Hour 3: Yankees Lack Accountability

Summary

Don, Hahn & Rosenberg — Hour 3: Yankees Lack Accountability (July 6, 2026)

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Don La Greca, Alan Hahn, and Peter Rosenberg dig into the state of New York baseball—especially the Yankees’ recent struggles. The trio debates whether the team’s problems are about injuries and focus or reflect a deeper cultural issue of accountability. Other topics include patterns of repeated failures, fan apathy, management decisions, and how the American League’s weakness offers both opportunity and false hope. Callers vent their frustration, and the hosts critique the front office, specific players, and the Yankees’ approach to building a winning culture.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Mets & Yankees Woes: Summer Baseball Malaise

• Opening (00:44–02:47):
  • Mets nearly blow a big lead but hold on, described as an "embarrassment" and increasingly background noise for New York sports fans.
  • Discussion shifts to the Yankees’ deeper issues following a loss to Minnesota—something almost unheard of in the last decade.
  • Quote (Don Hahn, 02:47): "Dom Smith struck out with runners at second and third like he's their base hit away from losing that game... The Mets are done. But the Yankees, it's not good."

2. Life Without Aaron Judge: Offense Falls Apart

• Yankees' dependence on Judge (03:02–03:57):
  • The team’s offense has cratered since Judge’s injury—everyone looks worse, veterans and young players alike.
  • Quote (Don Hahn, 03:02): "This is your team without Aaron Judge. Even if he goes 0-for-4 with four strikeouts, his presence in the lineup raises all boats."
  • Over-reliance on aging players like Goldschmidt whose performance is suffering under increased workload.

3. Historical Dominance & Sudden Collapse

• Losing to Minnesota (04:14–04:51):
  • Yankees haven’t lost a home series to the Twins since 2014; recent losses underscore how off-track the team is.
  • Quote (Don Hahn, 04:39): "If they played the Twins for a full season, they break the wins record, right? And they lost two out of three. Hadn't lost a series since 2014 at home."

4. Pitching Problems & Team Concerns

• Bullpen and rotation (05:28–05:53):
  • The bullpen is consistently a mess, with Deval a particular point of contention, and rotation health worries deepen (Cole, Freed, Rodon).
  • Rosenberg (05:28): "Weathers is an absolute disaster... the guy's throwing up. He's sick. He can't throw. He gets bombed."
• Imminent danger of losing the division (05:53–06:56):
  • The upcoming series in Tampa is billed as potentially decisive for the Yankees’ division hopes.
  • Quote (Peter Rosenberg, 06:18): "If you lose three out of four, that could be the division. Like it could be done."

5. Errors, Focus, and Accountability

• Unforced errors & lack of 'clean baseball' (06:56–08:08):
  • Stat: 29 unearned runs and 20 errors in the last 15 games.
  • Complaints of ‘lack of focus’ repeatedly surface—but Don and Peter argue it’s ‘lack of accountability.’
  • Quote (Don Hahn, 08:02): "It's been a problem for a long time... the lack of accountability."
  • Roster stagnation: nobody is benched, sent down, or publicly called out.

6. Managerial Messaging: Excuses and Fan Sentiment

• Boone’s (non-)responses (09:44–11:23):
  • The hosts lampoon Aaron Boone’s repeated, implausible optimism—claiming relievers are “throwing well” post-meltdown, or that players are “getting good swings.”
  • Quote (Rosenberg, 10:03): "He just got bombed two straight games and you're like, well, you know, he's really throwing the ball well. I'm telling you, I feel like that's a little low key, just trolling."
• Growing apathy among the fanbase (12:22–13:10):
  • Discussion about Yankee fans "starting to care less," responding to repeated playoff futility with resignation instead of rage.
  • Quote (Peter Rosenberg, 12:40): "I saw that tweet and I'm like, that's so relatable."

7. Systemic Issues and Repeating Patterns

• Same failures, new year (13:38–14:42):
  • The talk extends to losing winnable series and the perception that each Yankees season is a replay of the last: untimely errors, bad at-bats, wasted talent.
  • Quote (Peter Rosenberg, 13:40): "It's bad at bats. And I'm like, why? When they're bad, they're bad. It always looks the same year to year to year."
• Why can’t this be fixed? (18:22–19:13)
  • Frustrated fans call in, comparing the stagnation to other “broken” teams like the Giants’ O-line.

8. American League Parity (or Weakness)

• A wider lens (20:08–22:40):
  • The AL is unusually weak, offering an opening for even flawed teams to make the playoffs or World Series.
  • Quote (Don Hahn, 21:40): "There are five teams in the American League that are above .500... Even the teams that are above .500, we're not talking about... The best winning percentage is Tampa at .598."

9. Focus vs. Accountability: Boone, Judge, and Jazz

• Clashing messaging (27:15–29:18):
  • Players (including Judge and Jazz) admit to lack of focus; Boone publicly denies problems with focus, unwilling to accept blame or call out the roster.
  • Quote (Boone, 27:33): "I don't think we're lacking a focus. I actually saw Jazz’ comments... I believe we are [focused]. We obviously gotta go play better."
• The dangers of a soft roster (29:18–31:39):
  • Too many “soft-brain guys” and not enough grinders or winners in the lineup.
  • Quote (Rosenberg, 29:18): "You have too many guys that are stuck in their own emotions... The Yankees don't have guys like that. They're not made of guys like that."
  • Trade deadline conversation: are these issues fixable in midseason?

10. Culture, Winning Attitude, and Historical Perspective

• Building winners vs. compiling talent (31:41–33:44):
  • Don references the 1988 Dodgers, transformed by Kirk Gibson’s attitude, contrasting with Yankees’ recent decades of near-misses.
  • Quote (Don Hahn, 32:53): "It's a grind. That's the regular season, but once you get to the postseason, ... Maybe they need to start thinking about bringing in guys that got the swagger of the big game and knowing how to win."
• More on Jazz Chisholm & role players (33:39–34:37):
  • Jazz called out again for being too mercurial—fun when things are good, unreliable during adversity.

11. Accountability & Organizational Culture

• Why ‘focus’ talk misses the real point (34:37–36:57):

  • Don and Peter underline the disconnect: Judge, the captain, says focus is lacking, but Boone hedges—creating confusion and diminishing authority.

• Don Hahn summarizes the culture problem (39:06–40:31):

  • Quote (Don Hahn, 39:06): "There's no accountability, man. There's never any accountability. And in any walk of life... if you know that if you come in late, if you know if you don't do your job, you've got a boss that's going to come to you at 5:00 and pat you on the back, say, good job, son. Eventually you're going to be like, I guess what I do doesn't matter because I'm never held to accountability."

