Hour 2: HoF & NFL Binge

Summary

Podcast Summary: Don, Hahn & Rosenberg – Hour 2: HoF & NFL Binge

Release Date: July 28, 2025

In this engaging episode of the "Don, Hahn & Rosenberg" podcast, hosts Don La Greca, Alan Hahn, and Peter Rosenberg delve deep into the recent Baseball Hall of Fame inductions and analyze the current state of the New York Yankees. Additionally, they explore the influence of analytics in modern baseball and touch upon various NFL topics, providing listeners with a comprehensive discussion filled with insights and spirited debate.

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1. Critique of Hall of Fame Inductions

Don Hahn initiates the conversation by addressing a caller's concern about Cece Caravaggio’s (referred to as "Cece") induction into the Hall of Fame, emphasizing the need for greater promotion and recognition.

Don Hahn [00:52]: "I just wish there was more attention to [Cece's] induction. It just flew under the radar."

The hosts discuss the scheduling conflicts that arise when Hall of Fame ceremonies coincide with ongoing games across different sports.

Peter Rosenberg [02:31]: "Should the induction ceremonies be scheduled on nights when most stadiums are dark to avoid overlapping with games?"

Don Hahn reminisces about past Hall of Fame events, highlighting how ceremonies once conflicted with game schedules, leading to missed opportunities for fans to fully engage with the honors being bestowed.

Don Hahn [04:24]: "When I went for LT's induction, it was right in front of the museum on the lawn, but as it grew, it moved to the stadium, causing important games to be missed."

The conversation underscores the balance needed between celebrating sporting legends and maintaining the ongoing sports calendar, suggesting off-season or alternative venues for such prestigious events.

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2. The Yankees' Current Performance and Analytics Debate

A significant portion of the discussion centers around the New York Yankees' performance, their reliance on analytics, and its impact on the game's entertainment value.

Caller Ryan expresses concerns about the Yankees' strategy, particularly focusing on the limitations posed by star players like Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton.

Caller Ryan [10:00]: "The Yankees are stuck with Judge and Stanton, and it’s affecting their championship potential."

Don Hahn and Peter Rosenberg debate the over-reliance on analytics, arguing that while the system is effective for winning, it may reduce the game's unpredictability and entertainment value.

Peter Rosenberg [14:45]: "Watching the Yankees win doesn't inspire me the way they used to. It feels less engaging."

Don Hahn [16:29]: "If everybody's using the same analytic strategies, it's the nuanced changes that will decide the winners."

The hosts highlight the tension between traditional play styles and modern, data-driven approaches, questioning whether the pursuit of optimization in gameplay detracts from the sport's intrinsic excitement.

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3. Listener Engagement: Fans’ Perspectives on Team Strategies

Caller Adam voices frustration over the Yankees' strategic decisions, paralleling it with the NBA's overuse of three-point shots, which some fans find less entertaining.

Caller Adam [17:19]: "The Yankees’ analytic-driven playstyle is so mind-numbing. It’s similar to how the Knicks used to win games but wasn’t fun to watch."

This segment underscores a broader debate within sports communities about the balance between winning strategies and maintaining the sport’s entertainment aspect.

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4. NFL Discussions: Contract Negotiations and Team Dynamics

Shifting gears, the podcast delves into NFL-related topics, focusing on contract negotiations and team dynamics within the Dallas Cowboys.

Anthony Pusick, a special guest, discusses Micah Parsons' (Dallas Cowboys linebacker) contract situation, highlighting the complexities and fan reactions surrounding high-profile negotiations.

Anthony Pusick [26:29]: "Jerry Jones may not love Micah Parsons because he still doesn't have a contract."

The hosts explore the implications of such negotiations on team performance and player morale, drawing parallels to other sports discussions about compensation and player value.

Peter Rosenberg [32:14]: "Players want to be the highest paid, but it often leads to inflated contracts that don't necessarily correlate with performance."

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5. Offensive and Defensive Balance in Team Strategy

Returning to baseball, a caller named Tessa shares her optimistic yet realistic expectations for her favorite team, the Giants, emphasizing the importance of balancing offense and defense.

Caller Tessa [41:04]: "To be a true contender, it takes balance across the board—hitting, pitching, and defense. Last year's defensive shortcomings were evident in the World Series."

Don Hahn and Peter Rosenberg discuss the significance of defensive strategies and player performance in achieving team success, stressing that while analytics offer valuable insights, they must be complemented by dynamic and adaptable gameplay.

Don Hahn [44:00]: "If you can get wins against top teams like Philly and Dallas, coupled with strong performances from key players like Carter, you can achieve seven wins this season."

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6. Closing Remarks and Future Episodes Tease

As the episode wraps up, the hosts tease upcoming segments, including further discussions on football, interviews with notable NFL personalities like Jameis Winston and Jackson Dart, and previews of Yankees and Mets performances.

Don Hahn [47:16]: "At six o'clock, we’ll have Anthony Pusick back for more football discussions, including insights from Jameis Winston and Jackson Dart."

The episode concludes with a light-hearted exchange about classic songs and memories, maintaining the podcast’s signature blend of sports analysis and relatable banter.

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Notable Quotes:

• Don Hahn [00:52]: "I just wish there was more attention to [Cece's] induction. It just flew under the radar."

• Peter Rosenberg [14:45]: "Watching the Yankees win doesn't inspire me the way they used to. It feels less engaging."

• Anthony Pusick [26:29]: "Jerry Jones may not love Micah Parsons because he still doesn't have a contract."

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This episode of "Don, Hahn & Rosenberg" provides a thorough examination of current issues in baseball and football, blending expert analysis with passionate fan perspectives. Whether discussing the nuances of Hall of Fame inductions, the impact of analytics on team performance, or the complexities of NFL contracts, the hosts deliver a compelling narrative that resonates with both avid sports enthusiasts and casual listeners alike.

Transcript

[Don Hahn]

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[Peter Rosenberg]

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[Peter Rosenberg]

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[Don Hahn]

That sounds like heaven to me.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Listen live weekday afternoon starting at 3 on 8 80, ESPN, the ESPN New York app, and your smart speakers 401.

[Don Hahn]

Of the big city. Don Hahn and Rosenberg. Now, maybe this is me. I'm not gonna put it past it just being me.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Okay?

[Don Hahn]

But we had the caller talk about cece being inducted into the hall of Fame, right? Like, could there be more promotion around it? Like, it just felt like it flew under the radar to me. Now I'm a busy guy, you know, so it might have just been right in my face and I just didn't pay attention to it. But, like, when it was all over my timeline, you know, I know the timeline, but I'm just saying, like, I just wish it was more excess. I just wish it was just more attention to.

[Peter Rosenberg]

What were you looking for?

[Don Hahn]

Well, here's what I'm looking for, and this is what I like to see. Baseball. Do you do it during the off season or do it when there's nothing going on? You know, when you do it all star.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Well, you can't do it All Star weekend.

