The Section 1904 Podcast

Darren Smith
  • 4.6 (10)
  • Sports

In pursuit of smart conversations since 2004. The Section 1904 Podcast is a 20-year radio career, distilled for small batch consumption. Quality over quantity. Made in San Diego. dsmithshow.substack.com

  1. 6d ago

    “The Biggest Cauldron in MLB”

    (This is the audio-only podcast version of Tuesday’s MartyTimeTV / Section 1904 joint venture. You can find and subscribe to this podcast on Apple and Spotify and right here on Substack by clicking the button below. To watch this episode on YouTube, click here) October is (almost) here, and the Padres are hosting the Cubs in a rematch of last year’s NL Wild Card matchup. Here’s our Padres-Cubs playoff preview, which started with MLB.Com’s AJ Cassavell offering thoughts on the 26-man roster. The biggest surprise on that roster? Joe Musgrove. He hasn’t pitched in a big league game since October 2024, which was the last time the Padres hosted playoff baseball. What do we make of this decision and perhaps more importantly, what does putting Musgrove on the roster mean for everyone else? Could Robbie Ray eventually find himself in the bullpen? How does Musgrove’s inclusion change the way the Padres can deploy their relievers? Is he being saved for a possibe extra-inning situation? Is this purely for baseball reasons or does Joe also provide an emotional lift heading into Game One? Nobody really knows but we talk through the possibilities. We also get into Ethan Salas, the 20-year-old catching phenom sure to make his postseason debut. The Padres are carrying three catchers and we discussed the numerous ways Craig Stammen might use them in the series. Then we’re joined by NBC/Peacock broadcaster Dave Flemming, who will be calling the series alongside Mark Grant and Jim Deshaies. Dave gives us a look at the Cubs, including the differences between the two clubs and how Craig Counsell might navigate his bullpen, which is in complete contrast to how we expect the Padres to use theirs. That bullpen comparison gets particularly interesting. The Padres spent much of the regular season operating with defined roles. Counsell, meanwhile, has a long history of mixing and matching in the playoffs and may have fewer reservations about using his relievers in unconventional spots. Does that experience give Counsell an edge when the game gets weird or was “pitching chaos” enough of a crash course for the Padres freshman skipper. And then there’s Petco Park. Flemming calls it “the biggest cauldron in MLB.” What does that actually mean once the first pitch is thrown? How much can the atmosphere influence a playoff game particularly when every pitch matters exponentially more than regular season games? We also looked at the September paths these teams took to get here. The Padres went 18-6 down the stretch. The Cubs went 11-13, which is why the games are at Petco Park. Chicago also had to fly around the country in the final week of the season, while Mother Nature made a mess of their schedule. Does any of that matter now? Padres. Cubs. Again. LFGSD. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dsmithshow.substack.com

  2. Sep 23

    “One Of The Smartest PXP Guys In MLB”

    (This is the audio-only podcast version of Wedneday’s MartyTimeTV / Section 1904 joint venture. You can find and subscribe to this podcast on Apple and Spotify and right here on Substack by clicking the button below. To watch this episode on YouTube, click here) Padres fans have spoken and the internet produced a rare and deserved win. Jesse Agler, Tony Gwynn Jr., Bob Scanlan and producer Dave Marcus were recently named the best MLB radio booth by a recent online survey of baseball fans. Jesse talked about the recognition and what it means to have that kind of connection with Padres fans plus the expectations of performance at every level of the Padres organization. Then we got into the on-field product. Tuesday night against the Dodgers was a complete about-face from the Padres recent run and added a little more drama to the NL Wild Card race. The Friars are still in an excellent position for October baseball but everyone agrees you’d like to leave Los Angeles with your ticket punched, however it might happen. Jesse also talked about the Manny Machado that fans don’t always get to see - the relentlessly competitive version who understands the clock is ticking and is increasingly driven by the idea of winning now. What does that look like behind the scenes and what does Manny talk about when there aren’t 10 microphones in his face? We also revisit the trade deadline, where the Padres somehow managed to make moves that felt both absolutely necessary and a little underwhelming. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dsmithshow.substack.com