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Don Hahn (03:02): "This is your team without Aaron Judge. Even if he goes 0-for-4 with four strikeouts, his presence in the lineup raises all boats."
• Peter Rosenberg (05:28): "Weathers is an absolute disaster...the guy's throwing up. He's sick. He can't throw...he gets bombed."
• Don Hahn (08:02): "It's been a problem for a long time...the lack of accountability."
• Aaron Boone (27:33): "I don't think we're lacking a focus."
• Peter Rosenberg (29:18): "You got a lot of divas, you got a lot of soft brain guys...The Yankees don't have guys like that."
• Don Hahn (39:06): "There's no accountability, man. There's never any accountability."
• Fan Call (Tessa, 16:21): "Forget trash. Like, with that. Like, that hot, humid, demonic juice that's at the bottom of dumpsters that smells like complete...We're that right now. We're that."
• Peter Rosenberg (12:40): "I'm still upset with this team, but in years past, I'd be filled with crazy rage...But now I saw that tweet and I'm like, that's so relatable."

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Important Segments & Timestamps

• Mets-Yankees update & baseball as background noise: (00:44–02:47)
• Judge’s absence & offensive collapse: (03:02–03:57)
• Historic dominance over Twins unravels: (04:21–04:51)
• Bullpen and pitching struggles: (05:28–06:56)
• Yankees’ error-prone, unfocused play: (06:56–08:08)
• Accountability debate begins: (08:08–09:44)
• Boone’s post-loss spin & fan reaction: (09:44–13:10)
• Fan apathy surfaces: (12:22–13:10)
• American League weakness & playoff expectations: (20:08–22:40)
• Boone v. Judge/Jazz on “focus”: (27:15–29:18)
• Roster “softness” and lack of grinders: (29:18–31:39)
• Building a winning attitude: (31:41–34:37)
• Fan calls: Tessa’s “demonic juice” rant: (16:21–18:22)
• Don’s accountability thesis: (39:06–40:31)

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Tone & Language

The conversation is raw, passionate, and reflects the “sports talk” candor that is Don, Hahn, and Rosenberg’s signature. There’s a back-and-forth blend of frustration, sarcasm, and resigned humor. Listeners will recognize the blend of statistical breakdowns, genuine exasperation, pop-culture analogies, and open phone lines that define the show.

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Summary Takeaways

• The Yankees are in a tailspin, and the root is cultural—players are too comfortable, management is too forgiving, and the organization is losing its edge.
• Judge’s absence exposes how reliant the roster is on his presence.
• The American League’s weakness is both a lifeline and a trap: the Yankees can make the playoffs even if they don’t fix systemic problems, setting up another likely October disappointment.
• Fans are less angry and more numb, a worrying sign for a proud franchise.
• The hosts warn: without real accountability and a change in roster character, history will keep repeating, however high the payroll.

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For all Yankees fans (and sports fans alike), this episode is a full-throated argument for a culture reset in the Bronx, and a reminder: without accountability, even the richest franchises risk becoming irrelevant—even if they still make the postseason.

Transcript

[Don Hahn]

Are all batteries the same? That's like asking if all soccer players are the same. Take Messi, the most decorated player ever. Is there any other player who has achieved that? No, just him. Now take Duracell. Is there any other battery with powerboost ingredients inside? No, just Duracell. Remember, goats only trust goats because they're built different. And Messi only trusts Duracell.

[Peter Rosenberg]

This is the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[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, 502

[Don Hahn]

in the big city. Don Hahn and Rosenberg. We did it'll 6:30, then it's Mets baseball. Tell you, the baseball in New York has been tough. Mets almost blew a 103 lead in the 9th inning yesterday. I don't know if anybody even noticed. They won. They won the game 10, nine, but they've been an embarrassment. Are you.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Be honest, how dialed in are you?

[Don Hahn]

I.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Because it is reach, isn't it reaching that point of like, it's jocularity and let me know when the trade deadline comes and then you'll kind of watch there and then if they go with young players. All right, I'll watch now because I'm curious, because you are still getting something at a bench and you winning like you're getting something there.

[Don Hahn]

The baseball of it all is that it's kind of just a background of your summer. So you kind of pop it on. You pop on the radio, in the car on, right? You know you have it on. By the way, Portugal eliminated from the World Cup. Christian wins Cristiano Ronaldo's international career.

[Peter Rosenberg]

See you Ronaldo is over.

[Don Hahn]

And Spain now will be waiting for the winner of the US Belgium game tonight. All right. Sorry, Don. I know that's. It's important. It is big.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That's good.

[Don Hahn]

That's. Who's next up? Just the face of the fans. Imagine drive, you know, flying, driving, flying all the way from, you know, Portugal to Dallas, and your team is scoreless in the, you know, extra time and end up losing the game by a goal. Long trip home. They did get a quick opportunity and then they zeroed the clock out once that opportunity went wide. So it was, it was. It was 10 3. I was out and about with the kids. I took them to a play place because the weather wasn't great. It was hot, but it looked like in any time it could storm, so we didn't want to bother with the pool. So it was 10 3. And then I, then I just like all right. It's 10, three.

[Ad Read Announcer]

They're gonna.

[Don Hahn]

They're gonna finally win a game. And then I. And then I went to Twitter and Mike Vaccaro tweeted out, as Bob Murphy would say, the Mets win the damn thing 10 to 9. Because it was a Met game back. I think it was 1990, where they almost blew a lead and won the game. 10, nine. And like, 10, nine, they gave up six runs. And then I went back and Dom smith struck out 2. 2. With runners at second and third like he's their base hit away from losing that game.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Bart's favorite player.

[Don Hahn]

That's. That's whatever the Mets are done. But the Yankees, it's not good. I mean, they're lucky the Rays dropped their last two, but there's still four out. Was it six? Back of the five, Back of the loss column.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yes.

[Don Hahn]

And this is the message I have for Yankee fans. I cannot defend Aaron Judge and what he has done historically in the postseason. But for those of you that just want to disregard him as just so what? He's a regular season player, hasn't won a championship. He's not Derek Jeter. This is your team without Aaron Judge. This is it. Because guess what? Even if he goes.04 with four strikeouts, his presence in the lineup raises all boats. Okay? So since he's been out of the lineup, Bellinger's hitting like.200. Jazz is hitting under.200. Rice, who looked like he was on his way to maybe being an MVP candidate, he's not hitting at all. He's barely above.200. Goldschmidt's over his last 22, and Goldschmidt's playing too much. That's the problem. He's 38 years old. He's supposed to be a spare part. But the fact that Judge is out, the fact that Stanton, more importantly, is out now he's been asked to do too much, and he's starting to look his age.

[Peter Rosenberg]

And goalie was playing really well, but it catches up.

[Don Hahn]

But he's supposed to be a spare piece, and now he's getting way too many at bats, and he's over his last 22. So for all the people that kill Judge, this is what your team looks like without him.