[Don Hahn]

Well, you can't do it all Star Weekend. Or unless you carved out the NBA's.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Like the basketball hall of Fame, they do it like a month before the season. Like, there's any training camp. It's usually done, like, September.

[Don Hahn]

Right? And football does the same thing. Football does have their game.

[Peter Rosenberg]

They're going now, first the hall of fame, 10 days. Yeah.

[Don Hahn]

And, you know, hockey does it during the season. But what hockey does is that they have the big get together on Saturday around a Leaf game because it's in Toronto, and the Leafs always play on that Saturday, and then they'll do it on that Monday. And there's usually no real games going on, nothing else happening. I just wish, because I remember when I was a kid watching Met games, Ralph Kiner would not be there because, like, Ralph Kiner wouldn't call that Sunday game because he'd be in Cooperstown because it the future hall of Fame. The past hall of Famers all go. It's like everybody's playing on Sunday. Like CC Sabathia should be introduced to hall of Famer. Not going up against the Yankees.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Should be. It should be on a, on a, on a night where all the stadiums are dark and whoever's going to play that day plays a day game. Is that what you're saying? That, that I can just do it?

[Don Hahn]

Yeah. Do it where like does it need.

[Peter Rosenberg]

To be during the day too? Because it's like a million degrees up.

[Don Hahn]

And it ended up raining.

[Peter Rosenberg]

So they.

[Don Hahn]

I know, it was all over the timeline. It just seems odd. You got games going on while it's happening.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I agree with that because listen, we're very smart. It should be a standalone.

[Don Hahn]

And listen, it's one baseball game. I get it. So you can miss a baseball game. There's 162 of them. But ideally if you're a die hard Yankee fan, the Yankees are home against the Phillies and a significant Yankee who is going into hall of Fame as a Yankee is being inducted just a few hours drive north and I'm going to have to miss a Yankee home game to go see it. Like I just think that at least.

[Peter Rosenberg]

No, I get that, that, that you're right about this is here the story Ravage told last night. Bob Melvin asked to do the pre game. You know how all the managers have their pregame. You sit down with the media. He's like, can you guys give me a few minutes? Because he wanted to watch Ichiro's speech. You know they were together in Seattle and so they, they gave him that time. They just said okay, fine. But that made me think like yeah, he's preparing for a game and meanwhile these speeches are going on and no one's all like the whole sport should be locked in.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah. I think you're locked into it. And that's why football does it. Right. It's technically it is during training camp but like and usually when there are maybe a couple of the same team will play in the hall of Fame game. But it's still.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Here's why you can't do it because it does make sense to do it during spring training. Perfect time to do it. The only problem is Cooperstown in February or March.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Not exactly the place you want to be outside.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah. But then, then there's got to build.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Like a place to do what's inside.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Because.

[Don Hahn]

Because, you know, I remember the great thing about. Because they expanded it out. But like what I, because I've gone to Canton, A couple, Sure. I went when LT was inducted, and I also went when. When Harry Carson got. And Harry Carson got inducted the same time. It was Michael Irvin and Rayfield Wright. So my brother knew one of the Cowboy executives, Gil Brandt, of course. So I got invited to the Cowboy party. So I was in the Cowboy tent and the Temptations performed. It was really amazing. I know I'm a Giant fan, but it was really cool to be here anyway, so they used to have it when I went for LT, which is in 99, I think it was in the front of the building in Canton, right in front of the museum, on the lawn. Then it got so big that they moved it into the actual stadium, Fawcett, I think it's called Fawcett Field or Fawcett Stadium is where they play the game. Because so many people were going and it was. That's what you want, man. I know a lot of Yankee fans went up there, but again, it comes at the expense of a. A pretty important game. And. And like you say, you can't do it in February unless you rent it out like a huge hall or something. Again, I don't know what arena would be close to there. I know they want to do it in Cooperstown. I get it. But is there something close by?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Couldn't build a. An auditorium type situation.

[Don Hahn]

No, I just. I just.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I just wanted outdoors because the sports.

[Don Hahn]

Played outdoors, I guess. But then you run in the risk. All these people drive up to Cooperstown. Cooperstown is amazing, don't get me wrong. But it's a little town, you know that. And everybody descends on it during that particular time. It's really cool summer, so it's easy to do it, but it is practical. And I think these players should be celebrated and have their moments that are having to go up against other baseball.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It's a really good point. No, it is true. The only problem is when the baseball season before it begins and after it's over in Cooperstown, it's cold and you don't know what you're getting weather wise.

[Don Hahn]

But I guess you could do it that Thursday before the season starts up again after the All Star Game. Because remember, some teams used to play on Thursday, then they gave you off until Friday.

[Peter Rosenberg]

No, there's your day, probably there's your day. But if you have all the dignitaries at the All Star Game, which you usually do, have some of your past greats there, right? And now you got to fly everybody or everybody's got. Now go to Cooperstown like that.

[Don Hahn]

What's Happening now. Games are going on.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah. It's just a lot.

[Don Hahn]

No, I'm sorry.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But you make a good point though. It is.

[Don Hahn]

I just, I would like to going.

[Peter Rosenberg]

On while this is happening. It's kind of sad, especially if you miss the Ichiro speech. Like he was, he was good.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Put on a show.

[Don Hahn]

It would. It just. I. I just think that there is that disconnect between the past and the present that I think exists because of that reason. The younger audience is all engaged in watching their team play and they're missing something. That's really cool.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Don Hahn]

And those tweeners people that saw. I saw CeCe's about they play. If I'm a Yankee fan, I'd like, want to. I want to see a speech. I'd want to be engaged in that.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Well, think about it.

[Don Hahn]

If it's going up against the game, I'm watching the age.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Like the, the Anthony Pusig age.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Where the late 90s teams are a bit of a memory. Like, you know, like just. That's just the beginning. It was like for me, the players from the late 70s, Yankee, the, the back to back World Series teams, I know of them, but they like that they weren't my guys. Right. Like that was just. I was a kid.

[Don Hahn]

Right.

[Peter Rosenberg]

So it was really more of just about the team guys.

[Don Hahn]

The guys that you saw win in 77 and 78, they were like old men. They. They were playing before you were born.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yes.

[Don Hahn]

And fans of them. But they were like your dad. Yeah, but watching your dad play.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I knew Munson and obviously Reggie and all like, like I knew all those guys Gossage all that stuff. Guidry, you know, I knew them all. I knew who they were.

[Don Hahn]

But to see a guy get drafted or come to your team, watch their whole careers.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Exactly. That was something a little extra about those 90s. When those guys had the number retired. The stuff at Yankee State, like that felt personal because you lived it a little more. A little more genuine. So I think for cece, that was like for that next generation of fans who were, you know, they were more aware in the 2000s than they were in the 90s. Cece, that's your guy.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah, yeah. For a guy like Anthony Pusick, I would think cece is your guy. Right. I mean it's like that's more trade.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Bigger emotion for you than anybody else.

