We also learned a few things about Bob’s game day prep and how he keeps himself in such great shape. And yes, I was truly shocked when he revealed his age in this conversation. Long live the Scan Man.

Marty and I also kicked around a few other things, including SDFC’s winless drought and how different losing feels in MLB when compared to other sports, including soccer. It’s been 31 days since SDFC last won a match, which sounds more dramatic than it really is (0-1-2, W-L-D in that span). But you could feel the desire to get back in the win column tomorrow at Snapdragon Stadium. Kickoff at 7:30 (pregame at 7PM) with Adrian Garcia Marquez and me on San Diego Sports 760 and the IheartRadio App.

This is the “audio only” version of this podcast. If you want to see what we all look like before showering, you can find the MartyTimeTV tab on the homepage of this Substack.

With that, there have been a few questions I’d like to answer about this podcast and some of the things that have changed from the original version of the show. If you’re wondering about subscriptions and advertising and why I’m pushing out content on Substack, I addressed few of those topics in this episode.

I was also at SDFC training a bit earlier today and have a few notes from what I saw whilst there plus you can hear what Mikey Varas said when I asked about the cascading impact of so many red cards / sendings off in such a short amount of time. Jeppe Tverskov had a decent looking shiner which, he says, came from an errant elbow in training this week. The Captain jokingly denied to identify the culprit.

And then there’s the big news of the day. The Padres launched their City Connect jerseys, hats and clothing line. Nothing too surprising as the jerseys leaked weeks ago but we did get to see the other elements of the reveal. The Padres are really good at this type of thing and production wise, it was well done.

However, is it at all odd to anyone else that the Padres chose a Dia De Los Muertos theme in April, when the actual celebration isn’t until November? And did anyone else feel conflicted about Peter Seidler’s picture on the ofrenda while his family is weeks away from selling the team, following a nasty family split that has pitted Peter’s widow against his brothers?

There’s a fine line between paying respect and pandering for profit. Do the Padres deserve the benefit of the doubt that they’re doing the former and not latter? I’m not sure. Either way, I’m sure we’ll be seeing a whole bunch of this new gear around town.

The first half of this Podcast is Darren briefly talking about the Padres weekend in Boston, Heath Bell’s comments on Craig Stammen and the most recent Friar Territory episode, before talking about SDFC’s disappointing trip to San Jose over the weekend.

The Chrome y Azul have seen FIVE red cards in 10 matches (all competitions) and have been without suspended players for a combined 450 minutes - not counting Manu Duah’s upcoming suspension against Minnesota United this weekend. Obviously, this needs to stop but is there a through line for the sendings off? Some thoughts.

Credit is also due to the improved level of competition, as Real Salt Lake and San Jose showed noticeably elite pace against SDFC and appear to be real threats in the Western Conference. San Jose would probably be THE story in the West if it wasn’t for LAFC. Mikey’s men are back in action this Saturday night at 7:30pm.

The second half of this Pod is the audio-only version of a conversation between Marty Caswell and MLB.Com’s AJ Cassavell. (YouTube version here). The two discussed Nick Castellanos’ role with the Padres, how close Yuki Matsui and Jason Adam are to joining the club and Craig Stammen’s process when choosing his leadoff hitters.

First, we caught up with our friend, ESPN’s Eric Gomez, who joined us from Miami where he was covering the opening of Lionel Messi’s new MLS home. Eric and Darren relived the experience of watching a match in Toluca before turning their attention to the recent international window with takeaways for both the Mexican and the United States Men’s National Teams. Javier Aguirre figured out ways to compete in the new-look Azteca while Mauricio Pochettino left us scratching our heads. Does he even want to be the coach?

(We didn’t talk about the uniform SNAFU between the USMNT and Belgium but just ugh)

After we wrap with Eric, we jumped into a preview of this weekend’s game between San Diego Football Club and the San Jose Earthquakes. Voice of the Quakes, Ted Ramey, taught us about Bay Area soccer culture & history, including a story about being at the first ever MLS game in 1996. Ted then talked about Hall of Famer Bruce Arena and his overhaul of the San Jose roster this past offseason. The Quakes are off to a flying start and it starts with defending, as you’ll hear in this episode.

The match is at Pay Pal Park on Saturday at 7:30. You can listen to Adrian Garcia Marquez and me on San Diego Sports 760, starting at 7PM. Here’s a link for the IHeartRadio App if you’re not into AM radio. Things are pretty tight at the top, so it’s an early season Western Conference matchup that has some sizzle to it.

This was all soccer. You want baseball? There are TWO new Friar Territory Podcasts available for you on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts. Heath Bell went in on Craig Stammen in the most recent episode, which was…interesting? Unexpected? Both?

Enjoy the shows and thank you for your support.