[Ad Read Announcer]

Of course.

[Don Hahn]

And they can't hit. They just lost two out of three to Minnesota, which never happened. They threw your jock strap on the.

[Aaron Boone]

On the.

[Don Hahn]

On home plate and beat the Minnesota Twins.

[Peter Rosenberg]

They haven't lost a series at home to the twins since, like, 2014.

[Don Hahn]

Now, K throughout this stat, own them. It's Amazing. Peter, think about this for a second. Since 2022, so over the last four

[Aaron Boone]

years,

[Don Hahn]

the Yankees have played the Twins 162 times. Oh, I know. They won 119.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Don Hahn]

If they played the Twins for a full season, they break the winds, right? Yep. And they lost two out of three. Yeah. And they hadn't lost a series since 2014 at home.

[Peter Rosenberg]

A series at home.

[Don Hahn]

Series at home in 12, 2014. Yeah, that's the thing.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But they just, they, they're, they're a mess offensively. They're bullpen. I mean, how Deval is still here blows my mind. Michael told me at the beach bash when I was kind of grilling him about all the concerns I have about the Yankees. That was one of the things I was, I was like saying to him is that it just seems like the same thing over and over again. He said, well, the bullpen is a problem, but we always know that the bullpen is something they address at the trade deadline. They're going to do it again. I believe that. I thought starting pitching would be better, but Cole's going through something right now. We know Freed is not there. Rodon now is on the mend.

[Don Hahn]

True.

[Peter Rosenberg]

And by the way, Weathers is a absolute disaster. Like, this is getting to Sonny Gray level. The guy's throwing up. He's sick. He can't throw like he, he gets bombed. And so this was somebody they really felt good about as a starter that they thought they might transition to the bullpen. I almost worry about putting him in the bullpen because he gives up so many home runs that you worry if he can come in, he might blow it in.

[Don Hahn]

I mean, you can't hide. That's what.

[Peter Rosenberg]

He's the only guy you really can rely on. And he starts tonight. But, but this series, Don, I keep hearing the July thing. I get it. It's just July. I know, but they are four back. This is a four game set down in Tampa. They have, they've stumbled the last two games. They won nine in a row, then they lost two. But if you lose three out of four, that could be the division. Like it could be done.

[Don Hahn]

I don't think that's hyperbole.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I don't think I'm overreacting. Don't you think that you could call it a day on trying to win the division? Yes. Because you're not seeing Judge till late August. And if you can't, if you can't win this series and you're 1 in 9, your last 10, I think I know they're 3 and 12 in the last 15. They can't put runners on base. They can't. When they do get them on base, they can't get them in their errors. The. The number of the errors here. So the 29 unearned runs the last 15 games is an insane stat. 20 errors over that stretch.

[Don Hahn]

No, it's bad baseball.

[Peter Rosenberg]

This is just bad baseball. And so, yes, injuries are a part of it. And you're going to struggle at the plate when you don't have your best player. Like you said, the high tide raises all boats. That's what Judge is. He makes everybody else around him better because pitchers feel so worried about him that they. They don't focus as much on others. But if you are not at least playing clean baseball, what the hell are we doing? That's where they are right now.

[Don Hahn]

They're giving up way too much over the last 15 games. And then you hear all the players talk about lack of focus, lack of focus.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Well, that was judged to me.

[Don Hahn]

Jazz said it after he was playing with his gloves. He gets picked off at first. That is lack of focus.

[Peter Rosenberg]

We're kind of reaching that point with Jazz now. It's like, okay, now we know who you are. And can we all say, I don't think Jazz Chisholm is a true Yankee, right? Like, he.

[Don Hahn]

Well, we've been saying that.

[Peter Rosenberg]

He's not really. He was fun for a minute. He does have moments. But, man, some of his at bats, you just shake your head going, what

[Don Hahn]

the hell are you doing? But there is a lack of focus. What do you do about it? I was listening to K driving in. He's like, send somebody down, trade somebody. Send a shockwave through the organization. I take it a step further.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I don't think that does anything.

[Don Hahn]

Here's the issue is it's been a problem for a long time, and that's the lack of accountability.

[Caller/Listener]

You.

[Don Hahn]

You've get, you know, Boone saying over the weekend, you know, it's why we're here. It's what we do. We love it. You know, it's a sickness of the grind and all. Like, stop with the excuses. It's time to start calling guys out. It's time, you know, bench guys. There's been a lack of accountability with the Yankees forever, where you've got a manager that defends, defends, defends. The players are way too comfortable. Nobody ever gets sent down. Nobody ever gets traded. Everybody gets apologies for how they play. Maybe there's time for. Maybe it's not a lack of focus. Maybe it's just a lack of accountability that they know at the end of the day, I'm still going to be in the lineup, I'm still going to get played, I'm still going to get defended by the organization. They're still going to make excuses for everything. It's injuries, it's this, it's that. The other thing, you know, maybe there's got to be more of a level of accountability here because, yeah, I defended them because of the injuries, because one third of the lineup was out. You're playing garbage against the lousy Red Sox team. Tiger team, twin team, Come on.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Well, it's the, again, the errors part of it that frustrates you while you're playing guys out of position. Okay, but are you that bad? The communication issues that they're having when it comes to call, like when Dominguez was calling off Jazz. Yeah, but apparently you weren't doing it loud enough or something because Jazz didn't hear you. I also am wondering this. I always send. Anthony and I now send these clips to each other because it's almost like this is. This is our way of coping. So Aaron Boone on Camilo Duvall. I know nobody likes hearing it, but he's been throwing the ball really well.

[Caller/Listener]

Where

[Peter Rosenberg]

I think this is true. I think he deep down knows like, this is going to piss them all off. But what the hell, because he doesn't know what else to say. What's he going to say?

[Don Hahn]

What is so wrong?

[Peter Rosenberg]

They're all going to get mad. So I'm just going to fumb with it because I'm losing my mind because

[Don Hahn]

this is really like, why would you

[Peter Rosenberg]

ever say he just got bombed two straight games and you're like, well, you know, he's really throwing the ball. Well, I'm telling you, I feel like that's like a little low key, just trolling.

