year to year.
• There’s distrust in Brian Cashman’s approach and doubts about meaningful change without philosophical shifts at the top.
• Across New York sports, from Mets to Islanders, there's a common refrain: good enough isn’t good enough, and fans are growing tired of patience.
• NFL topics center on anxiety and urgency, especially for the Giants and Jets.
• The show keeps it fresh with songs, video game nostalgia, and quick-witted ribbing—a must-listen for those who want NYC sports and classic banter in equal doses.

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Transcript

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[Podcast Host (Don Hahn)]

is the Don Hahn and Rosenberg Podcast.

[Don LaGreca]

That sounds like heaven to me.

[Podcast Host (Don Hahn)]

Listen live weekday afternoon starting at 3 on 8 80, ESPN, the ESPN New York app, and your smart speakers.

[Alan Hahn]

403 in the big city with Don Lagreca and Peter Rosenberg. I'm Alan Hahn. It is time now for the Pinstripe starting lineup. It is brought to you by Ramsey Mazda. So listen closely kids, as the Yankees start a series with the Angels of what the lineup is going to look like. Who's missing? You tell me.

[Caller/Listener]

Ready?

[Alan Hahn]

Leading off, Paul Goldschmidt playing first, batting second, Aaron Judge. As usual. In right, Cody Bellinger batting third. And center, Giancarlo Stanton. He is the cleanup. He is the dh. Batting fifth, Ahmad Rosario, he's playing third. Batting six, Jazz Chisholm. Of course, he's playing second. Okay, now it gets interesting because from this point forward, Anthony and I both agree that you can walk away from the TV and come back later. All right, Randall Gritchick, he is in left, batting seventh. Jose Caballero is batting eighth at short and ninth. Austin Wells is catching. Will Warren's on the mound. Now, who's missing?

[Don LaGreca]

That would be McMahon. Somebody else last out last night.

[Alan Hahn]

There's actually three guys missing and one in particular. That was your Pinstripe starting lineup brought to you by Ramsey Mazda. Get more for your money at Ramsey Mazda. Like a new 2026 Mazda CX50 or Mazda CX90. Choose wisely. Choose Ramsey Mazda. The one guy that's actually hitting Ben Rice. As Anthony Wood said, he's getting a. What is he getting today, Anthony?

[Anthony Wood]

He needs a juice box.

[Alan Hahn]

Juice box day. He needs a little break. One guy hidden. Orange slices. One guy hidden. Also notable again with Goldschmidt leading off. No Grisham, right, who has also been a bit of a disaster, a bust early on in the season. So a little bit of a lineup change. Now, I know everybody hates Gritchick, but who are you playing to left? Like what else are you going to do there?

[Don LaGreca]

Don't have much Options?

[Alan Hahn]

No, not right now. Trying to get him going, you know, again, no, McMahon, you have Rosario again playing third and that might become a thing. But this lineup from at least from fourth, like after the fourth, whoever's batting fourth, usually it's G or sometimes it's Rice. Once that's done, like I'm telling you, I am. That's why I love the cable. Last channel button. I'm out. What am I looking for? The bottom of this order has been really bad. It's been, it's, it's cavernous. There's nothing in there. It just echoes. So my problem, Don, is this. And both teams have been garbage. So we've got a lot to talk about. But on the Yankee front, I'm just going to say this about what I've seen from the Yankees and I'm going to do the treetops thing, which we all hate to do. But it is too early to start. Nitpicking game to game. But what I'm seeing from my untrained eye is the same old spit, same old. And when you change, nothing, nothing changes. Run it back. What do you expect to be different? Their pitching is better. That is the most important thing I still say to the start of the season, the offense. What did you think was going to happen if Judge doesn't get off to a red hot start? If Grisham wasn't going to be Grisham last year and just took the money, what do you think was going to happen? Bellinger hasn't really gotten going yet, but you expect he will. He and Judge. I'm not worried about Stan. I'm not worried about Rice. Looks like a guy that I can trust everyone else on notice. Fair?

[Don LaGreca]

Well, no, it's not fair.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Why?

[Don LaGreca]

Because you make it seem like same old same old. Like they're always just two games above.500. They have a five game losing streak. I agree that's not what you want. But they started out 8 and 2

[Alan Hahn]

thanks to their pitching.

[Don LaGreca]

Well, and that's. They deserve credit for that. And it's only going to get better.

[Alan Hahn]

Yes.

[Don LaGreca]

When Cole and Rodon come back.

[Alan Hahn]

Yep.

[Don LaGreca]

But you make it seem like we're here every year.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah.

[Don LaGreca]

You know where you are every year if healthy, 94, 95 wins in the playoffs.

[Alan Hahn]

And then what? And then what?

[Don LaGreca]

All right.

[Alan Hahn]

By Halloween.

[Don LaGreca]

I agree. But you know what? It's April Allen. Nothing they do is going to answer any questions for the postseason. If they were undefeated, we'd be sitting here going, all right, that's great in April, but let's see if they can do it in October. So when you're saying same old, same old, I'm like, yeah, in the regular season, yeah, they do have lulls. They do have moments usually, like in the middle of the season, like, what's.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Where.

[Don LaGreca]

Where's this offense? But at the end, excuse me, at the end of the day, they're going to be sitting there, 94, 95 wins, you know, probably winning this division. Yeah. It's irritating that the Rays always seem to be. To me, you know, the Rays are going to win their 82, 83 games. Good for them. With no payroll, no threat. So when you're talking about same old, same old, I'm saying, yeah, same old, same old. You're going to the playoffs.

[Alan Hahn]

That's not exactly what a Yankee fan is thinking. Year after year, especially when it's been 15 years, you're not going to do it. Hey, get to the playoffs and then we'll be happy. But I know it's. It's. It's supposed to be to finally break

[Don LaGreca]

through, but it's been. You're not breaking through in April, Alan.

[Alan Hahn]

No, you. But you. What? Look, Don, when. First of all, I'm big on what does it look like? And when you see another one of these death by a thousand cuts games where fundamentally the other team looks just way smarter at the game than you do, when you have at bats that are just garbage, where you have players that they're relying on that you're like, how could you possibly believe in this player? How could you possibly think this guy can do it at that position? How could you possibly buy into this? But it's what we keep being sold year after year about this team. And we buy into it because of exactly what you just said. Because it's the lore. It brings you in. Every year you're Gonna hit the 90, every year you're gonna make the playoffs, but every year it's gonna be disappointing at the end. And at some point, when do you say, okay, just like we just talked about the Knicks. Tibbs got you this far. Somebody else has got to get you over the top. When does that happen? That's the part I think it's more frustrating to me to fall right before the finish line than it is to fall halfway through the race.

