Bandwagon Beach

It's Monday! That means Darren and John are recapping the weekend in San Diego sports and that this is a completely free episode for everyone to listen to. Tell your friends!

The guys recap their thoughts on the Padres' trade deadline moves and what it means for the (short-term and long-term) future of the team, as well as why A.J. Preller might have been motivated to push in some of his chips to give this year's squad a better chance to make a deep playoff run.

Darren looks up the team's playoff odds and strength of schedule while they discuss whether the Padres can catch the Dodgers and win the NL West divison.

Finally, San Diego FC has seemingly been eliminated from the Leagues Cup, and that's fine. However, Milan Iloski is back in MLS, playing for Philadelphia Union, and that's upsetting to some.

00:00 - Welcome back / Padres trade deadline recap

39:40 - San Diego FC loses to Tigres / Milan Iloski back in MLS

Section 1904 is a community-supported media company. If you like our content, considering subscribing at Section1904.com to support our work for as little as $5/month.

John Gennaro is joined on this episode by a Section 1904 subscriber, known on Padres Twitter & Bluesky as "mensrea" or "mensie", who has lost his love of the San Diego Padres due to how A.J. Preller has handled the team.

That's a fascinating position, losing your love of your favorite team during the winningest stretch in the team's history, so John turned that into an idea of interviewing Section 1904 subscribers and calling these bonus episodes "The Comment Section".

This is a bonus episode for paid subscribers of Section 1904 only. If you like it and would want to hear more of these types of episodes where John talks to regular Padres fans, reach out and let us know!

Section 1904 is a community-supported media company. If you like our content, considering subscribing at Section1904.com to support our work for as little as $5/month.

John Gennaro is joined by Dylan from the Letters to A.J. substack to talk about all of the moves the San Diego Padres made yesterday and what it means for the future of this year's team.

The guys also talked through some roster crunches and hard decisions that A.J. Preller and Mike Shildt will be forced to make, but these are good problems for the Padres to have.

Tune in to find out why Freddy Fermin is not Austin Nola, why Fernando Tatis Jr. is trending in the right direction, why Mason Miller's best future might just be staying in the bullpen and whether Luis Arráez is finally fully-healthy.

Section 1904 is a community-supported media company. If you like our content, considering subscribing at Section1904.com to support our work for as little as $5/month.

John Gennaro walks you through all five of the trades the San Diego Padres made today before the MLB trade deadline, giving his thoughts along the way on how these pieces could fit in the roster and if they make the major league team better.

Then, Darren (again) checks in poolside from Cancun, this time after a few shots of tequila, and talks about how much fun it is to be a fan of this team when A.J. Preller is in charge.

00:00 - Padres trade deadline review

34:15 - Darren checks in with his thoughts

Section 1904 is a community-supported media company. If you like our content, considering subscribing at Section1904.com to support our work for as little as $5/month.

John Gennaro gets you updated on the news that the Padres have traded four of their top prospects to the A's in exchange for closer Mason Miller and LHP JP Sears. On it's face, it looks to be a pretty dramatic overpay for San Diego, but maybe it's leading to something more.

Darren Smith chimes in poolside from Cancun, Mexico to talk about how no prospect is ever untouchable for AJ Preller and the Padres, even if it's the #3 prospect in baseball (Leo de Vries).

Section 1904 is a community-supported media company. If you like our content, considering subscribing at Section1904.com to support our work for as little as $5/month.

Darren and John kick off the show by talking a bit about the MLB trade deadline and when/what the San Diego Padres may or may not do before it hits. Then, they welcome today's guest to the show:

Karim Zidan is an investigative journalist who has written about the intersection of sports and politics for ESPN, the New York Times, The Guardian and more. He now runs his own Substack, Sports Politika. He talks with the guys about what the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics might look like and why President Trump has leaned into UFC's fandom, as well as Saudi Arabia becoming a key player in global sports ownership.