[Anthony Pusick]

That's a championship. I remember.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah, exactly.

[Anthony Pusick]

But Jeter getting in was cool, obviously.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah, well, Jeter is the one connector of the two generations.

[Don Hahn]

Well, Jeter, Jeter Is probably what. What to you what Tom Seaver is to me. That's very good because Seaver's Rookie year was 67. That was a year before I was born. But I remember seeing Seaver play. But I wasn't alive when he made.

[Peter Rosenberg]

His major league debut.

[Don Hahn]

He, Anthony was one when Derek Jeter made his major league debut. But cece, that's right in his wheelhouse. So I always loved Tom Seaver, but I'm more connected with the Hernandez and Carter, the 86 Mets because I was all in with all those guys. I remember their entire careers. I remember when they got called up when they became Mets. I didn't have to have my dad tell me the story about them as a precursor to making me watch the team. So it's a little different.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Good point though. About, about hall of Fame. It's something that they should definitely baseball again. Of the million things on the plate of Rob Manfred, although I guess he's not in charge of the hall of Fame. Right.

[Don Hahn]

There's no hall of Fame's in charge.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But I'm sure committee on it.

[Don Hahn]

You kind of need baseball to be on board. So I'm sure they could work something out.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Don Hahn]

Javier and Queen John ESPN New York what's up, Javi?

[Caller]

Hey, what's going on, fellas? Thanks for taking the call as always and first, first and foremost, if I may, just want to wish my dad a very Happy birthday. He's 88 years old.

[Don Hahn]

Oh, wow.

[Caller]

He's been following the. He's been following the Yank about 70 years. And funny thing is, when I talked to him this morning, I wish him happy birthday. First thing he wanted to do is talk Yanks and complain about what they're doing wrong. Some things never change.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Ryan, happy birthday to him.

[Don Hahn]

Yes.

[Caller]

Thanks, dad. Yeah, so happy birthday, Dad. I love you. But like, you know, it's interesting, like I feel like the position the Yankees are in right now, you know, having and having a superstar having the potential of two Cy Young caliber pitchers next year, any other team in the league, like 90% of the league, they'd be happy to like be like, all right, next year we got this. But because it's the Yankees, like it's the toughest pill to swallow in the world to already look at next year like this situation. Even before the Judge injury, I didn't think they were championship caliber. I think they were getting over the hump from last year. And to be honest with you, the best case scenario is Judge is going to start to slowly become more of a dh. Or they're going to have to figure out how he doesn't have to throw the ball very much moving forward and withstand Stanton as your, as your dh. Like, this guy can't play. I saw a video that said, you know, Stanton getting ready to play in the field and it was Frank the Tank running down the hallway of a hotel. And I almost laughed, but I, I cried instead because that's the reality that the Yankees are in right now. Stanton can't play anywhere. And if it's Judge or Stanton as the dh, it's going to be judged. So you are, you are, you are hog tied with Stanton and I don't think he's movable. Like, I don't see a market for him. Like that's.

[Don Hahn]

No, he's.

[Caller]

That's what looking to the future.

[Don Hahn]

Like they are stuck. Figure out they are stuck and I.

[Caller]

Don'T know, they're a bad spot and.

[Don Hahn]

You don't want to put him in the field. If you put him in the field, he's not going to be able to perform there. And also you're going to have to sit a Dominguez or a Grisham. That's not exactly where you want to be either. So it's tough. I thought Michael brought up some really good points at the end, at the beginning of his show today, just how much this injury may actually affect how the Yankees are going to look moving forward even when he comes off the illness. Let's go to Will, North Carolina. You're on espn New York.

[Caller]

Hey, what's going on guys? You are a breath of fresh air, brother. I have been, I've been on that train with the, with the way the Yankees have been playing. And you know what, what yearning for is what the Yankees were back in 99, 2000, where they had players that knew what to do, that they weren't looking to hit the ball over the wall, that it's not about launch angle and all this other garbage. I really cannot stand the. The. What makes it boring is the analytics. I'm going to pick on Boltino a little bit, Anthony Volpe, because even though I love him to death, but he's the classic example of what is wrong with the analytics. Quick scenario. You got a guy on second base, nobody out or even one out, whatever the hell the thing is, you know, the analyst, I say, oh, well, there's a 7.5% chance if you hit a home run and you pull it to left field and this and that. No, they pitch him up in his eyes. You know what I mean, he would be so much more successful if he keeps his hips in his shoulders and goes the other way. But they will teach that they don't do the, you know, like what used to do.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah, I was going to say, well, that's the funny thing about analytics and following a formula is the other team also knows the formula.

[Don Hahn]

Right.

[Peter Rosenberg]

And they know what you're trying to do. So what are they doing but countering it with, okay, they're going to do this, so we're going to not let them. Like, it's all about throwing the pitches that don't allow you to get the certain hits or whatever it is. But as Don's right, though, it's. The system still works to win more games than you lose. And in the end that's, that's what you're trying to do in a regular season. But what we're all talking, but what we're all talking about here, to me is just the way they play. And as a fan, it's not like this is entertaining. This is like you watch a team play because you want to say, wow, that like how many times the last couple of years Mike Breena said, knicks are playing beautiful basketball. And I remember sitting there saying to myself, we haven't said that in years. Like, even when they were winning games with the mellow years, it was not beautiful basketball. It was a lot of ISO. It wasn't fun, but they were winning and it worked. But this is like the same thing for me. It's like watching the Yankees and even when they win, I'm like, they won. But like this, this doesn't inspire me to believe that this is a team that no matter what happens in any situation, they'll find a way to win.

[Don Hahn]

I just wish there would be some kind of adjustment on the fly. Like the caller said, Volpe comes up, there's run at second base, nobody out. When we were growing up, it was hit the other way. At least if you're going to have it out, have it be a productive move into third party.

[Caller]

So.

[Don Hahn]

But he's thinking, I'm just, I'm going to hit a two run home run. It doesn't matter.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Got to hit between first and second.

[Don Hahn]

The starting pitcher, they're in an analytic world too. They're thinking, all right, he's going to try to hit a home run. So now I'm going to pitch to my strength. Then that's when you readjust and go, okay, if he's not going to give me the home run, I'm going To ground the ball to second base, try to get it through the hole, move him over to third. Instead of just stubbornly, I am going to try to hit the home run no matter what and end up striking it.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It was amazing. David Cohn, actually, well, Cony, last night on Sunday night baseball was pointing out some stuff in that game last night about the get him in, get him over, whatever it is, get on, get him over, get him in. And he was talking about that old school mentality, that something that he's like, it still works a lot of times. And then there was Girardi with Michael in the game yesterday, where even Joe, you heard the frustration in Joe's voice sometimes about explaining why, like, yeah, it does make sense to bunt. But you're asking a guy who's a power hitter, who's never been asked to bunt to now bunt. And that's not like you take him out of his comfort zone. I mean, he's never been taught, like, he's explaining the thinking, but you can hear in his own voice that he's like, this is stupid. But here's why.