[Don LaGreca]

But I just don't know what. What would have changed you. What were you saying at 8 and 2?

[Alan Hahn]

I was saying the pitching was great.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Right.

[Alan Hahn]

The bottom of the order was not good.

[Don LaGreca]

Right. But you were still sitting there going, you know, let's see if they do this in October, anything that they do in April, May, June, July. I'm not arguing August, September.

[Alan Hahn]

I'm not arguing with that. I said this is treetops. This is not about game to game. But it is a little concerning that the same things that bothered you about the team last year and bothered you about the team in the World Series two years ago are still here. It's the same like the fundamental disasters that happen in the field of a team where you just. You shake your head and go, well, like What? Like that 10th inning Saturday night. It blew my mind. It's as if they had no idea that they were that, oh, they had speed on the baseball. We don't know what to do. Don't know what to do. That game was over in a blink. All because they had no idea how to play a bunt. They had no idea how to handle speed on the base pads. All that stuff was completely over their head.

[Don LaGreca]

Jazz knew what the rules were, which

[Alan Hahn]

blows my mind again, that wouldn't have changed the play. He just asked the question after the game was over, which was not.

[Peter Rosenberg]

The question was not a good look.

[Alan Hahn]

It wasn't as if he made a play and it was the wrong rule. It was after the game. He was like, well, what would happen if this. He was asking a question. I'm not holding him to that as much as I'm holding it to the fact that they couldn't make a play.

[Don LaGreca]

No.

[Alan Hahn]

Do all this to finally, you break through, you take a lead, you got a chance to get a dub, and then because they've got a couple of fast guys on the field, you can't win. But doesn't that feel like the same stuff that happens? The Blue Jays did it to you. The Rays seem to do. Kevin Cash seems to just love to just mock the Yankees year after year when he plays them.

[Don LaGreca]

But at the end of the day, they're not going to be there. And the Yankees will.

[Alan Hahn]

Where, though?

[Don LaGreca]

Where's their place if the Blue Jays don't get healthy and the Red Sox can't seem to be right? Orioles aren't exactly setting the world on fire, despite all the moves.

[Alan Hahn]

I get it. The east is bad. This is the time they're probably winning this division.

[Don LaGreca]

I don't disagree. Because you're talking about treetops. I'm talking about the core, that there's issues when you run it back. Yeah. When we get to the playoffs, it might be the same old, same old. But right now I'm not going to look at Five losses in a row in April and go see same old Yankees. They're going to lose in the postseason because if they were undefeated, you'd be kind of waiting. Let's see what they do in the playoffs.

[Alan Hahn]

Because I'm not, I'm not arguing how

[Don LaGreca]

great they are or how average they

[Alan Hahn]

are, but I'm not arguing with that. That's not. I don't think that's the point I'm

[Don LaGreca]

making and I think it's a good thing because if McMahon doesn't get right, you know, they'll do something about it. You know, rather it be now than him raking and all of a sudden in September when there's nothing you could do about it, he all of a sudden loses his bat and now he's going to affect you.

[Alan Hahn]

Well, you know how careful they've been in protecting over their. Their over. Over hyped prospect.

[Don LaGreca]

I agree.

[Alan Hahn]

They. So you. I don't see them doing anything significant. They, they did something about it when they got Caballero and they got McMahon and they got Rosario. That's what they did last year, halfway through the season because they had to get better at those positions. They had to get faster and more athletic.

[Don LaGreca]

I agree that they sometimes.

[Alan Hahn]

I'm talking about Cashmen. That's what I'm talking. I'm talking about the approach. I'm talking about the philosophy back.

[Don LaGreca]

Because they were the best offensive team in baseball last year, Alan.

[Alan Hahn]

I know. And now they're. Now they're 25th.

[Don LaGreca]

But it, but it's too early to start saying that it was wrong to run it back because now look how bad this offense. I Listen, we had this lull in the middle of the season.

[Alan Hahn]

We said this in October that it might not be the best idea and they were doing it. And then they were mad that you called it a run it back. No, it's not. They took offense. Again, this to me is more about at the top and less about the players, the roster.

[Don LaGreca]

What did you want to get?

[Alan Hahn]

No, we can't play that game.

[Don LaGreca]

Well, no, but that's the game you play, right? They ran it back. What did you want them to do?

[Alan Hahn]

Now you get. I'd have to go back and see what was available and what was possible and all that stuff. And you know that that takes too long. I can't play that game of what would you do in October? We can't do that in April. What I'm saying is it's the philosophy thing that has been here for 20 years. It's been going on forever. And for 15 of them, they have been good, but not good enough. Every year for 15 years. And that's why I asked the question, like you are saying it from your perspective of, hey, every year you're in the playoffs, every year you're going to be there. And I agree, you're right. Every year. But at some point, like I said, when you are falling down before the finish line, year after year after, at some point it starts to get frustrating and you start to say, maybe we need to try a different way.

[Peter Rosenberg]

And Alan, you're, you're what you get. And this has happened in, in, in. I feel like every other previous season with them. They're giving you a preview right now. This is the preview of how it will end. To Don's point, they will do what they do. They will pull it together. They'll win 90 some games, they'll make the playoffs. But in the end, guess what? It'll be like this, this is where, this is the preview of the playoffs.

[Alan Hahn]

That's what worries me, Don. Is that what you see? I've seen this before and I, I said, but if I said this last year, because I remember it, I said it to you guys, this, I never want to see that again. Which is what we saw in the World Series against the Dodgers. I don't want to see a sloppy, poorly fundamental baseball team. I don't want to see that. I want to see a team that's locked in. And what I saw over the last couple days, especially Saturday, was a team that one. It's like, why do I see that team do that? Where they look like they have poor fundamentals and there's certain things they just can't figure out how to do against. Like you said, Don, a team like the Rays, I know they're going to be an 85 win team, 83 win team, whatever it is. Like, you know that. So what are we doing here? And also that's what bothers me is that it's just that shows up with this team and it reminds me that this, the little things like that have not gone away and by now they should have. That's just my opinion.

[Peter Rosenberg]

And you also have to start, you know, at this. You can't be thrilled with Judge starting the season this way.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, but I'm not worried about Judge

[Peter Rosenberg]

and you, and you don't worry about

[Alan Hahn]

Judge, but again, Bellinger and Judge I don't worry about.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But again. But sometimes with Judge, with last year being sort of the exception, it ends up being a preview also, you're like, oh, no, he's fine. He ends up usually being fine May through September.

