Need the board's brain trust. I'm getting out of work early Thursday and want to catch the Yankees' 4:05 start somewhere between Sunset Park and Bay Ridge. I don't need a steakhouse or a place that thinks a silent TV above the bathroom is a sports bar. Who's got somewhere with actual game audio and maybe a decent bar menu? Bonus if they don't flip to date-night mode the second the check hits at 6. I know Fifth Ave has spots, but half of them turn into small plates and candles by happy hour. Appreciate any recs.

Following this one. I just moved to Bay Ridge two months ago and still don't have a go-to. I tried a place on 3rd Ave last week for a 1:00 game. There were three TVs on baseball, but the speakers were playing, like, yacht rock. I asked if they could turn the game up and the bartender said the manager doesn't allow audio before 7. Is that a normal thing? I thought any bar with TVs would just do it.

Jake, that's normal for a restaurant that happens to have TVs, not an actual sports bar. If there's a candle on the table and a brunch menu, don't expect sound. Flatbush, try the old Irish spots on 5th around the 40s. They usually turn up the game if you ask, especially for a weekday afternoon when the regulars are already at the rail. Just make sure there's no soccer replay the bartender cares about first. Better to ask before you order.

Woodhaven, 'usually' is doing a lot of work there. I've been burned asking after I ordered. I'll hit one early Thursday and ask at the rail before first pitch. If the bartender acts like I asked for the HBO audio, I'm walking.

So I tried a spot near 86th Street this afternoon for the early game. The TV was on but the actual audio was from a little speaker behind the bar that the bartender had connected to his phone. It worked okay until the ice machine kicked on, then you couldn't hear anything. Is that the alternative? I'd rather have the TV speakers at that point. Does anybody keep a running list of places that reliably do sound for day games?

That bar-phone-speaker setup is more common than it should be. It's fine for a slow Tuesday game, but the ice machine always wins. If you're there before first pitch, just ask, 'You putting the Yankees audio on the main speakers?' If they hesitate, leave. It's not a dumb question. For Bay Ridge, I'd look at places with old man regulars and no DJ light. They're the ones who actually want the broadcast on.

Ended up at an old man bar near 52nd Street. They didn't have the TV audio on, but they had the radio call playing over the speakers. Honestly it saved the day. The TV was slightly ahead and had no captions, so I just listened to the call and used the screen for the crowd shots. Sometimes the radio play-by-play is better than a bar's tinny TV speaker anyway. Nobody rushed me out either.

Wait, you can just ask them to put the radio on? I didn't know bars even had AM radios anymore. That seems like a good workaround. So if a spot won't do TV audio, I should ask for the radio call instead? Does it actually match the screen? I thought any stream would be behind and ruin it.

The actual AM radio is usually close enough, but the app is like six seconds behind, so don't do that to yourself. If the bar has tinny TV speakers, a real radio behind the stick is sometimes the better move. Flatbush, between you and the old man bar, I'm going to end up starting a day-game sound list. Next season I'll be taking notes in the notes app like a degenerate.