I know the Marlins are the NL version of the 26 White Sox, but that doesn’t mean they are fun to watch on TV, even national TV. I was sitting down to post about the Cubs successful 2016 anniversary celebration when I stumbled upon Tom Verducci and some guy named Moe.

One of the two stumblebums said, “playoff atmosphere”, I think in the context of the Padres-Marlins game. I’ve never been to Miami, nor obviously a game in Miami, but I’ve been led to believe it is quite the Carnivale experience. I won’t pretend that Marlins/Padres in 2026 is inherently more interesting than Space 1999 reruns, but the broadcast sounded like a Thursday morning at the Winnetka Public Library. I swear I heard the distant crunch of popcorn before an ushered shooshed the offender.

The most exciting thing that happened during the two innings I watched was when a Padre fan tried unsuccessfully to dislodge a swung bat from the netting above the dugout. It elicited a few chuckles from Verducci & Company, and one good line, but the partisan crowd didn’t react at all.