[Alan Hahn]

I love that he hit a home run last night in the MO In a important moment to set up. Okay, let's get back in this game. Let's put some life back into what was a lifeless weekend, by the way. God help me. God.

[Matt Miller]

Like.

[Alan Hahn]

Like, seriously, if you needed a good nap yesterday, you had the Masters and then you had the Yankee game.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Oh, the Masters, actually.

[Alan Hahn]

But by the end it did. Yeah, but I'm talking about in the middle of the day. Like, it just put. Put me to sleep. Yeah, like the Yankees looked lifeless.

[Don LaGreca]

That's moment you don't hit, it looks lifeless.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That's the thing, Don.

[Alan Hahn]

But Judge put a little jolt into the team. Got you the home run, put you in the game. Now you got a chance. And then what happens? Bottom of the order. They walk Wells. They look at McMahon and they go, we know we can get this guy out. How embarrassing is that? But you like, that's tough, man.

[Don LaGreca]

I understand. They haven't won since 2009, which is frustrating for a Yankee fan because you should be. When you're there every single year, you'd like to put something together the way the Astros did, the way the Red Sox do. It seems like teams be able to figure it out, but it also comes at the expense of them disappearing for a few years and then coming back. That doesn't happen to the Yankees, but it's not the same old team. Since 2009, they've made changes and nothing is seemed to really click in the postseason.

[Alan Hahn]

The last 10 years, they have kind of looked like the same team, but

[Don LaGreca]

they did go to the World Series.

[Alan Hahn]

Two years ago.

[Don LaGreca]

I lost to a team that we'll see if anybody's ever going to beat.

[Alan Hahn]

I understand. How did they look in.

[Don LaGreca]

The Dodgers might win their third in

[Alan Hahn]

a row and be like, don, did they. Did they. Did they show out in the World Series and just lose to a better team like we saw last year with Toronto? Or did they embarrass themselves in the World Series?

[Don LaGreca]

No, they. They certainly embarrassed themselves with the judge. They are the game one Freeman home run. The judge in game five was brutal because I don't think they're winning the Series anyway.

[Alan Hahn]

But. But again.

[Don LaGreca]

But still, you didn't give yourself much of a chance to win game five for sure. Okay, but. And again, I'm not trying to put you on the spot. I'm just saying that we. We looked at the off season. You knew they weren't Going to get Boba Shet because they don't want to landlock third base because of what's going on with, with Volpe. Is he going to play short?

[Alan Hahn]

Right.

[Don LaGreca]

Is Lombard Jr going to play short or is he going to play third?

[Caller/Listener]

Right.

[Don LaGreca]

So you knew they weren't going to get Pachette.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, they're trying to. They're trying to hold. They're trying to hold time for Lombard to be ready for the majors without rushing.

[Don LaGreca]

They tried to bring Soto back and we saw what happened, and I thought they bounced back nicely. Bellinger was a great acquisition for them.

[Alan Hahn]

Yes.

[Don LaGreca]

And you can make the case, as you said, during most of last year, they look like a better team without Soto because of being able to go out and get better pitching and get Bellinger, you know, so it's not for a lack of. I understand it hasn't worked, but you could be me and look at the Mets, who fundamentally change the team and get worse. And I know they're playing without Soto, but you talk, listen, the Rays have been a thorn in your side, but for the A's to come into City Field and shut the Mets down, well,

[Alan Hahn]

they just beat the Yankees, though, so the A's might be better than anybody, maybe agree.

[Don LaGreca]

But, you know, and then. And then you lose one. Nothing.

[Alan Hahn]

That. Yeah.

[Don LaGreca]

And then you go down on four pitches in the ninth inning at the end of the game, Ace closing out games of guys you never heard of. And then I've got to hear that, oh, Robert Jr. Isn't available, Alan, because at 28 years old and, you know, 15 games into the season, he needs a day of rest.

[Alan Hahn]

He needed a juice box and.

[Don LaGreca]

He needed a juice box. And they said he's allowed to pinch hit but not play the outfield because we want to give him a whole day without being in the outfield. So that means you can't pinch hit for him in the eighth inning because that means he'd have to come out and play one, one gigantic, humongous inning in the ninth inning and cripple him dead. So the frustrating thing about all of this is baseball is begging you not to watch. They are begging you not to care. They're begging you to say, wake me up in the summer when all the other sports are over, because now the NBA playoffs are going to start, the NHL playoffs are going to start. No more load management, no more rest. And. And baseball's telling you we're giving games away because we don't want to tax this guy and we're taking this pitcher out because he can't face the Go the third time through the order. And this one, you know, we're trying to get him right here in these meaningless games in April so he can go over 35. He's going to play anyway. Baseball's telling you. Why are you watching us?

[Peter Rosenberg]

We're just.

[Don LaGreca]

We're in the infancy here. We're just making the food, right? We're just. We're just warming up the pots. Come back when the food's done. That's what baseball's telling me. Because I'm watching that game yesterday, hoping the Mets win the game. Sitting here getting ready for my meeting for the. For the Devil Senators game, Watching the game, you know, and I'm living and dying with the team. It's one nothing, and the teams are tired. It's April. Stop. Yeah, we're not even playing our best players.

[Alan Hahn]

Stop.

[Don LaGreca]

Don't watch. We're not done yet. We're just getting dressed. We'll go out to the movies in a second. I'm just putting the dress on.

[Anthony Wood]

Stop.

[Don LaGreca]

I haven't even put my makeup on yet. Baseball is telling you. What are you nuts? The NBA and NHL playoffs are starting. Why are you watching us?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Look away.

[Don LaGreca]

We're not done. Tell me I'm wrong.

[Alan Hahn]

It seems like it. It seems like an extension of spring training where it's. We got to get certain guys, right? We got to get certain guys in rhythm. You know, it takes us a little while to get into our rotations and understand who we are. There is a lot of that that's going on. I can't argue with you, Don. I can't.

[Don LaGreca]

Yeah, I mean, that's all I hear. Oh, it's old, but it's.

[Alan Hahn]

That's stupid. Because the Yankees play in the dome and.

[Don LaGreca]

Listen, I'm a baseball fan of sport, but, you know, there's other things going on, man. You know, And I want to give baseball my undivided attention. But when you're not playing everybody and you constantly tell me it's too early, then what am I getting worked up for?

[Alan Hahn]

But then again, the early thing bothers me.

[Don LaGreca]

It bothers me because I thought we're supposed to break it down, but, you know, it's.

[Alan Hahn]

No, it bothers me is that we had a caller say this. Are these games that when you get to September, you go back and go see the division was there, but you lost those three games to the Rays. So now you. Your division record isn't good or not? Like, I'm sorry. I don't think you can throw games away. I don't care how long your damn season is.