[Don Hahn]

Right? And here's why. And the reason they don't bunt is because they don't believe in it. So obviously nobody does it, nobody practices it, so why would you ask them to do it? So it's smart to say don't bunt because they don't know how to do it. But if you look at deeper and say, well, why don't they know how to do it? You're telling me there can't be a day during camp where you say, I know it's all about the home run, but there are going to be circumstances where it might be a good idea.

[Peter Rosenberg]

To why don't we be a well rounded team? Like in that situation, it's the shift I got to hit over the shift. You know, the quarterback, he's really good at rolling out, but he can't roll left. So you can't ask him to do that. Even though they're going to give him the left side, he can't roll that way. He just can't do it.

[Don Hahn]

What I would say to any of these analytic guys, okay, you've figured out how to win, but if everybody's doing it, then it's the nuanced changes that you can make that could decide the winner and the loser. If everybody's doing it exactly the same way, well, they all can't win.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Right?

[Don Hahn]

Right. There's 30 teams, one's going to win a World Series and the other 29 are going to come up short. So how do I go beyond the margins? How do I think a little bit differently outside the box because we all can't win at the same time. Adam in California, you're on espn. New York.

[Caller]

My guys always appreciate you taking the call.

[Don Hahn]

You got a man. So, yeah, so I'm gonna try to.

[Caller]

Keep my composure here because I just got a new puppy and I don't want to freak him out. I gotta jump on Allen's bandwagon. This style of Yankee play with all the analytics, it's so mind numbing and so borderline unwatchable. It's driving me up a wall. And honestly, that's why I have appreciated the Knicks. Like Alan was saying, the past few years, I stopped watching baseball, I'm sorry, basketball after basically Michael Jordan, especially with that everybody just chucking up threes. And then it was refreshing to see this, this Nick team, this gritty lunch pail type of team, just pull it together and find different ways to win other than the norm.

[Don Hahn]

Because everybody else is chucking up threes.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Threes.

[Caller]

Find a new way. Find a new damn way. I swear, the Yankees, they're just going to continue doing the same things. People are going to get injured and then it's just going to be another lost season.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It's amazing. You know, the Yankees are what they're trying to do and it's very similar because if you, if you listen in Boston, yeah, Celtics fans hate the way their team plays the threes, the reliance on threes and all that. Like, they don't love the way that team plays because they know they shoot too many threes. And then if you lose one or two guys, like it can affect. And then you saw what happened, right? Like they were a mess, but. But they still got a championship out of it, right? They did in their window. They won a championship. And with the Yankees, if the Yankees can win a championship this way, if they had won last year, we can't say a damn thing because, well, I won a championship and, you know, pacifies you for a couple of years. So the Celtics, it's very similar to the Yankees. They play a way that is really not fun to watch. It's just when they make threes, it's fun. Like home runs are fun when they make them, right? But when they don't, you can lose to the worst team in the league and look terrible, but you just know we're going to keep putting them up because we believe in this way and it works. And so for the Yankees, it's a matter of, can they just get that one title like Boston just did, the Celtics did two years ago? That makes you say, all right, everybody shut up. We just proved to you this works.

[Don Hahn]

Right. But again, are they thinking about that? Are they just thinking here? Here we are. We never have the dip. Our biggest dip was a couple of years ago. 82 and 80 still playing meaningful games in September. Yeah, like, we never have that 90 loss season where people are talking about something other than the Yankees in August.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It's a stock that never loses you money, but never makes you a lot of money.

[Don Hahn]

But it makes you money, but it.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Doesn'T make you a lot.

[Don Hahn]

Well, again, that's in the eye of the whole. It makes the Yankees a lot.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah, but I'm talking about as a fan, right? As a fan, you're an investment, but never losing money.

[Don Hahn]

But think of every other. Again, I'm not. I'm not arguing with you. I'm just playing Devil's out. I'm actually playing the role of Hal right now. All right, Would you.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Which by. I'm on the record. It's not his fault.

[Don Hahn]

No, but he employs Brian Cashman and doesn't make that change. Certainly an enabler situation, isn't he?

[Peter Rosenberg]

That's why. Right. Because you gotta say to yourself, if I make this change, whatever, whoever I bring in next, gotta get it right.

[Don Hahn]

Okay?

[Peter Rosenberg]

If it gets worse now, I'm really screwed.

[Don Hahn]

Like I say, all right, The Giants have won more recently than us. But. But look at. Look at how embarrassing we've never been. The Giants, where they're a laughingstock. Embarrassing. Posey. No, I'm talking about the New York. I'm just talking about in our own. In our own market.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Don Hahn]

You know, because Yankee fans are also fans of other teams. Right. So I can say to them, a lot of Yankee fans are Giant fans. We're not the Giants. We don't embarrass you. We didn't go through four coaches, you know, in eight years, you know, without. Certainly not the Jets. Oh, you. How about the other team in town, the Mets? Yeah, the Mets are really good now, but look at the. Look at what Madoff did to the. The Wilpon situation and all that. And they went from winning 101 games to almost losing 90 games the next year. We don't do that to you. We haven't done. Look at the Rangers. They've won one championship in 86 years. We're not like that. We're not like the Knicks, who haven't won since 1973. We're not the Islanders who haven't won since 1983. Like, they still can look and say, how's it working out for us?

[Peter Rosenberg]

I agree.

[Don Hahn]

Because all the other teams you root for as much as you say we're unwatchable, as much as you say you're disgusted and frustrated. Have we frustrated you as much as the other teams you root for in town? Have we. Have we embarrassed you like the other teams you root for in town?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Is that the, is that slogan? Is that a baseball? Like it ought to be? No, it's. We won't embarrass you, right?

[Don Hahn]

We're not as bad as everybody else.

[Peter Rosenberg]

We don't suck that much.

[Don Hahn]

But. And I think that's what they're saying as they're laughing at us, hopefully listening to our show in the offices of Yankee Stadium. This is an ad by BetterHelp. Workplace stress is now one of the top causes of declining mental health, with 61% of the global workforce experiencing higher than normal levels of stress. To battle stress, most of us can't wave goodbye to work, but we can start small with a focus on wellness. With over 30,000 therapists, BetterHelp is the world's largest online therapy platform, having served over 5 million people globally. And it works with an App store rating of 4.9 out of 5 based on over 1.7 million client reviews. It's convenient, too. You can join a session with with a therapist at the click of a button, helping you fit therapy into your busy life, plus switch therapists at any time. As largest online therapy provider in the world, BetterHelp can provide access to mental health professionals with a diverse variety of expertise. Unwind from work with BetterHelp, our listeners get 10% off their first month at betterhelp.com timeout. That's betterhelp.com timeout.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Thanks for listening to the Don Han and Rosenberg podcast.