  3. Sep 21

    The Final Week

    (This is the audio-only podcast version of Monday’s MartyTimeTV / Section 1904 joint venture. You can find and subscribe to this podcast on Apple and Spotify and right here on Substack by clicking the button below. To watch this episode on YouTube, click here) The Padres enter the final week of the regular season with a magic number of two (combo of SD wins / AZ losses) and, of course, up next is the Los Angeles Dodgers. It’s not Tuesday but we are joined by MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell to talk about the biggest questions of this final week, including: What is the plan for Michael King? Do you pitch him Tuesday and set him up for the postseason, only using him if you’re in a win-or-go-home game on Sunday against the D’Backs? Or, if home-field advantage is still in play on the final day, should you let him pitch? We had some different ideas on this one. Then there’s the Dodgers series. How much should we actually care? The Padres have won 12 of 13 but they’ve done it against a collection of teams that aren’t world-beaters. Would taking the series prove this recent run is legit? Or are we, once again, going to short-circuit if the Padres crash out against the Dodgers? We also discussed Craig Stammen’s rookie managerial season as he closes in on 90 wins. What’s it been like covering Stammen in his first year as a big-league manager and how different is he from his predecessor, who walked away from the role due to the emotional and mental toll it took to have this level of success in Major League Baseball? The Padres appear to be headed back to the postseason with their fourth manager in seven years. Has that ever happened before? In the most exciting moment of this podcast, all three of us scroll through our phones simultaneously to research this. Stay tuned for the answer. Plus, San Diego FC went into Messi’s house and came away with a huge road draw against Inter Miami. Could that result give SDFC the boost it needs for the final stretch? The Azul y Chrome went 5-2-2 in their final nine games of 2025 with Anders Dreyer bagging eight goals and three assists over that span. Was his first multi-goal game of 2026 a sign of things to come? Fingers crossed. Also, congrats to Anders and goalkeeper CJ Dos Santos to making the MLS Team of the Matchday. Dos Santos had six saves against Miami, with four coming against Messi and the other two on Luis Suarez shots. Big time performance from both. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dsmithshow.substack.com

  4. Sep 14

    Seven Straight

    (This is the audio-only podcast version of Monday’s MartyTimeTV / Section 1904 joint venture. You can find and subscribe to this podcast on Apple and Spotify and right here on Substack by clicking the button below. To watch this episode on YouTube, click here) The Padres are rolling. A sweep of the Giants and a seven-game winning streak has created some breathing room in the NL Wild Card race and the Padres are a season-high 13 games over .500. We talked about the current standings (below) and asked a question that seemed far-fetched 10 days ago: Can the Padres catch the Phillies or Cubs? We went through the remaining schedule for each team and built hypothetical scenarios that could - I said in italics could - result in the Padres hosting a Wild Card series. But next - the Rockies. LoDo. Altitude. Rocky Mountain Oysters. The Padres are also running all over everybody. San Diego ranks second in MLB in stolen bases, with Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill and Xander Bogaerts leading the charge. All three have set new career highs with Merrill going from ONE swipe in 2025 to 26 and counting. As for the pitching. After a series of close, stressful games in San Francisco, how much is left in the bullpen as the Padres head to Colorado with no off-day? Will the rotation and relief corps hold up if these games continue to come down to the final innings? The Giants series already forced San Diego to piece together the back end of the series finale with some less-used relievers. The Rockies have lost seven straight but we know how things go at Coors Field. We also talked about one of the great mysteries of San Diego sports: Why does San Diego State consistently have such a terrible-looking passing game? Different coaches, different quarterbacks, same phenomenon. It was a rough performance over the weekend at UCLA and an all-too-familiar looking box score. San Diego FC had a miserable week, capped by a 5-0 home loss to Philadelphia. Now the questions are being asked if this is a sinking ship or whether SDFC should feel pretty fortunate to still be sitting in the final playoff position in the West. Philadelphia has shown how quickly things can change. Last year’s Supporters Shield winning team started the season 1-10-4 (W-L-D) and are now the hottest team in Major League Soccer. Can San Diego pull off a similar turnaround? Up next: Lionel Messi and Inter Miami. And finally, the big question: Does any of this really matter? We considered the possibility that AI could destroy mankind within a few years, as some have speculated. So there’s that. At least our weather is back to normal. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dsmithshow.substack.com

  5. Sep 10

    Feeling The Heat

    (This is the audio-only podcast version of Thursday’s MartyTimeTV / Section 1904 joint venture. You can find and subscribe to this podcast on Apple and Spotify and right here on Substack by clicking the button below. To watch this episode on YouTube, click here) San Diego weather has officially become offensive. Even my television is sweating. Seriously. On the Padres off-day, we talked about the disgusting heat and humidity before getting into Craig Stammen’s bizarre brain cramp that accidentally ended Walker Buehler’s outing in the Padres’ finale against the Nats. We laughed about Buehler’s quirky personality and his even quirkier answers afterward, but also wondered: How big of a deal is it that a Major League manager made that kind of glaring & very public mistake? Does it reflect poorly on Stammen or was it just one very human and inconsequential one-off on a 99-degree afternoon? Then we turned our attention to San Diego FC’s awful performance against San Jose on Wednesday night. The Azul y Chrome have lost back-to-back matches, which has halted their upward climb in the Western Conference standings. What will it take to get into the postseason with 10 games remaining and how will they get the ship righted by Sunday when they host the Philadelphia Union, who are the hottest team in MLS? Also, head coach Mikey Varas apologized to the fans afterward, which raised an interesting question: How often do you hear a professional coach actually apologize for the way his team played? Was Varas’ apology meaningful and refreshing in a world of combative and arrogant coaches or did it not land well? Time will tell us. And finally, there was an NFL game on Wednesday night. That was news to one of us - you’ll never guess who! - while Marty is searching for a Netflix password so she can watch the Niners and Rams play in Australia. Also tossed in a Serie Del Ray update, as the Tijuana Toros won on Wednesday night to split the first two games of the best-of-seven series with Olmecas de Tabasco. Former Padre Franchy Cordero hit a grand slam in the 13-2 win. LFGTJ! (h/t Nate Abaurrea) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dsmithshow.substack.com

  6. Sep 8

    Nick of Time?