[Don LaGreca]

Well, but. But. But you.

[Alan Hahn]

Especially division games, you got to value those. I understand you're playing the A, so. So I get that part. If you want to act like this is. This game means nothing to us, right? Because really, it's. It's interleague. It doesn't matter. But from a Yankee perspective, you're playing the freaking Rays, man. Like, this is division stuff. This matters.

[Don LaGreca]

This.

[Alan Hahn]

These games could matter in September.

[Don LaGreca]

They're worth two games. Yes, divisional games are important. And you know what? Try to beat the A's at home, because guess where you are. You got the Dodgers in la. Here we go. Now this no baseball season. So the Mets will probably sweep the Dodgers.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Right?

[Don LaGreca]

Because that's the way baseball is. Right?

[Caller/Listener]

Well, and that.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Well, no, no, which. Which, by the way, is what makes us look like complete lunatics for even bothering to talk about it.

[Don LaGreca]

But that you could spend two weeks

[Peter Rosenberg]

talking about something and I'm with you.

[Don LaGreca]

No, no. Both can be.

[Alan Hahn]

Help it. As a fan, I can't help.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Both are true.

[Alan Hahn]

Ask Anthony. I'm texting him and I believe he's like, aren't. Don't you have a game to cover? I'm like, yeah, I do, but this is pissing me off. Like, what is wrong with this?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Both are true. It's incredibly frustrating and ridiculous to watch this over and over again. And on the other side, how much energy can you really spend in April when they play 162 of these things?

[Don LaGreca]

I'll continue this with the talk about it coming up because, oh, I like

[Alan Hahn]

what you've done Tuesday. Tomorrow.

[Peter Rosenberg]

We'll do that Monday.

[Alan Hahn]

Oh, yeah, it's still Monday.

[Don LaGreca]

But I thought, you know why? Because I'm at the arena and the Devils play tomorrow.

[Anthony Wood]

That's right.

[Don LaGreca]

Right, because you got the NFL binge. Because, you know, God forbid if we go a day without talking about, hey, listen, you know, listen, we got from

[Alan Hahn]

the eyeballs, it's 10 days to.

[Anthony Wood]

Will the horns still go off at 5? 10, Don?

[Alan Hahn]

Oh, I hope so.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Oh, it's a great question.

[Alan Hahn]

In the meantime, let Justin in. Tom's Rivers been waiting a while, and I just wanted to sneak in one of the baseball calls. We have a ton of them to get to. So, Justin, go ahead with your thoughts.

[Caller Justin]

Thanks, guys.

[Caller/Listener]

You know, I appreciate you taking my phone call. Both of you guys make a lot of great points. Obviously, it's way too early to panic, but at the same time, Alan, I totally agree with you, as a longtime Yankee fan, it feels like a movie that we've seen three times and we're expecting a different outcome.

[Alan Hahn]

Right.

[Caller/Listener]

You know, obviously there's a lot of great pieces on this team. You have to be happy with the development of Ben Rice with Shitler, but at the same time, this team at this core just does not have those winning plays. I'm sorry. Saturday and Sunday you had three times. You knew the bump was coming. They didn't get the runner out at home or even get it out on the bases. Yep, the left side of this infield has a lot left to be desired. You better hold Bopey comes back and hits the ground running because, I mean, that's basically their answer at this point. And what we've said earlier, what you guys were talking about with Cashman, Cashman does not put all the chips in. And unfortunately you have judge, you know, with his age and next year, we don't even know what we're going to have next. Are we going to have a shortened season? Are we not going to have a season?

[Alan Hahn]

Right.

[Caller/Listener]

The Yankees need to go all in with this window they have because we've seen this over and over again. They don't make the winning plays, they don't come in clutch with the hitting. Yes, they'll get in the playoffs, but I mean, what are we doing this for? Just to make the playoffs or try to go and win a champion?

[Don LaGreca]

I don't feel like in the off season that would have made you feel better.

[Alan Hahn]

We got to play that game. I got to take a night and

[Caller/Listener]

I agree, but it's tough. I mean, even guys that were available, sometimes there's guys you don't even know that are available, that you go out there and you try, you press and you make the trade and make the move and be aggressive to make the trade. So, I mean, that's not really fair either.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, that's a hard game to play, like just again, but it's fair. Thank you.

[Don LaGreca]

Joshman's not all in.

[Alan Hahn]

Well, I'll say this.

[Don LaGreca]

Wanted to know what he wasn't all in on.

[Alan Hahn]

I'll say this. If there is a cap in baseball, I don't trust him.

[Don LaGreca]

I don't doubt. I don't.

[Alan Hahn]

How do you possibly trust him to manage a cap when he can't even manage a budget?

[Don LaGreca]

Don't you think some of the non moves might have been like, I don't want to put ourselves in a situation, oh, there's no question we're going to be in cap hell because there's going to be a cap.

[Alan Hahn]

They know it's coming.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I agree.

[Alan Hahn]

There'll be an amnesty. They'll have to get rid of some of these contracts. I think that's coming too. But you're going to tell me you trust him to manage a cap and build a winning team. A team that can win a World Series, mind you. I'm not sure I do Amazon Hub

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[Podcast Host (Don Hahn)]

Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I didn't listen to anything you just said.

[Podcast Host (Don Hahn)]

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

[O'Reilly Auto Parts Announcer]

This is.

[Peter Rosenberg]

We're gonna rub football all over ourselves today.

[Don LaGreca]

I did consume a lot of football

[Alan Hahn]

back in the day.

[Don LaGreca]

Pre kids in my underwear.

[Podcast Host (Don Hahn)]

The NFL binge.

[Alan Hahn]

You watch every game.

[Don LaGreca]

Everybody, are you watching?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Well, listen, folks, we got the NFL binge for. What is it, two more weeks? This week, next week, maybe three more total.

[Alan Hahn]

Never goes away. There's so much NFL to talk about. We'll have OTAs. We're going to have.

[Anthony Wood]

It's going to go after the draft.

[Alan Hahn]

Don not let this.

[Peter Rosenberg]

No, I know. Don fight is fighting for it.

[Alan Hahn]

I've heard him fight a lot about this NFL binge.

[Peter Rosenberg]

How much he wants.

[Alan Hahn]

He fought a ton. Just before we begin, though, we have a lot of people on hold. Want to talk Yankees and Mets, Stay where you are. We will get to you when you binge.

[Peter Rosenberg]

We're going to get there in.

[Alan Hahn]

This segment is over.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Don't worry. This isn't that long.