[Don Hahn]

Well, it's, it's low key trolling. And it's also like, well, listen, I know more than you. It just, I think. How can you say that? You're being a complete feedback. Do you think? No, I don't think he is and I like him. But don't sit there and insult the fans intelligence by saying, that guy that's getting bombed not be in the major league saying, I thought he pitched well. What the hell you looking at? Aaron smoked. And again, I feel bad saying this. I really do love him too. And yet the only thing that got you to say you're hot and you're angry ever was a lollipop. Even that he got completely neutered because the next day he had to be on board with it. Yeah, because again, there's zero accountability. Your manager said that he was, he was pissed off by it. And he's holding up lollipops. He's getting picked off of first base, still goes and trots out and plays second base every single day, despite the fact that he's hitting under.200 since his protection on the lineup's been gone. Guys, come on. I don't, I, I, I've always, like, went after the Yankee fans like you're spoiled and all that, but come on, man. You have every right to be ticked off at the fact that there's never any accountability. And every time you ask about. And you know that Boone's frustrated by it, but stop defending him. Don't sit there on a guy that's getting bombed on the mound every single night.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I thought he bids well, but, you know, what was the other thing?

[Don Hahn]

And there's no credibility.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Who was he talking about with the, with the swing making good. There was somebody else he was talking about. Like, you know, I know it doesn't show, but I think it was Wells. He was talking about Wells, you know, some good swings. He's getting some good swings. I'm telling you. I think he knows. Like, I really, I can't. I can't kill these guys. I can't do it. A lot of these guys shouldn't be playing as much as they're playing. They're not playing the position they should be or in the order that they should be. So. But I got to give these people something. And it's almost like that little party that thinks it's funny. Like, let me just keep saying that because I know it'll set them off. But how about this? This also caught my attention is. And this is true. And to me, I've always said this in all the sports that I've covered in 30 years of covering pro sports, that you're the biggest, the biggest concern for any owner is not losing is not a bad team. It's not any. It's apathy. And you'll never really have true apathy with the Yankees because of how big

[Don Hahn]

they are, because they're the Yankees.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But how about this tweet I saw? Is anyone starting to care less about the Yankees? Not that we don't care, but care less because we've seen this movie over and over before. I'm still upset with this team, but in years past, I'd be filled with crazy rage.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But now I saw that tweet and I'm like, that's so relatable.

[Don Hahn]

And they're so lucky that the American League stinks, right? And that they're still going to make the playoffs. And I think still people believe that at the end of the day, they'll be better than the Rays and they'll win the division and then what ends up happening, it'll all be forgiven.

[Caller/Listener]

They.

[Don Hahn]

Then you get into the playoffs and then the Arrows will come back, the lack of hitting will come back, and then they'll lose at some point, maybe even the World Series, because the American League is that bad. And then, oh, we went to the World Series. What's so wrong?

[Peter Rosenberg]

But doesn't that. Again, that's the part that pisses me off.

[Don Hahn]

I know he has for a while.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I was saying this to Michael and I was not trying to grill him because I felt bad, but it was my first chance, actually. I said, let me just interview you about the Yankees because there's so many I want to ask. And I said, my biggest issue is I've been distracted by the Knicks for all these months. So I haven't really been as dialed in, although I watch as much as I can, but now I'm able to watch every night. And all I keep telling myself is this, this is the same thing. It's. It's the same things.

[Don Hahn]

And, and it's mental errors, it's physical

[Peter Rosenberg]

errors, it's bad at bats. And I'm like, why? When they're bad, they're bad. Is always looks the same year to year to year.

[Don Hahn]

And nobody wants to hear you because it's like, you know, you're complaining the rich guy complaining the taxes are too high because you're going to go to the playoffs and you're probably going to win the division and you're going to make a run because the American League stinks and the other team in town is going to finish 30 games under.500. And everybody's going to say, what are you complaining about? You could be the Mets, but you've got talent, you've got the. Well, you've got a high payroll. But it's just. I can understand the monotony of. It's the same thing, but because they're going to lose in the World Series to the Dodgers or the Padres or whoever, they'll say, wait a minute, what are you complaining about? We went to the World Series, went to the playoffs again. We're still complaining about a team that's nine games above 500 but you just lost series to the Red Sox, Tigers and Twins. Yeah, I mean, I'm saying, and everybody and their mothers talk about we lack focus. Why would you lack focus?

[Peter Rosenberg]

It's your job, especially if you are losing games, that should also make you more focused. Because you know what the task at hand is when you wear a Yankee uniform, that this and the fact that judge spoke up can't be overlooked. Because it's not what he said when he spoke publicly. It's not because he didn't say anything that dramatic. It's the fact that he spoke. And I again, for anybody that's like all is well, don't worry about it. No, because with the Yankees, it's all about the ring and it's also for me, all about rings.

[Don Hahn]

There you go. That was well done.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Because for me, the project we have at our house, I got a beautiful French door. It's in, it's installed, it's gorgeous and it looks great. And we use. My contractor, Michael Weldon used ring's end with me and I'm glad he did. And you can too, because not only they have beautiful doors that you can get if you need that at your house, windows, kitchens, everything that you would need to update and upgrade your home. They are a regional, by the way, company. They are deep northeast roots. They've been around for over 124 years. They have eight full service lumber yards in Connecticut and Westchester county and 12 freestanding paint centers as well. They have an inventory of built to last high end product lines that contractors like my guy Michael relies on. So if you need to update or upgrade your home, go visit one of their locations or go [e-mail] that's ringsend.com.

[Don Hahn]

he's good, man. He's outstanding. Guy knows what the hell he's doing.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Just ad lib that whole thing, by the way.

[Don Hahn]

1-800-919-3776. Tessa in West Caldwell, how are you?

[Caller/Listener]

Hey guys, thanks so much for taking my call. I missed you. You know, I want a vacation. You know, licensing is here on my program, so I'm being crazy, but I'm back now. So that's the happy part because now I'm talking back to you guys, but not a depressed fanatic maniac. Tessa, she's about to come out because like Alan said, like I just want a season where I had to bash my head against the wall. Like, you know, I deal with a football, I deal with a basketball, Now I'm dealing with baseball. Like this is a total collapse. Like I Don't care what nobody's saying. Like, right now, forget trash. Like, with that. Like that hot, humid, demonic juice that's at the bottom of dumpsters that smells like complete. Where's that right now? Where's that? I can't even. No, no, Peter, come on. Oh, I know.

[Don Hahn]

Dumpster.

[Caller/Listener]

Listen, Peter, think about it. Yeah, right. We're that. With that. That's all I'm saying. Like, we're totally that. Because at the end of the day, I understand Aaron Judge is us, but we're still a team around him. It's still a team sport. What is it? It's like the offense just says, see ya. Like, they just. They just dipped on us. They. Not here. The defense is creating, like, errors. Like, and. And it's like. Like Alan said, they're doing the same thing they do every year. Defense is doing crazy errors. Cr. The ball pen is bled out. We don't have no more blood. We're done. Like, we're done. It's like, what is going on at the sink? Why can't we fix this again? I'm not trying to bring it up, but I feel like it's like the O line with the Giants for all those years. You keep plugging pieces in, but you're not really fixing it. It's the same thing now with the Yankees. And it's like Don said, everybody, like, why are you complaining? You guys are getting together. No, this is crazy. It's the same defensive errors. It's the same bats going to sleep every year. It's the same thing with the ball pen. Like, what are we going to do to. This is scary. Like, this is the first time I am actually terrified. Like, oh, my God, are we going to get over. 500? Are we getting 90 wins? Are we getting 80 wins? Like, I know I sound kind of spoiled. I'm saying, oh, we're going to get 80 wins, but this is crazy. I don't think I'm panicking. I don't think I'm overreacting, but I am really panicked right now. Aaron just not coming back to August. Are you kidding me? We can lose the next 20 games.

