The Section 1904 Podcast

Had the chance to go 1-on-1 with SDFC Head Coach Mikey Varas about the team taking a “step in the right direction” against Portland, how he evaluates Duran Ferree’s decision away from goal and how the club will attempt to fill Jeppe Tverskov’s rather large boots.We also talked about SDFC’s need to be more aggressive in attack while balancing patience & buildup play. Sounds like LAFC will field a heavily rotated team this week, though Head Coach Marc Dos Santos suggested Denis Bouanga will see minutes at Snapdragon Stadium.This interview will air during the SDFC Kickoff Show on San Diego Sports 760 and the IHeartRadio App, starting at 6pm. Adrian Garcia Marquez and I will have the call at 6:30 and, as always, you can listen on AM 760, the app or on AppleTV by locating the “Home Radio” icon. (See below) 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

Baseball is a very confusing sport.Fernando Tatis Jr has a .295 slugging percentage, which is bad, but he’s hitting the ball harder than anyone in the sport, which is good. Are we supposed to think he’s off to a bad start or an unlucky one?There are also confusing rules. On Monday night, a ground ball in the 9th inning appeared to be clearly foul. The umpires ruled it fair. Online arguing - pardon the redundancy - ensued. Regardless, Mason Miller’s streak ended against the Cubs.So what’s the deal? The Official MLB Rule Book suggests that was a foul ball. But wait! Apparently there’s something called the “Umpire Interpretation Manual”, which I had never heard of until today. There's precedent for that being a fair ball. Similarly seemingly obvious calls have led to online discussion in previous seasons. So…WTF?Thankfully, AJ Cassavell from MLB.Com is here to set us straight, despite feeling exhausted by the subject. We also talked about Mexico City, Manny Machado and what to make of Tatis’s ridiculously high exit velocity and ridiculously low launch angle. Per usual, AJ delivers. 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