[Alan Hahn]

It's a short binge.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah, yeah, we're not going to be binging that long. Listen, we're going to get to some baseball. But yeah, in a few weeks here, we're going to take a little hiatus from the binge and then come back to you kind of mid summertime as

[Alan Hahn]

things start heating up.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Don, you okay with that?

[Don LaGreca]

Very.

[Peter Rosenberg]

All right.

[Don LaGreca]

I figured you would be.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Let's hear from our friend Jordan Ranon, who was on with Dan Grasse and was asked, does the Dexter Lawrence trade request impact the Giants in any immediate way?

[Jordan Ranon]

It makes it mandatory that they need to take a defensive tackle or interior defensive lineman in the first two picks. Right. And whatever that pick they get from the trade, whether it be late, first round, early, second, second plus more, you know, third, fourth to fifth combined, whatever it is. They need to take defensive linemen early in the strap and not just one, in my opinion, would have to be multiple. They still need defensive linemen. Now with Dexter Lawrence, their interior is still a concern. You take him out of there and they just plan the whole offseason if he's going to be There, there's massive holes. It's supposed to be a pretty good defensive tackle draft, just not at the top. So five is kind of out of the question. End of the first round, second, third round, that's kind of the sweet spot. That's where I think the Giants would attack defensive lineman. And if Lester leaves, you need a, basically a nose tackle type defensive lineman.

[Peter Rosenberg]

This is exactly what I was saying though. It relates to what I was saying. If we know we're, if you know, as an organization, we're going to end up finding a way to make it work with this guy. I really wish you could figure it out sooner than later because it's going to. But, but if you don't figure it out in the next nine days, you still have to get one. It affects the way you draft.

[Alan Hahn]

I still think you have to get one in the draft to begin with. Some of the top names just to, you know, again put in the back of your mind. Peter woods from Clemson.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Don, you're a fan of Peter woods from Clemson.

[Alan Hahn]

David McDonald, Ohio State. These are all guys, six, two, three plus. Like these are big human beings, but

[Don LaGreca]

none of them are what are projected to have to go early. And you wouldn't be doing this at five.

[Alan Hahn]

You, you could like McDonald's is considered a, like a plug and play starter. But he's a guy that you could, you could. No, you know, I don't think you have to though to go there. But for the problem there is he might be gone by the time you come back around on the draft. I'm just saying with Lawrence we all know it's about money. They got to figure that out. But I do think this is a draft because of where Lawrence is age wise and probably his future here, you know, whatever you sign him to is not going to be that long of a term that you're going to need one day something to replace him.

[Don LaGreca]

So.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I hear you, but again, I just wish you could figure these things out.

[Alan Hahn]

Caleb Banks is 6, 6 3, 2 7.

[Peter Rosenberg]

So am I.

[Alan Hahn]

Think about this. I'm 6, 6 2, 27. He's a hundred pounds heavier. I don't understand.

[Peter Rosenberg]

No, that's cross.

[Alan Hahn]

I don't understand.

[Peter Rosenberg]

He's another human. Bigger than you.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, yeah.

[Peter Rosenberg]

And not like a guy. I mean a small human, but not a tiny human.

[Alan Hahn]

Cali's £100.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah, a full size human.

[Alan Hahn]

If I'm carrying Cali on you.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yep.

[Alan Hahn]

That's, that's, that's, that's Caleb Banks. Crazy.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Let's go to Matt Miller. Who was on the Rich Eisen show talking about the jets draft and what to expect there.

[Matt Miller]

This team I talked to a week ago thought maybe it would be ARVL Reese because the jets are a team that's building for the future. And I'll tell you that the tide has turned on that. There's been a lot of pushback that the jets need to win right now, that Aaron Glenn needs to win. That defense was awful last year. They produce zero interceptions. When your head coach is a former NFL defensive back and you have zero interceptions, a problem. And I think part of that was their lack of inability to get to the quarterback and create some of those problematic throws that could be jumped on. Everything I'm hearing today says it's David Bailey now. We're a week out, 10 days out. A lot can change. But I think Bailey is the preferred pass rusher in that building because they need someone that can help Aaron Glenn keep his job right now. Another disappointing season. The jets are probably moving on, especially if they're in a position to draft a quarterback highly next year. More likely than not, they would want to bring in an offensive mind to work with an Arch Manning or a Dante Moore or whoever that quarterback might be at the top.

[Don LaGreca]

Did you see that was kind of making the rounds on social media that Rory McElroy has won two Masters. The last time the jets had an interception.

[Alan Hahn]

Had an interception.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That is a great stat.

[Alan Hahn]

Well, I mean.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Well, just with the timing of.

[Don LaGreca]

It works.

[Alan Hahn]

Right?

[Don LaGreca]

But.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But the way the timing of it works is it was after last year.

[Alan Hahn]

Makes it sound like a really long. Like, first of all, like, there's a lot of things that I will make fun of the jets about as a Jets fan. That one's kind of like a cherry pick.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It's just a fun one, though.

[Don LaGreca]

You went a year without an interception.

[Alan Hahn]

He won a Masters. They played one season, didn't get interception. He won another match.

[Don LaGreca]

That's it. No, but that's it.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, I get it.

[Don LaGreca]

You didn't have an interception for a whole season. 17 games.

[Alan Hahn]

Well aware.

[Don LaGreca]

Never happened.

[Alan Hahn]

Well aware of that, too.

[Don LaGreca]

Deserve it.

[Alan Hahn]

I don't deserve this at all.

[Don LaGreca]

Don't take it personally.

[Alan Hahn]

I am. I don't deserve. I deserve better. And the jets never give me better.

[Don LaGreca]

Peter, if Alan is going to take these hits that the jets are taken, he's not going to be with us much longer.

[Alan Hahn]

No, this is.

[Peter Rosenberg]

This is very.

[Alan Hahn]

This is getting to a point now where it really. It. It's. It might be time to call it.

[Don LaGreca]

Wait, We Call what?

[Alan Hahn]

It might be time.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Might be time for him is what he's saying.

[Alan Hahn]

It might be time to call it.

[Peter Rosenberg]

All right, last thing here, guys. Mel Kuiper was on. On sportsmanlike.

[Alan Hahn]

He was.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I heard it.

[Alan Hahn]

We heard it.

[Peter Rosenberg]

No, I heard it. It was not.

[Alan Hahn]

Oh, yeah, I heard it.

[Don LaGreca]

Done good.

[Alan Hahn]

He could see that.

[Peter Rosenberg]

He could see the Ravens drafting a quarterback next year if Lamar disappointed them.