    (This is the audio-only podcast version of Tuesday’s MartyTimeTV / Section 1904 joint venture. You can find and subscribe to this podcast on Apple and Spotify and right here on Substack by clicking the button below. To watch this episode on YouTube, click here) It’s Tuesday and that means we are joined by MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell. We talked about Nick Pivetta’s return to the Padres and how the box score sure looked encouraging, but do the underlying numbers tell a different story? Are our lying eyes deceiving us again? We also look at the bigger picture for the starting rotation and how Craig Stammen might navigate the rest of the regular season with Casey Mize & Robbie Ray underperforming while Randy Vazquez and Walker Buehler make their cases for big moments down the stretch and into October . Also, Luis Campusano’s weekend agains the Yankees stole some of the spotlight from top prospect Ethan Salas after Salas’ much-anticipated MLB debut. So who is the starting catcher for the Padres? And finally, we zoom out to the future of baseball: MLB expansion. If the league adds more teams, which cities would we most like to see get a franchise? As Jeff Passan reported today, MLB has SIX cities circled for potential expansion franchises. Which would we like to see added and how would we realign Major League Baseball’s divisions in the future? There’s also the Serie Del Rey starting in Tijuana tonight, where I’m headed. I think AJ would rather sweat in TJ than the Petco Pressbox but duty calls with 18 games remaining. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dsmithshow.substack.com

  7. Sep 1

    Salas Gets The Call

    (This is the audio-only podcast version of Tuesday’s MartyTimeTV / Section 1904 joint venture. You can find and subscribe to this podcast on Apple and Spotify and right here on Substack by clicking the button below. To watch this episode on YouTube, click here) The Padres have called up 20-year-old catcher Ethan Salas, and the timing couldn’t be more interesting. Salas joins the Padres in Cincinnati as the club begins its stretch run, with the Pads battling on the daily for a playoff spot while managing fatigue and injuries. AJ Cassavell of MLB.com joins us from Cincinnati (or Kentucky) to analyze AJ Preller’s decision. Is this the right time to put a young catcher in the middle of a playoff race? What are the risks of exposing Salas to the big leagues now, and how does AJ expect him to be used? Salas gives the Padres another left-handed bat at a time when they don’t have Gavin Sheets and have lost Luis Rengifo for the season. Salas could be a potential pinch-hitting weapon and the positional flexibility allows Crain Stammen to use Campusano at DH. But what about the catching? Salas has played 24 games in AAA El Paso, with only 17 appearances behind the plate. Is he ready for the world of PitchCom and ABS (modern technology that isn’t used in Double A)? We are about to find out. Should we believe his numbers in the PCL or San Antonio? Marty was also generous enough to save :60 seconds for some thoughts on Luca Bombino's farewell video to the City of San Diego. Bombino’s transfer became official on Tuesday and he was already in the matchday squad for Stoke City. Fare thee well to a class act and good luck on the next chapter, Luca. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dsmithshow.substack.com

  8. Aug 31

    Swept in St. Petersburg

    (This is the audio-only podcast version of Monday’s MartyTimeTV / Section 1904 joint venture. You can find and subscribe to this podcast on Apple and Spotify and right here on Substack by clicking the button below. To watch this episode on YouTube, click here) The Padres’ miserable weekend in St. Petersburg ended in a sweep at the hands of the Rays, and it felt like everything that could go wrong, did. The Padres played poorly, blew leads, lost Luis Rengifo to a knee injury and somehow found itself on the wrong side of some truly bizarre baseball. Oh, and they also woke up in Cincinnati on Monday, percentage points behind the Diamondbacks for the final Wild Card spot. Thankfully, we have Bob Scanlan on today’s podcast to talk us through the costly weekend, from Tatis’s ejection to Samad Taylor’s bizarre collision with the wall, where a game-ending, would-be catch turned into a game-tying two-run homer. Locally this past weekend, there was a very satisfying San Diego soccer story to discuss. San Diego FC took down the LA Galaxy 3-1 at Snapdragon Stadium, even after going down a man in the 50th minute, making it another memorable night in the young rivalry. SDFC is now 3-0 against their closest geographic rivals and, of course, there was the return of Hirving Lozano, this time wearing Galaxy colors and scoring against his former club. Thanks for reading Section 1904! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dsmithshow.substack.com

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Ratings & Reviews

4.6
out of 5
10 Ratings

About

In pursuit of smart conversations since 2004. The Section 1904 Podcast is a 20-year radio career, distilled for small batch consumption. Quality over quantity. Made in San Diego. dsmithshow.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    Darren Smith
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    75
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Darren Smith
  • Show Website
    The Section 1904 Podcast

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