[Don Hahn]

See, that's a good point, Tessa, because everybody. I don't know when Judge is coming back, all right? Freed's probably not until the end of the month. You know, Rodin, I think, is closer. Like, so it's not like they're coming back tomorrow. What's this going to look like a month from now?

[Peter Rosenberg]

The other side of the All Star break. You need to know some Absolutes. Because if you're Brian Cashman, you've got to make some serious decisions. Here's why. Like, you can't not be aggressive this year because of what you said. This is a weak American League. There is opportunity here that you could remake your bullpen, make a trade or two that could set you up to get back to the World Series. So you can't look at it like, well, this is not our year. Judges hurt. No, like, you got a strike this year because of how bad things are. Because of the parody that you're seeing.

[Don Hahn]

This is. I don't like to go there. Because it's still hard to make it to the World Series even if you win the division and not have to play in that wild card round. Still got to get through two series in order to get to the World Series.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Right.

[Don Hahn]

But this American League is so brutal,

[Peter Rosenberg]

which is why winning the division is so freaking important. Don, you can't throw this. These four games matter. You got to do something to stay in this thing.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah. Because remember, it looked like the Rays were going to run away with it. They collapsed. You passed them.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Then they won nine in a row,

[Don Hahn]

and then they win nine in a row while you're losing, you know, nine out of 10 or whatever ends up being 13 out of 17.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Don Hahn]

It's ridiculous now. And now all of a sudden, you're, You're. You're five back of the loss column.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah, it's.

[Don Hahn]

It's not.

[Aaron Boone]

This is.

[Don Hahn]

This is now gone beyond the regular woes, but they'll pull it together by playoff time.

[Caller/Listener]

This is.

[Don Hahn]

Now you start to truly worry, what's the DNA here? Can they pull it together?

[Peter Rosenberg]

This has been. This has been a tailspin now for. For the better part of what feels like a month. We're not a month yet, but it's three weeks of it, by the way.

[Don Hahn]

It's.

[Peter Rosenberg]

It's.

[Don Hahn]

It's not like you can continue this path forever. They're. They're four and a half games into the wild card.

[Caller/Listener]

Right.

[Don Hahn]

Which seems like a lot done. Yeah. But if you continue to slide and slide and slide, it's not even a complete. Like, this whole thing could come off the rails.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You have a foot. So keep this in mind, too. At the stadium, late September, four games set against the Rays. That series has got to still matter,

[Don Hahn]

and that's going to be it. And you know the Rays, the Rays don't usually lose at home. They've already swept the Yankees at home earlier this year. But this is how bad, in case you haven't been following. You were watching the Knicks, and obviously you're into the World cup. There are five teams in the American League that are above.505. The Rays are 52 and 35. The Yankees are 49 and 40. But otherwise you're talking about the White Sox five over and the Mariners three over and the Guardians are three over. So even the teams that are above.500, you know, we're not talking about. There's nobody. The best winning percentage is Tampa at.598.

[Peter Rosenberg]

So there's two in the central and one in the west.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah.

[Peter Rosenberg]

So no one else in The Astros are under.500. We know that.

[Caller/Listener]

Yeah.

[Don Hahn]

And when you look at the.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Everybody else is bad.

[Caller/Listener]

Yeah.

[Don Hahn]

The West. The Mariners are in first place three games over. The Texas Rangers are a game and a half out of first place in the American League west as a.500 team. Oh, yeah, and the Astros are two under, and they're only two and a half. Like the American League's bad people. And I know it's baseball. Anything can happen at a best of five or a best of seven series. It's bad.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yes.

[Don Hahn]

A lot of bad baseball. For you to be the New York Yankees and lose out to the Rays,

[Peter Rosenberg]

who have, what, like a $102 million payroll?

[Don Hahn]

$102 million payroll. Come on.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But you're. 292. A lot of that 292 is not playing right now. You got to keep that in mind.

[Don Hahn]

Still look at how they've played.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That's my point, though. They still should play clean baseball.

[Don Hahn]

No, of course. You could absolutely should play clean baseball. And they still have an amazing run differential of plus 78. But a lot of that became early came earlier in the year. You've lost nine of 10. They haven't had nine of 10 against the Rays, against the Tigers, the Twins and the Red Sox.

[Peter Rosenberg]

49 hits over the last 10 games is tied for the worst in franchise history in a 10 game Spanish. And in six of the 10, they haven't even hit the ball five times.

[Don Hahn]

It seems like routinely you turn the game on, they're getting shut out and getting too hit, and they give up some runs.

[Peter Rosenberg]

How about this, too? Everybody a Yankee fan? Like, first inning. Do we ever get out of the first inning without a run? Giving up a run?

[Don Hahn]

Yeah, it feels like.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Anthony, am I wrong? Anthony, am I wrong? I never get off the train and Anthony's texting me. Here we go. Here we go. And I know, I know we're already down one. I'm barely out of Manhattan. Yeah, we're not that far to Brooklyn. I'm not even off the train and so it's already the game is 640 tonight so there's a good to fair chance that by the time I text you I might still be on a platform. I'm not even on the train.

[Don Hahn]

640 and how many of the runs have they scored? Where are they were down nine nothing. They tack on three runs in the in the night.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Don Hahn]

Last night they got one run in the 19. Like they've had a lot a lot of those runs they have scored. Completely mean they're not enjoyable watches every

[Peter Rosenberg]

year with the Yankees that we're in that stage right now and it's everything is bad. That that's a. And it looks this again because it looks the same year after year with different people.

[Don Hahn]

I get it.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That's the part that gets me. It's maddening.

[Don Hahn]

No, you're not wrong.

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[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]

I know there's a few Yankee fans that want to talk about the situation at 1-800-919-3776. But the world cup is still a topic of conversation as well. So we're taking you up until 6:30 and then we'll hand it off to Mets baseball, one of those weird wraparound series where it was a weekend series but the game is a Monday.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Usually have the Monday off Atlanta.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah, a Monday. A Monday Monday, yeah. So we do have the boon Ready Spoke before the game on the players saying they lack focus. This should be a good answer because you know what? There's no excuse for it, right? So what excuse will Aaron make? Will he make an excuse? This should be interesting.