[Don LaGreca]

This season doesn't unfold and doesn't work out to the way they hoped, which is playoff, super bowl, and Lamar doesn't

[Alan Hahn]

get to the playoffs and play well, which he hasn't in his career, in

[Don LaGreca]

the playoffs, hasn't gone his way, then

[Alan Hahn]

I think they're going to start looking

[Don LaGreca]

and next year's the year.

[Alan Hahn]

That's what he needs to do. He's good in the playoffs and get

[Don LaGreca]

this team to a Super Bowl.

[Alan Hahn]

I love Mel, honestly. I love Mel. I love his energy. I love everything about what he's built in his career. He has reached the point, fellas, where it's like, we're 10 days before the draft. I've run out of stuff. Well, I've run out of material.

[Don LaGreca]

That's why I do it.

[Alan Hahn]

And I'm just going to. I'm. I'm going to say something like this, that it's like, these are one of those. Like, it could happen. It could happen. But who in there, right? It's Baltimore. He's in his prime. Multiple MVP quarterback in his prime.

[Matt Miller]

Right.

[Alan Hahn]

And the Ravens are going to go, you know what? We're going to go back in the draft. We're going to take somebody because we're done with this guy.

[Don LaGreca]

You're going to trade him to find somebody that could help him.

[Alan Hahn]

Well, they got. They just. They just got a new coach who's supposed to be doing that, Right.

[Don LaGreca]

This is why I get frustrated, because this is like in the cause. That's how good Mel Kuiper is. Mel Kuiper is as good at draft analysis and knowing these players coming out of college. Yeah, that's Larry Bird hitting threes.

[Alan Hahn]

Wow.

[Don LaGreca]

But at the all star game in 1987, when he ran out of balls, they didn't start putting bricks, right? And bowling balls up and say, here, hit threes with this.

[Peter Rosenberg]

So you're saying there's nothing.

[Don LaGreca]

They ran out of stuff for Mel, so now we're just throwing anything at things that begin with D. Oh, well, that's not.

[Alan Hahn]

That's a choice.

[Don LaGreca]

Well, a draft, you know. Oh, draft.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Well, yeah, no, it's. I don't see that Lamar.

[Alan Hahn]

No letter, but. But draft of a Z.

[Don LaGreca]

But that. The draft doesn't begin with Z.

[Alan Hahn]

No, but it makes you sleep.

[Don LaGreca]

You're a filth bag.

[Alan Hahn]

Well, I. I'm sorry, when you said that Jacob looked right at me and I looked right at him and we both knew.

[Don LaGreca]

Well, it could only be you knew

[Alan Hahn]

what you were doing.

[Don LaGreca]

But. And I, I knew exactly what I was doing. And that's why I fired off draft. So I covered myself.

[Alan Hahn]

Yes, you did.

[Don LaGreca]

Hey, look, Recka, open your mouth.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You're a filth bag.

[Don LaGreca]

Well, you're a sex star filth bag.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That'll do it for the NFL binge. Yeah, I told you to be quick.

[Alan Hahn]

That's.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That's in and out.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, in and out.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That easy. You're a filthy bag.

[Don LaGreca]

You're a sex star filth bag.

[Alan Hahn]

It's a good, good few minutes there on, on the NFL draft coming up days. By the way, everybody, I just need the draft.

[Don LaGreca]

I need as much as I need a Knicks playoff game.

[Alan Hahn]

I'm looking forward.

[Don LaGreca]

Thank God the draft's not on.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Prom.

[Alan Hahn]

I just hope the Knicks aren't playing.

[Peter Rosenberg]

By the way, Don, the draft could be on in my basement. Same result.

[Alan Hahn]

Might not even.

[Don LaGreca]

I don't want to get lumped in with that.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Oh, come on.

[Anthony Wood]

I'm going to watch Rick and Dave.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That's what, that's what I'm saying.

[Don LaGreca]

We're going to be here.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Thank you, Anthony, for making it make sense.

[Alan Hahn]

We're going to be here. We're going to crash the couch.

[Caller/Listener]

I'll be here.

[Anthony Wood]

I'll be here.

[Alan Hahn]

Anyway, we're going to make it awkward and uncomfortable for them, right?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Hey, guys.

[Alan Hahn]

Hey, you got some Calandras. Hi, guys.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Hi guys.

[Alan Hahn]

Oh, speaking of which, let's go to Jonathan in la.

[Don LaGreca]

Sure.

[Alan Hahn]

Jonathan.

[Caller/Listener]

Hi, guys.

[Peter Rosenberg]

What's up?

[Don LaGreca]

Jonathan?

[Caller/Listener]

Fellas, all these losses are, you know, turning Yankee fans pretty ticked off. And I mean, even though I hate them and my son really hates them, by the way, the Dodgers, they were totally right two years ago and it's still the same thing. Just put the ball in play and they'll beat them. That's what happened on Saturday.

[Caller Justin]

It's just.

[Caller/Listener]

And you know, it's funny, Alan, on your ig, I'm not sure if you go in. I sent you a DM 13 years ago yesterday. A beautiful triple play with CC sub at the end with a 40 year old UCLIS in third base. Oh my God, they did a great triple play. Kevin Euclid, this team, nowhere near. They don't get Nowhere near that. No one knew. And that's how they're going to get beat.

[Alan Hahn]

I mean, you're so right, like, but it's so funny that, you know, Kevin Youkilis as a Yankee. That is a strange poll, but I love it, though. But it's an example of, and I know Don just keeps saying it, that things have changed. Yes, bodies have changed, but that's why I stop getting mad at players. Fans get so. You get so caught up in the guy in the jersey and you're blaming him and you're calling him a bum, and it's like, do you understand that he's here because of somebody else that's been here forever? And maybe that's the problem. You suck at picking players. How about that? But we don't do that, though, because Don's right. Every year there's good enough, but at some point, you got to break through and actually win. When you have this much regular season success, at some point, everybody's just going, when the hell are they? Like, you know, Yankees have become Susan Lucci. How did they become?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Well, that would be if Susan Lucci had already won, like 10, you know, 10 times prior or 27 times.

[Alan Hahn]

No, I'm talking about the re. The Brian Cashman yet. But you are every year nominated every year. It's just everybody acknowledges it's really good, but it's never good enough.

[Don LaGreca]

Every year, 16 straight.

[Alan Hahn]

Yes.

[Don LaGreca]

I'm surprised you're still with us.

[Alan Hahn]

You know what? Might be time to go on 40. Might be time to call this one, too.

[Don LaGreca]

So you're out on the Yankees and the Jets.

[Alan Hahn]

I might be out on all of this.

[Don LaGreca]

You're not out on the Islanders today. I don't know what you're thinking.