[Don 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. This is the NFL binge.

[Don Hahn]

And the NFL binge is driven by Ramsey Mazda. Yeah, it is fresh off a main vacation. What I missed in which he was basically abusive to lobsters. It's Anthony.

[Anthony Pusick]

To be fair, they were dead when I got there.

[Don Hahn]

I know.

[Anthony Pusick]

Well, really, sometimes.

[Peter Rosenberg]

No, you don't want. You want to run out of the tank screaming.

[Anthony Pusick]

When they got to the table, they were dead.

[Don Hahn]

Well, they're just mere moments ago.

[Anthony Pusick]

I didn't, I didn't pick them Out. No, I didn't pick. I didn't pick.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You didn't look them in their beady little eyes and go, I'm eating like.

[Anthony Pusick]

Like the Simpsons.

[Caller]

Like, pinchy.

[Anthony Pusick]

Like, no, no, I didn't do it.

[Don Hahn]

It's not open anymore. But there was a place in. In. In Hawthorne called the Kirkers Inn.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Of course it was.

[Anthony Pusick]

Why not?

[Don Hahn]

And I was a 19, the summer of 85.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Okay.

[Don Hahn]

I was a busboy, dishwasher at this establishment.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Tremendous.

[Don Hahn]

And they'd, like, have a Thursday night lobster night, so they get all these lobsters, and the cooks would have fun. Like, they'd line the lobsters up, and they put a little sign that says death row. And then the next lobster up, they'd put a little cigarette in its claw. And I'd feel so bad because there's, like, you got a boiling pot of water just dumping this live lobster in. Yeah.

[Peter Rosenberg]

He doesn't feel.

[Don Hahn]

Or the other ones where they bake them, where they would just basically, like, slit it in half.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Don Hahn]

Put it right in. Because you can't. I guess they turn bad too quickly. Yeah. Where you can't really store them or whatever. So you got to, like, kill them and bang, eat them immediately.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Kill them and eat them. But I tell you, it's the American way.

[Don Hahn]

Lobsters are amazing.

[Anthony Pusick]

If anything, what I was doing was humane.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Did you ever wonder, though, you know, look at a lobster, who's the first guy that looked at it and went, I'm gonna eat that? Because, I mean, when you look at it, it's. It's.

[Anthony Pusick]

It's got a lot going on.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It's a whole shell. Like, what made you say they used.

[Anthony Pusick]

To allegedly feed them, the prisoners? Because they're just so abundant up there. They just like. This is garbage food now.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Don Hahn]

You're telling insect. Almost.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah. You were. I don't want to give away everything that you did, but you were there.

[Anthony Pusick]

Yes.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Somewhere at a very bar.

[Anthony Pusick]

We said Bar Harbor. That's right. They actually had. They had T shirts with little sheep on them that said bajaba, which is hilarious.

[Peter Rosenberg]

The bacon wrap scallops. You're telling me you didn't have the mature hockey puck size?

[Anthony Pusick]

They were delicious. Not necessarily hockey puck size. Bigger than a normal size scallop on a base scallop?

[Peter Rosenberg]

No.

[Don Hahn]

Poker chip? A little bit.

[Anthony Pusick]

Yeah. About poker chip. Poker chip size scallop.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Like a slider.

[Anthony Pusick]

Yeah, probably slider. If you put it on a bun, you probably.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah, that's not terrible.

[Anthony Pusick]

It's bigger than the base scallop.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But You?

[Anthony Pusick]

Delicious.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I mean, the bacon wraps. Yeah. Unreal.

[Anthony Pusick]

Maple glaze on it, too.

[Don Hahn]

That's my whole, like, theory of life. Like, how do we know that? Mushrooms, poisons. How many people did we lose before we realized, don't eat those. What's good? Like, a lot of experimentation went on back when we just didn't value life.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Right.

[Don Hahn]

Of 20 kids, 10 of them are going to die because we're going to try to figure out what we can eat and what we can eat and everything up there.

[Anthony Pusick]

The Boston, New England, it was like, oh, boy. Patriots, Red Sox.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You gotta love it.

[Don Hahn]

They're still in on the Patriots.

[Anthony Pusick]

They're still in on the Patriots.

[Peter Rosenberg]

They love Drake May.

[Anthony Pusick]

I told you they love Drake May.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Drake May is the new favorite son in New England. He like, they love him there. Speaking of football.

[Anthony Pusick]

Well, exactly. And you know who Jerry Jones may not love? Micah Parsons.

[Don Hahn]

Why?

[Anthony Pusick]

Because he still doesn't have a contract. Jake Ferguson got a contract this past weekend.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Tight end.

[Anthony Pusick]

Yeah, Tight end for the Dallas Cowboys. Michael Parsons still waiting. Jerry was asked by Fox 4 News about the Parsons contract situation.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Mike, first of all, does want to get paid.

[Don Hahn]

He's getting paid. You know, he gets about 20 something million right now, and that's pretty easy.

[Peter Rosenberg]

20 million.

[Don Hahn]

Standard watching practice out there at the same time. But seriously, I don't have a lot.

[Peter Rosenberg]

To say about it. This is pretty commonplace.

[Anthony Pusick]

No, I think that was a lot to say.

[Don Hahn]

Cowboy dysfunction. Love it. Are you more.

[Anthony Pusick]

Well, well, here you go. Jerry, are you disappointed that Parsons isn't practicing?

[Don Hahn]

Not really. Because I don't want him to get hurt.

[Peter Rosenberg]

He plays a contact of what I.

[Don Hahn]

What you call a motion contact position.

[Peter Rosenberg]

We'll see where this goes. But this is commonplace. It's commonplace around the NFL.

[Don Hahn]

It's commonplace here.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It's so weird because there's like, off seasons where he's just throwing money around. And then there's this, which is arguably his most important defensive player, maybe his most important player on the roster, would you say? And he's good. I know. Dax Important, too, but Parsons is. And you see that every. Like the. Mike Tanner says this all the time. The longer this goes, the more expensive he's going to get. Because the next contract up, whether it's him or it's Trey Hendrickson, they're going to get paid. And, you know, the guarantees go up, the annuals go up, and you're going to pay that premium. If he just paid them last year, he probably would have saved himself $10 million a year. So I don't know why this is the. This is the stance you're taking now against this guy. Not that I. Not that I love it, because, you know, Parsons does talk too much sometimes. But as far as talent on the field, this is a bizarre cowboy situation to watch.

[Anthony Pusick]

Now, of course, with fans at practice in some of these places, Dallas being one of them, there's been pay Micah Chance. So, Stephen Jones, the GM president.