After Karim leaves, Darren and John recap last night's San Diego FC's loss to Pachuca and wonder how much Anders Dreyer's red card will affect how far the team can go in the Leagues Cup.

00:00 - Padres / MLB trade deadline

10:00 - Karim Zidan on the intersection of sports and politics

54:00 - San Diego FC loses Leagues Cup opener

Section 1904 is a community-supported media company. If you like our content, considering subscribing at Section1904.com to support our work for as little as $5/month.

Darren Smith and John Gennaro talk about what to expect from San Diego FC's matchup against Pachuca tonight and recap a great, almost playoffs-like, atmosphere for the Padres' win over the Mets at Petco Park last night.

They also wonder what that start does for Dylan Cease's trade value, John explains why he'd rather the Padres trade Robert Suarez (and why he's bullish on Fernando Tatis Jr.'s offense), before discussing the potential salary cap that will probably lead to an MLB lockout after next season.

Finally, the guys open up the mailbag from Discord and answer some questions about enjoying this year in San Diego sports and other sports they want to follow more closely.

Section 1904 is a community-supported media company. If you like our content, considering subscribing at Section1904.com to support our work for as little as $5/month.

Darren Smith and John Gennaro recap a sports weekend that included some bench-clearing in St. Louis and another home win for San Diego FC.

First, the guys talk about the San Diego Padres finishing their road trip 5-5 and how different it might've felt if they had lost the last two games instead of winning them. Then, they get into a long conversation about what the Padres will be able to do at the trade deadline and how the long-term strategy of the franchise shifted following the death of Peter Seidler.

Later, the guys recap a very fun game for SDFC against Nashville SC that featured highlight plays from the team's all-star players as well as continued success from the youngest backline in MLS history. Darren breaks some news about SDFC transfers and gives whatever thoughts he can on the new additions while the guys debate Leagues Cup strategy for Mikey Varas.

00:00 - Padres talk / MLB trade deadline

40:05 - SDFC beats Nashville / Leagues Cup next

Section 1904 is a community-supported media company. If you like our content, considering subscribing at Section1904.com to support our work for as little as $5/month.

Darren Smith and John Gennaro get ready for a weekend of San Diego sports, talking first about the Padres losing their third consecutive game and another disappointing start for Yu Darvish. John feels bad for Darvish, who feels like he has the team's season riding on his shoulders at the moment, and Darren thinks the team needs to prioritize adding more pitching if they want to go far in the playoffs.

Then the guys turn their attention to San Diego FC, who welcome Nashville SC to Snapdragon Stadium this evening for a matchup of two of the best teams in MLS this season. How will SDFC's lineup change with some guys injured and some former starters returning from injury?

Finally, South Park took some shots at Donald Trump and Paramount in their season debut episode and the guys spend a few minutes playing clips and cheering on the sentiment.

00:00 - Padres trade deadline tension

29:30 - Match Preview: San Diego FC vs. Nashville SC

46:30 - South Park takes on Trump & Paramount

Section 1904 is a community-supported media company. If you like our content, considering subscribing at Section1904.com to support our work for as little as $5/month.

Darren and John kick off today's podcast by talking about "smashing the like button" and some podcast milestones before getting into their thoughts on last night's MLS All-Star Game. Full warning, before welcoming a guest to the show, there is an inordinate amount of time spent talking about Hulk Hogan and his penis.

The guys then welcome Mark Neville, CEO at Sports San Diego, to the show to talk about what went into bringing NASCAR to San Diego and what people can expect from next year's race on Naval Air Station North Island.

Afterwards, the guys discuss their own experiences attending races and what their expectations/plans are for the NASCAR event.

00:00 - Smash the like button

10:00 - MLS All-Star Game thoughts

15:00 - Hulk Hogan was only a character

33:40 - Mark Neville on NASCAR's 2026 race in San Diego

58:00 - Darren drives fast

Section 1904 is a community-supported media company. If you like our content, considering subscribing at Section1904.com to support our work for as little as $5/month.