[Alan Hahn]

We got to talk about that. That'll be coming up as well, because there's. I have a million questions for you, Don, our hockey expert, about what the hell happened over this past week with that team and that franchise.

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[Alan Hahn]

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[Alan Hahn]

Just one part that makes O'Reilly stand apart. The professional parts people.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Oh, oh, oh, oh.

[Alan Hahn]

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[Podcast Host (Don Hahn)]

Thanks for listening to the Don Han and Rosenberg podcast.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I didn't listen to anything you just said.

[Podcast Host (Don Hahn)]

Catch this show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get. Your podcasts

[Alan Hahn]

Blinded me with Silent science. Or is this a. A hip hop?

[Peter Rosenberg]

This is Mobb Deep got it twisted.

[Alan Hahn]

This is Mobb Deep.

[Don LaGreca]

Yeah, this isn't Thomas.

[Alan Hahn]

No, I obviously. But I. I'm never heard this. This shows you that I have holes in my. Yeah, my, my.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It's a little later. It's later. It's later. Mob Deep. It's like oh, four.

[Alan Hahn]

Oh, that's out of my realm. Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It's a pretty big song.

[Alan Hahn]

I'm already a dad.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You mean the beginning. Play the beginning.

[Alan Hahn]

Well, the beginning was very. Yeah, that's the beginning of. Yeah, Science.

[Don LaGreca]

Thomas Dolby.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Oh, it's from the Thomas Dolby. That's how they. And then it just. They take. It's good.

[Alan Hahn]

And then they just take the hook. I love the beat.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You like the song? It's a good song.

[Alan Hahn]

I bet. I'm Deep. It's got it.

[Don LaGreca]

Yeah.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You'll enjoy it.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, I hated that. I outgrew for a while hip hop because all I was listening to was Disney princess songs back then.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Well, that's timeline.

[Alan Hahn]

Emma was two. That's a wheelhouse.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Emma was born what year?

[Alan Hahn]

In 2001.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Oh, yeah, when you got old quick. It comes at you fast.

[Alan Hahn]

It. You'll. You'll learn because there's certain things. You got two. Two little toddlers in your car. You're not, you know, you're not bumping like, you know, House of pain. You can't do that.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I gotta tell you, Maya, I'm not kidding. One of her. I play a lot of. A lot of different commercial music, but she loves. And Natalie discovered this, not me.

[Alan Hahn]

All right?

[Peter Rosenberg]

She loves Midnight Marauders. The vibe of the album. She rests to it like it's a.

[Alan Hahn]

The jazz is good.

[Peter Rosenberg]

As you found out last week. Unfortunately. Don hates it with passion.

[Alan Hahn]

No, he doesn't. He'll like this, but guaranteed, he didn't listen to it all weekend.

[Peter Rosenberg]

No, he didn't listen to Tribe.

[Alan Hahn]

No, we talked about it.

[Peter Rosenberg]

He's friends with an icon. He's friends with a legend.

[Alan Hahn]

This game Happy Birthday. But I don't listen to music.

[Don LaGreca]

There wasn't a lot of time.

[Peter Rosenberg]

What about on the travel? You didn't have any time on the plane.

[Alan Hahn]

They're on the old headset, very busy.

[Don LaGreca]

Do you.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You don't even have headphones with you, do you?

[Don LaGreca]

Of course I do.

[Peter Rosenberg]

What do you. What kind of headphones you got?

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah, what do you got?

[Don LaGreca]

I'm wearing them right now. The headphones I have now. Oh, boy. They're Sony's. We have to help. But then what I wear on the plane.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But hold on. But what do you connect them to?

[Alan Hahn]

Those are wired.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah, There's a wire coming in.

[Don LaGreca]

Oh, sure. And bother with all that nutty, nutty Bluetooth garbage.

[Alan Hahn]

Silly Bluetooth.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I will say Bluetooth is a flawed technology, but it gets the job done on a plane. What are you. So what are you connecting that to? All you can do is iPad. You run it to the audio out of your iPad.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah.

[Don LaGreca]

Why are you laughing at me? I got a little adapter. You plug it in to where you charge the iPad.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Oh, you do have. You have the adapter, though.

[Don LaGreca]

Yeah. All right. Sorry. With me, everywhere I go.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You know what?

[Alan Hahn]

It's Don. The Don's the guy I give credit

[Peter Rosenberg]

where credit is dim.

[Alan Hahn]

I know. Holding the iPad. This is music.

[Don LaGreca]

Exactly.

[Alan Hahn]

Like, where to put it.

[Don LaGreca]

So I don't lose it because it's kind of small. Yeah.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That adapter is a major piece. And you just keep it right there. And then you turn around and use these headphones for the radio also.

[Don LaGreca]

Yeah.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Wow. You know what to use?

[Alan Hahn]

I don't know whether it's like every six year old. I know. IPad, headphones, plug. That's all you need.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You know, throw it. Fires up Bluey. He's locked in.

[Don LaGreca]

Well, I was. I'm replaying Vice City.

[Alan Hahn]

Oh, well, see, this is where.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Now you want to know where he doesn't make sense. I know you want to know. The piece of the deck makes sense. No sense.

[Podcast Host (Don Hahn)]

No.

[Peter Rosenberg]

How does Anthony.

[Don LaGreca]

How.

[Anthony Wood]

Because it's just Don, like, what are you doing on your iPad? I'm playing Vice City. When he did that the first time,

[Alan Hahn]

I was like, all right, that makes sense.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It wouldn't make sense for anyone else. Why everything else he's saying is screaming 75, but then he's doing something else that's like 32.

[Alan Hahn]

Wouldn't he be the guy on the iPad playing solitaire while listening to music?

[Peter Rosenberg]

If anything.

[Alan Hahn]

If any.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Or Tetris Snoop.

[Alan Hahn]

Or Blackjack.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Alan Hahn]

Or Tetra Strike.

[Don LaGreca]

I loved Vice City when it came out like, oh, 2 mm. And I was like. A couple of years ago, I found there was an app and you can play it authentically. Play it as if I was playing it on like, God bless now and you're still a.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Vice City is the kind of game, you could still keep playing it for years and years and years.

[Alan Hahn]

You.

[Don LaGreca]

You do all of the missions, right? You accomplish everything. You get to 100% and you do it again.

[Anthony Wood]

The plots vaguely change in Grand Theft Auto. They're all pretty selfish.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Elvis. Okay, I don't know. I don't know GTA like that.

[Anthony Wood]

Donald.

[Caller/Listener]

Donald.

[Anthony Wood]

Complete Vice City again. Before GTA 7, you would have thought that he.

