Bandwagon Beach

7 Padres known unknowns with Letters to A.J.

With so many known unknowns about the 2026 San Diego Padres, I thought now would be a perfect time to chat with Dylan from Letters to A.J. about all of them. We talked about Tatis hitting cleanup, faith in Nick Castellanos, Luis Campusano losing a major-league swing, the range of potential outcomes, the actual impact of ABS, strategies for Craig Stammen to implement, and what a fast sale could mean for this season. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bandwagonbeach.com

A ex-ballplayer's perspective on the Padres

Nick Burke is friends with John Gennaro and a former baseball player at UCSD. As such, the two of them don't always agree when it comes to their favorite baseball team, the San Diego Padres.In this episode, John lays out all of the reasons he's worried about the 2026 Padres team before the season even begins and Nick adds his own perspective as both a fan and someone who has a better understanding on what is going on inside of a baseball player's head out on the field. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bandwagonbeach.com

The 2026 Padres are betting on lottery tickets

Hey y’all! This morning I decided to go live over on YouTube to talk about the flurry of moves the San Diego Padres have made over the last few days.I talked about how there are now four players fighting for two starting jobs in the lineup (1B & DH) and as many as six pitchers fighting for the last two sports in the starting rotation, but also about how that doesn’t mean that any of these options are good. Luckily, all of the options are cheap and they each have their own varying levels of potential to become average to above-average starters on valuable contracts. That’s what makes them lottery tickets!I also talked at the end about the five players that are likely going to hit free agency after this season, and what a slow start to the season might mean for A.J. Preller and the rest of the Padres front office. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bandwagonbeach.com

Padres sale/ownership news & SDFC pummels Pumas

Earlier this morning, I went live on Substack to talk about how and why my San Diego Padres pessimism is maybe turning into some optimism after Sheel Seidler dropped her lawsuit against the other team owners. After that, I broke down last night’s impressive SDFC win over Pumas and wondered if the team is still searching for a 9 that can facilitate the last third of the offense. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bandwagonbeach.com

Day 108 of waiting for A.J. Preller's extension

Happy Monday! Well, kinda. I did not like the tenor of…well, anything really….that was coming out of the San Diego Padres FanFest at Petco Park this weekend. From A.J. Preller’s contract extension to the plan at 1B (and backup catcher) to the superstars that couldn’t be bothered to show up to the Yu Darvish situation to Keith Law’s review of the Padres farm system….there’s a lot to be angry about so I decided to be angry about it all. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bandwagonbeach.com