Thankfully, MLB.Com’s AJ Cassavell is our guest and available to speak logically about the Pads slow offensive start before we talk about how Craig Stammen has managed his bullpen, catcher usage and how the team’s approach to ABS might evolve in the next few weeks and months. We also discussed Walker Buehler’s debut and how soon the Padres might see starting reinforcements available.

After AJ leaves, Marty and Darren discussed some of the rumors about ownership and how we are entering a way different era than anything we’ve experienced locally from our pro sports owners. The times, they are about to change in a major way.

This is the audio-only version of this conversation. If you want to watch the MartyTimeTV version, find the tab on the home screen of this Substack page or simply click here.

There’s also a new Friar Territory episode available. Our guest was Dave Flemming, longtime Giants broadcaster, who had insight on Tony Vitello and what Joe Lacob could bring to the table if he ends up owning the Padres. You can find that conversation here and wherever you find your podcasts.

The line most remember from the show was “The Thrill of Victory and The Agony of Defeat". Usually they’d use that line voicing over some moment of athletic success before we watched a skier tumbling ass-over-teakettle down a mountain. But the words: Thrill. Agony. Feels like there’s no in-between for me this weekend. It will either be a thrilling weekend or an agonizing one.

This episode is me, channeling my nervous energy while waiting for the St. John’s vs Duke game at 4:10. My mind is taking me to illogical places and I am both excited and terrified for whatever happens this weekend.

Also, some appreciation for Ben and Woods on the eighth anniversary of their first show and a few thoughts on Opening Day. There’s also a new Friar Territory available on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts. Hear from Xander Bogaerts and AJ Preller. Also, if you could subscribe to that show, it would help us greatly. Please and thank you.

Run-DMC rapped about them. ESPN Big Mondays. Louie and his sweaters.

And then…nothing. Just pain. For decades. An occasional Tournament bid here and there but mostly lost season after lost season. So you’ll forgive me for spending a few minutes talking about my alma mater advancing to the Sweet 16 for the first time in 27 years and explaining why it’s such a big deal. And now - Duke. Consider this podcast your formal invitation to hop on the SJU bandwagon this weekend, even if it’s just to root against the Blue Devils.

Second half of this podcast is about SDFC.

On Sunday, I was broadcasting the match against Real Salt Lake instead of being at Viejas Arena. I have some thoughts on the past few matches and explain why the draws against FC Dallas and Real Salt Lake felt worse than the 4-0 beating against Toluca. And with the MLS transfer window closing on Thursday, hear what Tyler Heaps told the SDFC Hafltime Show (On AM 760) about his approach to the deadline.

Also, there’s a new Friar Territory episode available on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts. Our guest is Kyle Glaser, who used to host Friar Territory and has covered MLB and the Padres for years!

Hear from Darren, who was at both legs of the series, hours after the second leg at historic La Bombonera. Thoughts on the match, plus an exclusive conversation with Captain Jeppe Tverskov, minutes after being eliminated.

SDFC will next be in action on Sunday against Real Salt Lake. You can hear the game on AM 760 and the IHeartRadio App, with pregame at 3:30.

And not to sound like a Toluca homer, but the atmosphere at La Bombonera was elite. I’d put the overall experience - result aside - as a top three environment I’ve experienced. Probably a post for another day but incredible support and matchday energy from the home side - before, during and after the match. Was also nice to connect again with SD / TJ native son Eric Gomez.

Matt Vasgersian joined us from his Miami hotel, getting set for the World Baseball Classic semifinal between Venezuela and Italy (we were briefly interrupted by room service, delivering a roll of toilet paper and some tissues to the room…shrug emoji).

We talked about Team USA’s win against the Dominican Republic and a bit of redemption for Matt’s MLB Network colleague Mark DeRosa, the manager of Team USA. Matt shared some of the backstory from earlier in the tournament when criticism surfaced suggesting DeRosa didn’t fully grasp Team USA’s situation heading into their game against Team Italy.

Matt offered a few thoughts on the Padres, why he believes they're again a playoff team and what concerns he has as we inch closer to Opening Day. You can also catch Matt on Netflix on March 25th and NBC / Peacock this upcoming season. He’ll be on the call for Netflix’s first MLB broadcast between the Yankees and Giants.

Marty and Darren then wrapped up with a few updates about the MartyTimeTV / Section 1904 collaboration moving forward, a look at the NCAA Tournament, and San Diego FC dropping points against FC Dallas over the weekend.

San Diego Football Club takes on FC Dallas tonight. We will have the Kickoff Show at 5PM on Jam’n 95.7 & the IHeartRadio APP. Kickoff is at 5:40. I’ve included my conversation with SDFC Head Coach Mikey Varas in this pod. Mikey talked about the emotional, mental and physical state of the team, explained why the win against Toluca was so important and also talked about his years at FC Dallas. Covered a lot of ground this week. Enjoy.