[Don Hahn]

Sure.

[Anthony Pusick]

Because Jerry runs the show, obviously. What is your reaction to those chants?

[Don Hahn]

Did you hear the fans yelling pay Micah yesterday? And what.

[Caller]

What do you think when you hear that?

[Don Hahn]

It doesn't change anything. I mean, we want to pay Micah, too. He's got to want to be paid.

[Peter Rosenberg]

He's got to want to be paid.

[Anthony Pusick]

I think he wants to be paid.

[Peter Rosenberg]

What do you think he's saying there? I have a theory.

[Anthony Pusick]

Guaranteed money.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It's. He. Like I was thinking, is there. Is there a possibility that those representing him are saying, let Hendrickson get paid next, you know, with the. With the Bengals, and then you then get the bigger deal. So you're the highest paid. Right. Passwords. Right.

[Anthony Pusick]

We always talk about that's how they keep score. Right.

[Peter Rosenberg]

And. And so wait until that gets done. Does that make sense? Yes. Is that what he's suggesting? That, like, we're trying to pay him, but he doesn't yet want to? Now, it could be an argument over guarantees, or it could be an argument over I want to be the highest paid, and I can't be if there's another guy that's about get. About to get paid, and he gets paid more than me. So which one do you think it is? Is there any type. Do you find any type of validity to what I'm suggesting? One of these?

[Don Hahn]

Because it can't be as basic as walls. And Jerry's like, he wants to get paid. Well, he's getting paid.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Wait a minute. That's a little different.

[Don Hahn]

We're not arguing over whether you should be paid or not. I think we could all agree they should be paid. It's about how much you're supposed to get paid. So I think you're onto something there. They'll figure it all out. Nobody. None of these guys want to be in camp anyway.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Good point.

[Anthony Pusick]

Well, speaking of, we mentioned the Trey Hendrickson situation. Adam schefter was on McAfee saying it really is the guaranteed money. He wants at least two years of guaranteed money. It doesn't seem like the Bengals are willing to do that.

[Don Hahn]

Nope.

[Anthony Pusick]

For him. So that's the issue there.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But he wants two years guaranteed.

[Anthony Pusick]

He's over 30, at least two years of guarantee. So apparently they're not giving him two years of guarantee. That's what Schefter has reported to McAfee. And of course there's probably more to it than just that, so we'll keep an eye on that. But Jamar Stewart, who was going to. Was practicing with Texas A and M, the Bengals first round pick. Now he's back and he signed his deal. He is at least at Bengals camp. He was asked or got, was asked about comments that he was getting bad advice from his agents.

[Peter Rosenberg]

In my opinion, I feel like I want an agent that's more of a pit bull.

[Caller]

You feel me?

[Peter Rosenberg]

I don't want no agent that can be easily pushed over.

[Caller]

You know, I want somebody that's gonna.

[Don Hahn]

Go to war by me.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That's what I hired him for. So I'm gonna do none of the.

[Don Hahn]

Hard work behind the scenes. So in terms of that, I feel.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Like Zach is a great agent.

[Don Hahn]

You know, he handles business very well.

[Peter Rosenberg]

And that's my dog for life.

[Anthony Pusick]

So that all worked out. He has his contract signed.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It was interesting though, the clause that they wanted to put in there about behavior, right? Yeah.

[Don Hahn]

So you talked to the bad guy. But again, this is a franchise that doesn't have a lot of money in relatively speaking, tons of money. But they're always low end and they don't want to have to pay somebody for doing. Always cry poverty. Now, Ray Santiago, our resident Cowboy fan.

[Anthony Pusick]

Oh boy.

[Don Hahn]

Hi, Ray. Or all of us.

[Anthony Pusick]

Thanks for listening, buddy.

[Don Hahn]

Talking about Jerry and the Cowboys. Years. Years is always the hangup. Player wants three, four, so they get another crack. Jerry wants five for longer control. They do this every year. But he threw an F in friggin no. It's true, you know, and I get both sides of that. Because you want to be. Because it's a cap sport, right? So you want maybe the extra year so you can kind of spread the money around. And the players, they want to get paid.

[Peter Rosenberg]

And you also know as a player that I'm the highest paid today, but in another year I won't be.

[Don Hahn]

Right.

[Peter Rosenberg]

And if I sign for four or five, if I sign for five years, I'll never be.

[Don Hahn]

But. Yeah, but here's. But it's. So what? Like the thing that I find interesting is I want to be the highest paid player, knowing damn well in a couple of months somebody else is going to pass you. So what? Just the pride you have in the, in the handful of weeks that you were the highest Paid linebacker or quarterback or whatever. Who keeps score of that? Who remembers that?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Players. It's that agents do, too.

[Don Hahn]

I get it.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I got you the biggest contract any linebacker has ever gotten, right?

[Don Hahn]

Until five minutes later, a guy that's not nearly as good as you makes more.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It doesn't matter.

[Don Hahn]

But it should stay.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Shouldn't buy it.

[Anthony Pusick]

I agree with Don, though. It should. Look at all these quarterbacks and how much they're getting paid.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It stays in. I'm telling you.

[Don Hahn]

It's so. But it's so bizarre, right? Because listen, I'm not going to say that what we do for a living is the equivalent of a football player, a professional athlete, but people kind of care what we do. We all make money. Nobody knows what we make. I don't know what you make. You don't know what I make. It's all a big secret.

[Anthony Pusick]

You guys are getting paid.

[Don Hahn]

That's the thing. You guys work for free. I get that. So this is a tough conversation for you to have to hear, right? But like, so we don't bother with clauses on our contract to say I have to be the highest paid announcer. But even if I did, I knew that in six months Bart's contract's gonna be up and he's gonna surpass me. Like, what does that all mean?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Don, you know that exists in this business too, right?

[Don Hahn]

But not for people who's not. It doesn't exist if we don't know what we're making.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I know, but there.

[Don Hahn]

Well, I got an announcement to make. I am the third highest paid employee on 880 ESPN. I can say ESPN a lot. I'm probably the 3,000th, maybe even lower. But I'm saying here, I'm making that up. I don't know. Because I don't know what anybody makes.

[Anthony Pusick]

No clue.

[Don Hahn]

We don't know. So what does it matter? These guys know, but nobody cares. Does anybody care?

[Peter Rosenberg]

No.

[Anthony Pusick]

Imagine Marshall Ranger fan, right? Big Ranger.

[Peter Rosenberg]

In reality, people do care. For some reason, money people are very interested in other people.

[Don Hahn]

How much? How much? Right off the top of your head, how much money is Mika's advantage at making his contract?

[Anthony Pusick]

Eight and a quarter, isn't it?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Don Hahn]

You don't even know yet. You asked me. It was. You answered in a form of a question. You're probably right. But does that. Does that affect your. You know, they're making a lot of money, so you want them to perform. But does it matter? Is Mika the highest paid? Center or right wing, Whatever position he's going to play or who the highest point guard is, like, there's most fans, like, right now. Who's the highest paid quarterback in the NFL? I can look it up. I don't know it off the top of my head. So what does it matter?