[Aaron Boone]

I don't think we're lacking a focus. I actually saw jazz comments like we just need to focus. Like not saying we weren't focused yesterday. I think we haven't played well. So those are the times. I think you want to sharpen that focus and make sure you're doing everything from a preparation standpoint to get yourself prepared to play tonight, where we obviously start another important series. I think it's highlighting that in the tougher times, you need to make sure you're focused. And I believe that we are and believe we're doing the things to give ourselves an opportunity to be successful. We obviously got to go play better. And all that in the end is just talk. Like, ball gets delivered at 6:40 tonight and we gotta play a better brand of baseball than we have over the last 10 days.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Well, I'll tell you who will be focused is Cam Schlitler. Because he's a guy that does not lack focus. He's always ready to go.

[Don Hahn]

And good pitchers always bounce back after a tough performance.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah. And so, you know, there's that. But I'm also going to say that if I'm Aaron Boone, the last thing I want to do is publicly admit that my team. Oh, yeah, they're right. They aren't focused. Because you know who that falls on? Me. So even if it's true, there's no way in hell I'm going to admit it publicly.

[Don Hahn]

But I don't understand. Like your captain said, they lack focus.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Right.

[Don Hahn]

Jazz said they lack focus. Other guys nodded their head and agreed. And then Boone goes, no, I don't think it's a lack of focus.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Again, Don. Because if he says, yeah, it is. And it's like, well, isn't that on you?

[Don Hahn]

But the last two weeks, you know, it also is on him. Okay, Aaron, what is it? Oh, we're not playing well. We know that. Why? You're telling us what we already know. You're not playing well. I get it. You had players. Your captain. Why would you want to neuter your captain? Why wouldn't you get to the bottom of what's going on here to protect your own ass. Well, that. But that's not. That's not solving the problem. You've got to give me reasons why you're not playing well.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I think your periphery guys are not winners. That's what I think the problem is. You have too many guys that are stuck in their own emotions. Volpe, a great example. Wells, a great example. Jazz, a great example. Am I wrong?

[Don Hahn]

No.

[Peter Rosenberg]

All right, now, you take Judge out, and Bellinger and Rice suddenly become ordinary, more pressure on them. So they're dealing with that. Right? Secondary guys that need to become leader guys. And they're not that. Right. So this is the problem with your lineup, your bottom of the order, because you're trying to fill it out. Doesn't have grinders. You don't. You've got a lot of divas, you got a lot of soft brain guys. Volpe is a great example of it. Right Here's a kid that the minute something goes wrong, he's a puddle. Am I wrong? Wells can't find it. Can't find it. Cannot. He's struggling and it's in his head. So I personally think, and you see this in all sports, if you're in a slump offensively, it affects you where Don defensively, in the D zone. When your hockey's a great example, you got a forward who just. He can't score, he can't buy one. His defense gets worse. And what do they tell him? Focus on that. Just stay aggressive. Stay like. If you stay focused on that side and be as perfect as you can over there, the offense at least will come, but at least half your game is still helping the team. The Yankees don't have guys like that. They're not made of guys like that. And Ryan McMahon misses time where his defense, which is important, right, Is something that you suddenly realize you miss because you forget how bad his offense is. Ahmed Rosario is a. He's a utility guy. He's not an everyday guy. You nailed it about Goldschmidt. He is at a point in his career where he can't be every day. It's a reason why he lasted till what, February before he was signed? January.

[Don Hahn]

38 years old.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That's what I mean. He wasn't supposed. He was supposed to be a supplement piece, a vet who can supplement, but the bottom of the order, guys are not grinders. That's a major problem for the Yankees. That's being exposed.

[Don Hahn]

It's interesting because we know the talents there and because the American League is bad and because there is talent, they'll win the allotted games and they'll make the playoffs and all that's great.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But when you get to the playoffs,

[Don Hahn]

what happens when you hit on something about winners? And I always go back to 1988. Going into the 88 season, the Los Angeles Dodgers were a perennial playoff team. Just couldn't get over the hump. Hadn't won since 81. They bring in Kirk Gibson. He won the championship with the Tigers in 84. He cleaned up the locker room, got in guys faces because they were playful. They would play practical jokes like, guys, let's get to winning. And then they beat a lot of odds and they won in 88 even though they weren't the best team. It's not about building the best team. It's about. And you see, there's so many examples of talented teams that don't win because they're just missing that one piece, that one edge because it's hard to win. And now it's gone long enough. Where the Yankees have been. Forget payroll, because that's always a part of it. But that's lazy. When you look at. Since they won in 09, which is getting on now, right? Tell me about it for the Yankees. They have been one of the top five, I would think, every year, talented teams, and yet have not won the championship. Is it, you know, breaks? Is it what the Yankees always tell you? Oh, it's. It's a crapshoot once you get to the playoffs.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Oh, my God.

[Don Hahn]

It's a crap shoot for the teams that aren't prepared.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Thank you.

[Don Hahn]

It's a grind. That's the regular season, but once you get to the postseason, take a look at Ballinger's numbers in the postseason. Not great. Overall judges, postseason numbers. Not great. You got a lot of guys that have never won anything. Maybe they need to start thinking about bringing in guys that got the swagger of the big game and knowing how to win. I see it all the time.

[Peter Rosenberg]

We learned this again. I'll say it again. We learned this about the Knicks. You don't have a chance if you don't have some guys who are just grinders. Yeah, they're just gonna. They just battle through it like it doesn't matter how tough it is. You don't see guys get in their emotions. And I feel like the Yankees, especially the bottom of that order, has a couple of guys who are just in their emotions way too much. But Jazz, a big part of this man, you see how he is.

[Don Hahn]

But you know what?

[Peter Rosenberg]

He jumps out of his shoes sometimes with a terrible at bat because he just wants to hit home running.

[Don Hahn]

Why do I feel like that? If we had.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Or when things are going well, Jazz is suddenly like this fun player to watch, and he's making spectacular plays in the field because things are going well. I can't. I can't win with guys that are just not steady. You're too mercurial. You can't win with guys. But unfortunately, Cashmere brings in these guys because you know why the numbers don't

[Don Hahn]

tell you about me? Curiosity. And they never pay attention to the postseason numbers? Because the sample size is too small, and it's a crapshoot. Well, maybe you got to start thinking about. But listen, there's a Big. I'm not going to put it playoff esque, but damn close. We're getting later into July here. You're playing awful. You're taking on a team you're chasing for the next four games. Let's see what they do. Let's see if they rise to the occasion. All right, now, we were talking about the focus. When you have players saying they lack focus, Boone doesn't think that is so. Aaron, why did judging Jazz use the word focus?