[Peter Rosenberg]

If he's playing a game, it's Pong, you know, it's Frogger, it's Centipede, but no gta. This is why you never know with Donald Greco.

[Don LaGreca]

No way to know the two big video games. Non sports is Vice City and Half Life.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Half Life, man.

[Don LaGreca]

I don't know if Jacob or Anthony are aware of those.

[Amazon Hub Delivery Announcer]

Look up.

[O'Reilly Auto Parts Announcer]

I've played Half Life.

[Alan Hahn]

It's pretty fun. Half Life two even. You know what? We've only got a minute here. We got tons of calls to get to.

[Peter Rosenberg]

We gotta get to these. No, you have time for one.

[Alan Hahn]

I want to take one. And let's. Let's go. Out of the box. Let's take Glenn and Smithtown, little Islanders here. Since I was complaining about them before Glenn, what the hell happened? I looked up, they were in second place. Things were looking good. We had the next Bobby Orr, a goalie that could steal a playoff series. And then I got a little busy and I'm like, all right, let me check in on the Islanders. And now I'm like, wait, they didn't make the playoffs.

[Caller Justin]

How you got to check in on me? Because I'm hurting my man. The only thing I got is the Mets. The Mets collapsed. Year after year has prepared me for this, but it still hurts because I didn't expect this. I think Sorokin was just so good. He was covering up so many of the defensive mistakes. Schaefer was so good. Same type of thing they had their younger players were playing shabby, was playing a role. They had Marshall Warren on defense. Not big time names, but guys that could move the puck. And then they just traded for Carson, Susie, like, come on. And then I talked to you before the deadline about trading Tajo and Lee. I never thought they were that good, but they are a playoff team. It was a complete collapse to give up one or two. And a prospect for a 34, 35 year old Braden Shen that they were dying to get rid of because of the salary. I don't understand that.

[Don LaGreca]

I know you didn't give up a lot for. I could have told you that wasn't going to work. And he ends up being a healthy scratch yesterday. And he'll be.

[Caller Justin]

They'll buy him out. But I think there's, you know, can we please get somebody that can score in the power play?

[Alan Hahn]

Well, I mean, put the puck in the net would be nice. Yes.

[Don LaGreca]

You got to realize Sorokin still is going to win the Vesna. That's how good he is. But you left him out to dry.

[Caller Justin]

Exactly. And how could Patrick Watt do that as a goalie? How could he let Sorokin have this amazing year and just hang him out to dry? And the culture has to change. You know, I look back to that Florida trade when they traded Huberdeaux in a package for Tkachuk. I think I'm ready to move on from Barzell, guys. I mean, he's a great player, don't get me wrong. But he's just not enough anymore. And I don't know if you can pry Brady Tkachuk from Ottawa. I don't know why they would give him up. But if he's a guy that wants to make a move, they have to make a Huber Doe type of trade, you know, to change his franchise.

[Alan Hahn]

It's you or the Rangers where somebody's got to do it. Glenn. But I'll tell you what, it's. It's look. And thank you, Glenn. Always good to hear from you. It is for me, I always say this, your best player has to have some type of impact on the culture. And I can't say. And I mean, look, Schaefer's going to be the best player in another year probably right. But he's also still very young. He has changed the culture there with Barzell. He's been here a long time. He's been very talented. They have had to reprimand him a few times. But it is. The question is like he's a, he's an all star, but when does he. When does he give you the bump that a star player gives a team in certain situations? And that's a fair question. I'm not blaming it on anybody.

[Don LaGreca]

I know, but.

[Alan Hahn]

But I do wonder that about him.

[Don LaGreca]

He's so good. But for what Glenn said it right. They should still make the playoffs with what they have.

[Alan Hahn]

Absolutely.

[Don LaGreca]

You can't tell me that Philadelphia is that much better.

[Alan Hahn]

No, they couldn't score.

[Don LaGreca]

Don Phillips and Washington are going to finish ahead of the Islanders. Not going to make it. Philadelphia is going to make. You take a look at Philadelphia's roster. They've got some nice players. Kaden, he's a good player. You know, I'm not in love with their goaltending. You're telling me that they're that much better, that they're going to go in as the third place team in the Metropolitan Division and the Islanders are going to be out of it.

[Alan Hahn]

It doesn't make sense on paper. They have a new coach and you know, for Darsh this for the first year, he's made a lot of changes on the periphery of the roster. I'm curious to see what he can do. Like exactly what Glenn said. What can you do now to really put something into this team that's desperate because this is enough years now that we've seen this group has. They find ways to give it back. And even with Schaefer and as good as he is and as impactful as he's been and Sorokin, as good as he is, there's still something else in that team that just lets go of the rope at the worst time. That just isn't good enough and that's got to get better.

[Don LaGreca]

Brady Kachuk deadline. There's going to be a lot of Ottawa made the playoffs this year but

[Alan Hahn]

it's who has more to offer. As we know. That's how that goes.

[Don LaGreca]

He brought up the Huberto. That was a significant piece to give up for Matthew Tkachuk. You're going to have to give it's going to have to take more than Barzell. Like if the Rangers want them, you're talking about having to give up something very significant.

[Alan Hahn]

High first round.

[Don LaGreca]

What's that?

[Alan Hahn]

And the high first round pick too.

[Don LaGreca]

Probably because Brady Kachuk is that.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah.

[Don LaGreca]

First of all, he's marquee and he's a, he's a beast. The modern NHL where you can't knock him off the puck and he's highly skilled.

[Alan Hahn]

Yeah.

[Don LaGreca]

And he's box office.

[Alan Hahn]

Yes.

[Don LaGreca]

Like he, he will be your best player. He will conduct himself in that way. He will, he would be if he came to New York, any of the three teams.

[Alan Hahn]

No, I, I, you could see him and I would think for him, if you want to go anywhere, it would be the Rangers because of the marquee you're talking about and how big that it would be for him. And then when you think about his brother's got two in a pocket already. Cups wise for Brady Tkachuk. Wherever you go, it's got to be a team that I know I can win a cup with because that's all that's left. Right. That's really what you're looking for. Hey guys, the Michael K Show Reverse Remote is coming up on April 23rd. It's presented by Floor and Decor, a full show takeover with everything you need to upgrade your home while we break down everything happening in New York sports. And if you're in Brooklyn, stop by Floor and Decor's flagship store at 850 Third Ave because while we're on the air, there's plenty happening in store. The Michael K Show Reverse Remote presented by ndecor.

[Podcast Host (Don Hahn)]

Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[Alan Hahn]

I don't want to know how the sausage is made, man. I just want to know.

[Podcast Host (Don Hahn)]

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.

[O'Reilly Auto Parts Announcer]

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