[Anthony Pusick]

Is it still Trevor Lawrence?

[Don Hahn]

But what does it matter?

[Anthony Pusick]

It doesn't matter.

[Don Hahn]

And if it's Trevor Lawrence, what a joke that is, right?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Don Hahn]

Like, why we get caught up. The egos, man. And so you're telling me in the same breath they'll say, listen, I just want to the money man, because I got to put food on the table. I got to think about my family. Well, no, wait, wait a minute. You had to be the highest paid. You think about your family. Or is it the ego of. For five minutes, I was the highest paid inside linebacker.

[Anthony Pusick]

You know what it is? It is dak at his 60 again.

[Don Hahn]

Not worth being the highest pay. Where does he get that? Does that help? Does he get, like, does he get a discount at Jamba Juice or whatever?

[Anthony Pusick]

And the four tied under him at 55 million a year or Burrow, Allen, Love and Lawrence.

[Don Hahn]

So you look at it. It's a joke, right? No offense to Dak Prescott. He shouldn't be the highest paid quarterback. I didn't know that. Did you know when you looked at the list?

[Anthony Pusick]

Well, listen, I said Trevor Lawrence.

[Don Hahn]

So what does it matter? I don't understand, Alan. Why does it matter?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Fans care about this. They don't. The money, who gets it, how much, What? You're ranked. He's the high. See what you just did? Highest paid. He doesn't.

[Don Hahn]

Here's the thing. So why would I fight for it if it's going to be something used against me pejoratively, like nobody's. Nobody's going, oh, look at Dax, the highest paid. No, they're making fun of the guy for being the highest. Well, flex to what?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Flex that you're the highest paid. Because I'm the highest paid.

[Don Hahn]

No, you know, it's. It's a mirror flex. The only people that see it are you. And maybe if your wife comes in, no one again, you know, why do.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You see, they put the numbers out and they talk about how much an actor got paid to do a movie, and everybody wants to talk about it. It's just something to talk about, but it's not interesting.

[Don Hahn]

They're not talking about it. Well, you don't know because we don't have conversations about. You know, I gotta tell you, that was money well spent on Adam Sandler for that movie. Most of the time, it's just like, can you believe how much money they spent on that piece of garbage? It's never used glowingly. It's always used against the player, it's always used against the actor. It's always used against the host.

[Anthony Pusick]

And if you say he's a bargain, it's more of a, what would it matter?

[Don Hahn]

But again, I was the highest paid host here. What does that, what does that get me?

[Peter Rosenberg]

But it's, it's not just that. It's also the numbers. Like, he took less so that they could sign this guy. And so money is part of the.

[Don Hahn]

Because the reason Brunson is hailed is because he looks like he's being a team guy that's going to help the.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Knicks, even though the Yankees came to him. But he took he's a hero a.

[Don Hahn]

Little bit less and he's a hero and let's say the opposite happen.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Why did Soto's conversation, why did that conversation, why was it so important to hear about Soto's money? Why did it matter?

[Don Hahn]

So we can use it against them when they don't play well. That's why I don't understand why the player even wants it to be public.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Or you could say the Yankees wouldn't ante up. That's all this is.

[Don Hahn]

But you're giving me examples.

[Peter Rosenberg]

He's got the biggest contract any player has ever got, Alan, and it's all they talk about.

[Don Hahn]

But you're giving me examples of why I wouldn't want to be the highest paid. Because it's going to be used against me. You said it's a flex. It's all what the chance are going to happen. It's going to end up affecting me because I'm not living up to my contract.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Rather, Don, if you, if your next contract comes and they, you think you hold up such a fight that they are forced to make you the highest paid host to ever host at this station. Are you at a new standard? I would love you for that. You know why? Because next time I'm up, I'm like.

[Anthony Pusick]

Hey, I get mine.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I know what dog's making.

[Don Hahn]

But you know, Iris care. The listener doesn't care. But it, but those are our fans. They don't care.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But although they will, they, they'll talk about it. But for other quarterbacks and other linebackers, it does matter because now I got a standard and now I tell my.

[Don Hahn]

Agent, well, all right, maybe we know where to start. But the fans, the fans are just gonna use it against you. Like the fans might be happy that so and so is the highest paid employee at espn. They're going to be like, you believe he's making that much? He sucks.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That's great. They can say he sucks while I'm wiping my tears with $100 bills. But.

[Don Hahn]

But you'll be wiping your tears, $100 bills whether you were the fourth highest paid or the first highest. But what does it matter? Because it's all. It's ego.

[Anthony Pusick]

This is unprecedented.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Did we get one? This.

[Anthony Pusick]

We ran out of bed.

[Peter Rosenberg]

What?

[Anthony Pusick]

We ran out of bed. We were so. We were so deep in the weeds. And look, we have plenty more that we get to one topic on Ennis. It was a lot of contracts. But, yes, it all ended up being contract talk. So there you go.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Well, I want to know if they call it 800-93776. Do you care when you hear about a player being the highest paid in any of that stuff, or do you agree with Don that it's not. It's not necessary, and you really don't want it to be out there because it could be used against you.

[Don Hahn]

That was the NFL binge driven by Ramsey Mazda. It's the experience of driving a new Mazda and buying a new Mazda from Ramsey Mazda. Choose wisely. Choose Ramsey Mazda.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[Don 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 Hahn]

Steal Away is a good song, too. That was on the countdown. This is.

[Peter Rosenberg]

What's his. Dupree.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah.

[Peter Rosenberg]

What's the first name I keep wanting to say?

[Don Hahn]

Willie.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Is that Jermaine?

[Don Hahn]

No, I'm not.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Was it Robbie? Robbie Dupree. There you go.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah. This was, like, in the top 10.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Oh, my goodness.

[Don Hahn]

Really good stuff. 1-800-919-3776.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Always fun, by the way. The words to this is show me what you came here for.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah. Filthy back.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I mean, are you kidding me? It just. If you sing it nice and sweet, you don't realize what he's really letting her know. Right?

[Don Hahn]

What you came here for.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Why don't you steal away?

[Don Hahn]

That's how I'm going. I want you to come here. You know why you came here. I'm gonna abduct you, but I'm gonna sing it in such a fashion that everybody's gonna speak the next line.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Tease me why don't you please me? Yeah.

[Don Hahn]

See, but he sang it in such a way. It's like.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It's too sweet. No, he's just Being sweet.

[Don Hahn]

He's a good guy.

[Peter Rosenberg]

He's a good guy.

[Don Hahn]

This is the late 70s, early 80s.

[Peter Rosenberg]

This is Guy has just all kinds of taco meat with his shirt open, just. Oh, sure. Very approachable.