[Aaron Boone]

Because I think it's an important part, especially when you go through a tough time. Like, hey, you can get distracted, you can get frustrated, you can press. And it's critical. Like, no, you need focus right now when it's tough. Right? Focus on our preparation, like in the classroom, and getting ready for the series, getting ready for the opposition, our preparation before the game. So I think it's just a reminder to focus. And then when you're asking those questions a lot, you know, you get led there a little bit. So I think it's more a reminder that there's times in the season, right, where you're flying high and things are going well. And it's like, it's never easy, but it's like, you know, easier to kind of right now, like, oh, know we're struggling to score runs here. We're losing some games. Like, make sure we're dialed in on the little things. Make sure we're focused at 11.

[Don Hahn]

Peter, you're not wrong. How can I know? I love. I love them.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I almost felt like you were about five seconds too late. Maybe 20.

[Don Hahn]

Don't. Don't you. Like, he's trying to say what they meant. Lack of focus. It's got a. Focus has a definition. Okay, we know what they meant. It may bother Boone that they went public with it. And again, a little tweak to the media. You're asking all the questions. Ask the questions. Because the Yankees have lost nine of their last 10 games to the dregs of the American League. You know how bad you've got to be to be the dregs of the American League? You just lost two out of three to the Twins. If I put on a Yankee uniform, I'd bat.500 against the Twins. There's something magical. The Twins are your elixir. They're your Advil. They make everything go away. Everything's supposed to be better. And you lost two in a row to them on Saturday and Sunday. And guess what? The games weren't even closed on Saturday. The Twins hit six home runs.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Unreal.

[Don Hahn]

Six Home runs against you. Well, that's not what they meant. Well, they're grown ups.

[Caller/Listener]

You're.

[Don Hahn]

That's your captain, man. This isn't Jazz who might be five minutes from getting traded. This isn't Volpe who's just hanging on right now. Your captain, Aaron Judge. You invested almost a half a billion dollars in the guy. You run trades by him. He's your captain. He knows what he meant. He's a big boy. He said they lack focus and then you're scrambling. Well, no, he meant. No, no. He said they lack focus. Why they lack focus because they're playing bad. Well, why are they playing bad? Because they like focus. Oh, my God.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Third base.

[Don Hahn]

It hurts because I genuinely like Aaron Boone and I feel bad for beating him up. Right, Peter? I just, I, I know, but I, And I know that a lot of this is just the speak that the Yankees tell him.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I' telling you, Don, this is him. This is you. Remember they fired Carlos Mendoza as a mercy shot so he wouldn't have to sit and face the music every day talking about a God awful baseball team. Well, Aaron Boone's not going to get fired, but he's got to now spend the middle of the summer, the dog days of the baseball season, going into the All Star break. Especially when you have injuries where guys are just looking forward to the break. Let me get, Let me just. They're not, they're not focused, they're not locked in. So it makes me question the message of the team. I believe Judge when he says in spring training that the goal is to win a championship. I don't believe many other people in that organization. I don't believe many of the players that they get because they come in. And a lot of these guys are not about like, I believe Garrett Cole. I believe him.

[Don Hahn]

I gotta love that Boone wanted to take him out on Friday.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah, no, that's exactly what he should have done, too. But I'm telling you, I don't think a lot of their peripheral players come in feeling like I'm going to be part of the difference here. No, they come in going, well, Judge is going to. Judge is going to carry us. And we got Garrett and we got like, I don't think they're bringing in the right kind of guys. Does that make sense?

[Don Hahn]

You're absolutely right. And you know what?

[Ad Read Announcer]

There's two things.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Everybody gets hurt. What happens? They don't grind, they just fall to pieces.

[Don Hahn]

There's two things that should drive you as a ball player for the great ones. It should be to win a championship because they don't have to worry about getting cut, right? For everybody else, it's worrying about getting cut. But you don't get cut. With the Yankees, you've got a manager that's gonna defend you, not call you out, right? He's defending Jazz. Jazz, who had a lollipop at second base, got picked off yesterday because he

[Peter Rosenberg]

was playing with his glove and then hurt his toe.

[Don Hahn]

And he knows, hey, even though I predicted I'd go 50 for 50, and he's not even batting.200 with Judge out of the lineup. You know what? There's no accountability, man. There's never any accountability. And in any walk of life, whether you're a student, whether you're working a 9 to 5 job, if you know that if you come in late, if you know if you don't do your job, you've got a boss that's going to come to you at 5:00 and pat you on the back, say, good job, son. Eventually you're going to be like, I guess what I do doesn't matter because I'm never held to accountability. But if I go out there and kick ass and my boss is still in my face, I'm going to say, man, I better kick ass every day. Otherwise this guy is going to be in my face. But instead, they get defended. They act like clowns and they get defended. They don't hit and they get, they get defended. They can't field and they get defended. So what do you think's gonna happen? Maybe that's the lack of focus, is the lack of accountability. I don't need to be focused because what's gonna happen to me? And again, that's why it all stood out when people were like, why, why are you still talking about the stupid lollipop thing? I had to talk about it because that was the only time we heard a true, like, edge. There was an anger to it and immediately neutered. Well, the next day, a dog at the vet. But both pieces made it interesting. Number one, it's interesting that he was so public about being angry. What does that say about his relationship with Jazz? And then the follow up of Jazz holds up the lollipops the next day. And then he goes, and then you hear him talking about this.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah, he can have a lollipop whenever

[Don Hahn]

he wants, whatever he wants. And then you hear him, right now they've lost 13 of 17. They're playing like absolute garbage in every facet. He sounds completely calm and like everything's okay. So I'm just saying the contrast is fascinating, that's all.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I just think he's trying to get through it right now.

[Don Hahn]

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[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]

Not everybody understands the lyrics. You know Born in the USA is still played at like every election. Like in Meanwhile, it's not exactly Pro America, right? So people don't pay attention to the lyrics until until something like that. She's Only 17 by Winger Daddy says you're too young, but you're old enough for me. What are we doing? Did you ever see Kip Winger? He could have any woman he wanted. I don't know what he looks like now, but back in the 80s, man, he just walk in the mall and like 17 women had. Follow him out to the car. And he's singing about a 17 year old.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Did you ever see Kip winger said in 2026 on New York sports radio?

[Don Hahn]

Well, but you're right, 2026, I said, you ever see Kip Winger and expect a positive response? That's on me. But back in the 80s, Peter, he looked good.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Yeah, he had the feathered hair, the whole.

[Aaron Boone]

Oh, the whole.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Really, Peter.

[Don Hahn]

It was like he reeked of 87. And I. And I've never. If you walked in with a T shirt with his face on, I wouldn't know.

[Peter Rosenberg]

No, you wouldn't know him at all.

[Don Hahn]

You don't know the song.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But you.

[Caller/Listener]

But you.

