Merrill Magic

(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 time for Tuesday’s With AJ, our occasionally regularly scheduled conversation with MLB.Com’s AJ Cassavell. This week, we talked about the Padres recent run of form and the surging Jackson Merrill, two things that feel very connected. The Padres have won three straight and suddenly look like a team that expects to win. We get nerdy about run differential and the recent surge and ask why Merrill has been so good since the All Star break. It’s also noteworthy that Freddy Fermín has quietly become such a difference-maker behind the plate and with the bat. Plus, we chatted about the physical and psychological toll injuries take on athletes, especially pitchers, as Joe Musgrove continues to look more like himself on the mound and in the clubhouse while the curious case of Nick Pivetta remains impossible to figure out. We also dive into the Ethan Salas question: What scenario would motivate the Padres to call up their catching phenom and what would be the pros and cons of such a decision? And finally, Tik Tok’s newest influencer, AJ Cassavell, drops a hot take about Iced Coffee that you won’t forget. 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