[Don Hahn]

Let's go to Tessa in West Caldwell. You're on ESPN New York. Hi, Tessa.

[Caller]

Hey, guys. Thanks so much for taking my call. I appreciate it. I just had two comments, if I may. So the first one was about the Yankees. Everything that, you know, Allen was saying earlier for me, I do feel like their nickname is the Bronx Bombers for a reason, because that's what they're known for, even when they were the baby Bronx Bombers a couple of years ago. But I feel like to be a true contender, it takes balance across the board. So that's hitting for me, pitching and defense, and our defense is trash. And everybody in the whole world got to see that last year with the World Series. So I never felt like this year we were going to even get that far, like, to the World Series because the defense is just. It's too many holes, it's too many errors, too many miscues. Infield outfits feel it's just not good. So, yeah, I do feel like this year, of course, we're gonna try to win as many as we can, but I think it was like a ticket to, like, okay, let's just have a seat. Next year we'll try to, you know, do better. So that was just my opinion with the Yankees. I do agree with Alan, and I just wanted to make a comment, if I can, about the Giants. You guys already know. Like, I'm not trying to bash my head this year. I'm not trying to, like, you know, overdose on Tums with my stomach hurting. I'm not trying to do any of that. But what I'm trying to do this year is be very, very optimistic. And I don't feel like there's a problem with that. But I'm going to be realistic, though. But I don't feel like it's a problem. Like, on paper right now, our defense looks like it's going to be a nightmare for, like, teams. Like a freaking nightmare on paper. You know what I mean? I'm not gonna be unrealistic. I'm hoping we can gel. I'm hoping that Shane's defense schemes are going to be great, but we look like we're going to be something, and I just feel like my realistic expectations, like, if we can get it together, can we just please go one and one in the div one day, win one game against Dallas, one game against Philly, one game against, you know, Redskins. Like, that's, that's like what I'm looking for. I'm going to be very optimistic.

[Peter Rosenberg]

So what? So optimism for the season because, look, defensively, yes, that defense, if they stay healthy, because they've got a good D, but they're not deep, that's the issue. So an injury or two, you're in trouble. So. But they could be a good defense. So if, if you're saying, okay, I'm not going to get caught up in this season, what would be a satisfactory season for you then? Test for the Giants.

[Caller]

Okay. For me, like I just said, please, can we please win one game each? So one against Dallas, one against Philly, one against three and three and three. All right, if we can't, if, if we can't win both against, I mean, one against Philly, then let her go to. Let's sweep somebody for the first time in a thousand years. And then for me, realistically, with the way Russia's still throwing that ball down the field, like, whoa. Like, I'm just saying, I'm a little excited.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I'm yeah, seven on seven, though. Like, you remember, they're not hitting. No.

[Caller]

And no pass was on. No path was on. So that's what I'm saying. I'm not getting unrealistic. You know, I'm baby nerve sighted even being excited. I'm nervous to be excited, to be honest with you guys, but I'm gonna be honest with you. Can we get seven wins this year?

[Don Hahn]

Well, if you. Tessa, if you're gonna get a win against Philly, a win against Dallas and a win against Washington, then I think you can get to seven because you got New Orleans, you got New England. Now you can maybe get the five, and then you're talking about seven. I was talking to Mike Westoff today. Mike Westoff's a Jet camp, so he was in town, Westy, and he said he was in Washington talking to people with the commanders. He got to see their. He's like, they, they look fantastic. Yeah, they really look good. So you're in a very difficult division.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Their offense, like, again, once they get McLaren signed, him and Debo, yeah, they're.

[Don Hahn]

Going to be good. But you know what? The Giants have had a good camp so far. We had Jordan Ron on for four of the five days filling in for you. He said Carter looks like a beast. And nobody's talking about it because it's all about Jackson dart. But Carter's been unreal.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Oh, you needed him to Say that.

[Don Hahn]

Oh, yeah. What do you mean? Why are you getting upset?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Anthony? Have I not said this for about a good solid month and a half now everything's Jackson Dart. You forget. You forget that Carter was the number what, number two? Number three pick. Whatever pick it was, he's one of. He was their higher pick. Nobody's talking about him.

[Don Hahn]

But I don't know why you jump at me. I just. I was observing.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Jordan says it.

[Don Hahn]

No, I know Jordan. No, no, no, no, no, no. Jordan said carter's having a good camp.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Don Hahn]

And then I said, nobody's talking about it because everybody's talking about Jackson Dart. Yeah, I didn't realize. I give you credit for everything you've ever said.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Well, I mean, it would help if you listen, but I. You could have just said, yeah, Alan's been saying that.

[Don Hahn]

Can I just tell you something? Let me look right at you. You didn't reinvent the wheel with that comment, brother. Okay.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I feel like that was an astute observation early on. Everything social media from the Giants was all about dart.

[Don Hahn]

All of it, like, splitting in half. I was like, you know what?

[Peter Rosenberg]

I'm going to take that.

[Don Hahn]

I deserve credit for that. You're saying all the attentions on the guy they traded back into the first round for.

[Peter Rosenberg]

If I'm being honest, it was the way you talked about Jordan as a co host that kind of had me on Jacob.

[Don Hahn]

Because you're looking at me. Because Anthony's really big. He gets so caught. He's such a jealous little sob, isn't he?

[Peter Rosenberg]

I've learned that about Island. Wasn't jealous.

[Don Hahn]

Did I make any comment last Monday? It was a week ago today. We were over at the Colonial for the Tee it Off challenge for espn. Did I make any comment on how you can sense that there was a chemistry between he and Rick? No, I said, you know what? That was back in the past. Of course they had chemistry. That worked a long time ago. But I don't worry about such things because it's over. You laid out, you secure. I didn't say anything. Every time I bring up Jordan, Jordan filled in for you. Or every time we have cross talk with K. Or why is he, man.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Maybe I should have stayed on vacation.

[Don Hahn]

You know what? We should let Joe Namath know he made the team. Allen made the team. Nothing to worry about it. The past is the past, man. I don't worry about him and Bart. I don't worry about him and Rick. Right.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Maybe it's just the imposter syndrome. I still don't believe I'm here. Maybe that's all it is.

[Don Hahn]

Is that what it is? You're still pinching yourself. Still pinching on. It's been a while. It's been since. It's been seven months, Peter. Thank you, Alan.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I hope you make the team. Great lines. Oh boy.

[Don Hahn]

Fun couple hours. At six o' clock we will have Anthony Pusick back in for E N more your calls. Talking some football. We're going to hear from Jameis Winston. We're going to hear from Jackson Dart. We're going to hear from Aaron Glenn. Yankees and Mets on the table as well. Don on a Roseberg. Take you up until 7:00'.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Clock.

[Don Hahn]

Then it's Jake Aspen here on ESPN New York.

[Peter Rosenberg]

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