[Don Hahn]

Only from you talking about. We've done this conversation, but you would not let. You would not let me four hours a day. That's a lot of repeats of stuff. I mean, we've been together for like 11 years. That's a lot of radio. Especially stuff that you're fascinated by. And this. I get it. No, if I. Now, if I defend, like, if I swore to you I'd never talked about it again, then you know what? Get me institutional. Yeah, good. I realize that. See, you know, many times we talked about the Yankees struggling offensively in June and July every year.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Four years.

[Don Hahn]

Why do you think I'm rooting so hard for the us? We need the us. I just, I. They win again. They get us one more week.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You're so right.

[Don Hahn]

If they. How about this? If the US wins tonight.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Well, it's Friday.

[Don Hahn]

Get us. It's a Friday. They get us till next Monday.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You're right. Because whatever happens Friday, we got to

[Don Hahn]

break it down Monday. We're taking suggestions on what we should do Friday at 3 o' clock if they win. Going right up against the game. I know. Again, I don't know if it'll do the same number because it's a 3 o' clock in the afternoon. I almost want to punch on the show. Don't you want to take a knee?

[Peter Rosenberg]

Want to take the day off?

[Don Hahn]

You almost take the day.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Three of us all say we aren't working Friday. What are they going to do? Say, you can't?

[Don Hahn]

Or how about they say, no, here's what they should.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I got Cali and some hockey. I'm gonna be up in Connecticut.

[Don Hahn]

So either way, Don, here's what they should do. They should say to us, hey, doing the show doesn't make sense, but we're gonna get a big bag of cash to Go host a big Peter and Don viewing party and we just watch the dang game with the people. That's how big. Because it's tough. I mean, that's going to be a huge.

[Caller/Listener]

It's.

[Don Hahn]

It's sporting event to be up against. But you got to commit to a game. We don't know right now whether it's going to get played or not.

[Peter Rosenberg]

I think tomorrow we collect if they, if they're, if we get a dub tonight. I think we have a conversation tomorrow.

[Don Hahn]

Let's do it. Gotta see. You got it. But you know what? It's a big. It's already a big night. Let's see what happens tonight while we put those plans together. Let's talk to Joe and Monroe. You're on espn. Oh, Joe and Monroe. Oh, boy.

[Caller/Listener]

Hey, what's up, guys? I. Sorry, Peter, but I just want to talk about the X real quick because I think it's not really. It's awful right now, but like, this happens every year and I think it does make it worse when the playoff performance reminds you of what happened during

[Don Hahn]

this period of time when it's been off.

[Caller/Listener]

But like one, I think it's too

[Don Hahn]

early to be having any meltdown.

[Caller/Listener]

And two, Alan, I think you said earlier that you think they're not bringing in guys that believe in the championship or that they can do it as

[Don Hahn]

heavily maybe as, you know, Cole and Judge.

[Caller/Listener]

I don't think that's true. I think you could see players like, even like Rosario or the way Caballero plays.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Those are two. I think you're right about those two, I'll give you that. Those guys are all about it. And they like. But they're good supporting role guys. But they're also supposed to be utility.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah, they're not everybody.

[Peter Rosenberg]

When I say bottom of the order, I'm talking about some of these guys that I think are just a little too soft. Volpe, he just melts when things don't go right. He melts. Wells melts, melts.

[Don Hahn]

I don't mean to get. I don't mean to get on you, Joe.

[Peter Rosenberg]

You're not wrong.

[Don Hahn]

But like, what are we doing? Like, if a team can lose nine out of 10 games and we're supposed to just go 20 errors in the last 15 games, it's still early. Let's not panic. Really? How many baseball fans need to tell me? Mets and Yankees, dude, wake me in September, right? Because every time, every time a team gets hot, oh, it's too early. Don't get excited. It's too early. Then a team out of nowhere loses 9 out of 10 to the dregs of the American League. It's like, I don't think there's any need to panic. What do I watch? Baseball.

[Peter Rosenberg]

That's.

[Don Hahn]

That's. What is the value in even talking about it. That's the point. Labor Day, I said the first show after Labor Day, we come back from the summer and we just go, what's going on in baseball? Oh, the Yankees and Mets are out of it. Okay.

[Caller/Listener]

Football.

[Don Hahn]

Oh, the Yankees and Mets are in it. All right, let's talk about it.

[Peter Rosenberg]

But it looks the same, Don. That's the pro. That's the part that bothers me. If it was something different every year. Well, this year it's injuries. The year before that, you know, the bullpen was terrible. The year before that, there was something. Maybe you didn't have enough at the bottom. Well, I don't know. But every year, why does it look the same?

[Don Hahn]

Well, it's not exactly. A lot of times it does involve injuries here as well. Like, it's always, to me, a piece. It's more than just bad.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Why does the fielding part of it, though, always come back as the continual thing? The one through line you have is that when they're bad, they are awful at fielding the baseball.

[Don Hahn]

Well, it sounds like what the fans are telling us and what the players tell us with a lack of focus, despite the fact they lost 9 out of 10, is. I guess the regular season of baseball doesn't matter.

[Peter Rosenberg]

No, don't say that.

[Don Hahn]

Well, then what am I supposed to think?

[Peter Rosenberg]

I'm not saying you're wrong.

[Caller/Listener]

Right.

[Don Hahn]

But I hate that feels that way

[Peter Rosenberg]

because it never used to be like that.

[Don Hahn]

Tristan in Memphis, you're on ESPN New York. What's up, man?

[Caller/Listener]

How you doing, Don? I'm actually calling not. Not to talk about the Yankees, but I wanted to wish you a happy anniversary on something that happened 10 years ago to the day was the infamous Jose Reyes ran. And I'm not sure if you guys have talked about it yet.

[Don Hahn]

No, no.

[Caller/Listener]

I'd like to wish you a happy anniversary.

[Don Hahn]

Oh, you know what?

[Caller/Listener]

The memes galore that have happened anytime that you talk about the Yankees on Twitter and they're on this.

[Don Hahn]

You know what?

[Caller/Listener]

Right now.

[Don Hahn]

Thanks.

[Caller/Listener]

In the words of Peter. Yeah, that sure unadulterated ass that's right here. We know. And I would like to thank you, Mr. Don libre, for that.

[Don Hahn]

Well, you know what?

[Peter Rosenberg]

I want to thank you, Tristan, because

[Don Hahn]

now, now at the start of ENN, we're going to relive them. You know what? 10 years. That's, that's crazy if it was a day.

[Peter Rosenberg]

Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast. I don't want to know how the sausage is made, but I just want to know it's good. Hear more of Don Allen and Peter weekday afternoon starting at 3 on 8 80, ESPN, the ESPN New York app and your smart speakers.

[Don Hahn]

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[Caller/Listener]

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[Don Hahn]

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