Hope you’ll join Adrian Garcia Marquez and me for the broadcast later.

An incredible win against a true Liga MX power is a statement, regardless of what happens next week at elevation. SDFC played a man down for almost the entire match and, yet, it still felt like they were dominating play. Scoring three straight goals against CONCACAF’s highest-rated club team with the man advantage is impossible to explain. Yet, it happened.

Here are some sleepless thoughts after a wild night at Snapdragon Stadium, with postgame reaction from Luca Bombino, Anders Dreyer and Lewis Morgan.

SDFC’s next MLS match is Saturday at 5:30pm. Adrian Garcia Marquez and I will have the call on IHeartRadio.

OK - it’s actually one podcast, broken into two different parts. I was at San Diego Football Club’s training ground this morning and stuck around for the press conference ahead of Wednesday’s CONCACAF Champions Cup match against Toluca FC.

Marty scheduled an interview with MLB.Com’s AJ Cassavell for 10AM. Fortunately, we were able to divide and conquer.

In this episode, I’ll recap the press conference today at SDFC, what we did and didn’t hear from Mikey Varas and you’ll also hear the head coach’s thoughts on the Diablos Rojos. The team was keeping its decision on tomorrow’s goalkeeper close to the vest. Will it be Pablo Sisniega or Duran Ferree? The case for both.

Then, Marty & Cassavell talk Padres Spring Training story lines, including how Nick Castellanos has looked at 1B, end-of-the-roster decisions, Song and (of course) Craig Stammen’s leadoff hitter options.

I’ll try to post these here in the future but you can always hear them on the SDFC pregame show, 30 minutes before the matches, mostly on San Diego Sports 760 and always on the IHeartRadio App.

We then talked about living in Mexico when cartel violence erupts and how the country is responding 94 days before the World Cup kicks off in Mexico City. Was there any chance FIFA would change plans and what lessons were learned through the lenses of social media.

Then, we previewed San Diego Football Club’s next match - a CONCACAF Champions Cup series with Liga MX’s back-to-back champion Toluca FC. How impressive has Toluca been and what makes manager Antonio Mohamed so successful everywhere he’s been? Should be an electric matchup starting Wednesday night at Snapdragon Stadium.

You can watch this show on YouTube by clicking the link included.

Marty and Darren provide a few updates on joining the Friar Territory Podcast and what to expect from that show all season before diving into the Padres news from the week.Of course, there is still much discussion regarding Fernando Tatis Jr and where he's batting in the lineup for the Dominican Republic and where he might bat for the Padres in 2026. Marty pushes enough buttons to get DS to question the mental gymnastics some fans and media are performing regarding this topic. There's also some news about Walked Buehler and Freddie Fermin and WBC updates.SDFC plays at Sporting Kansas City this Saturday. (Listen on AM 760 or the IheatRadio App at 5PM for the pregame, 5:30 Kickoff). Looks lopsided on paper but why Mikey Varas faces a tough decision on his goalkeeper this weekend, with Toluca coming to town for CONCACAF Champions Cup on Wednesday. All that and a very on-brand update from Marty on her Toyota Tacoma in this episode.

YouTube link for this Episode: https://www.youtube.com/live/ainezfShWEo?si=ZStuqrk-qPtCVUfZ

Friar Territory: http://www.youtube.com/@FriarTerritory

In this pod - randomly recorded on a Tuesday afternoon - I'll give you the latest on my media whereabouts, including my new role on Friar Territory, my continuing role with San Diego Football Club and the rekindling of an old partnership.

Also, there was some news from SDFC, including Sporting Director Tyler Heaps and the Club agreeing to a contract extension. I chatted with Tyler about the belief ownership put in him his partnership with Mikey Varas. You'll also hear from Marcus Ingvartsen on the confidence a goal can provide and his flick-on for the second goal.

In this episode, we get the band back together for a Padres Spring Training conversion with our friend, AJ Cassavell from MLB.Com.

How are the new pitchers going to fit?

What has stood out about Craig Stammen and has he yet asked AJ for lineup suggestions? Plus, we set an over / under on ejections for the new skipper.

What will look the same and what will be different about the Padres offense in 2026? Castellanos and Campusano.

Towards the end, we deviate from Padres talk and talk a little SDFC and UEFA Champions league before Cassavell hits the Moon saloon in Peoria.

This episode is also available on YouTube at MartyTimeTV.

Why have successful MLS coaches struggled in Europe? Will Messi repeat in Miami and what impact will the World Cup have on the league this season?

Locally, thoughts on the SDFC offseason moves and how new players will fit in. Joe also explains why he believes SDFC is a serious contender for silverware and, of course, some thoughts on the Chucky Lozano saga and how it might end.

If you enjoyed this interview, we suggest you support Backheeled.Com!