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I wouldn't be surprised to learn that Boras told Harris, "sure, kid, go ahead and make us an offer now, we're listening" in order to get a benchmark to go to the market with, and Harris declined.

Baseball has always tinkered with the mechanics of the game to equalize pitching and hitting so one doesn't over-dominate the other. I don't think they'll do anything as radical as move the mound back—I can't imagine the chaos of them suddenly having to completely overhaul their mechanics during the course of a winter and successfully compete at the highest level in mere months—but I do think they need to consider changes to the ball. One idea I thought of many years ago that might help hitting is to make the ball heavier. My idea was to reduce ball movement on the way to the plate to make it cross the plate on a truer trajectory and hitters could square it up more often. And bonus, the ball won't get hit as far, which would reduce homers, keep more balls in the ballpark, and create more fielding and baserunning action which is more fun for fans. Turns out there's a recent study that indicates that a heavier ball (i.e., six ounces vs five) might also reduce UCL injury in pitchers, because elbow varus torque would be reduced naturally, putting less pressure on the ligament and thus reducing exposure to rupture risk. Whatever the answer is, I think it's better for the integrity of the game if it comes from changes in equipment over changes in dimensions.

Well, Tony Gwynn would be 65 years old, so I kind of doubt he would hit more home runs ... 😉

I think Javy knows that, but he may simply be poor at differentiating sliders from fastballs, or he may be poor at reading pitchers moves while in the box. It might be a physical thing. I think he'd like to be able to lay off those if he could, I mean, who wouldn't, but maybe he just can't because there's some physical shortcoming he has that can't be fixed. If this is the case, it might be a vision issue.

They're definitely going to give him a look. They're going to give a few guys a look. I also think we're going to have to get at least one guy to replace Flaherty, and maybe another one-year guy to push Jobe. It won't be in-house options only.

I'm sorry, am I reading this right? Are you actually suggesting that Chris Ilitch will choose not to spend on the team because he's going to spend the money on some broad instead? That sounds absolutely bonkers to me.

I agree they should seven guys they can slot into a rotation if needed, although practically by definition, your #6 and #7 starters will end up being no better than #4 or #5 in your rotation even if you need them, and it would be even worse if they're replacing two of your top three, and that would be a suboptimal rotation. Meaning, we're not going to be carrying seven guys who could all be top three in a playoff rotation. We're going to have a couple of Keider Monteros in such a mix. That's what signing Cobb and Urquidy and trading for Morton and Paddack was supposed to accomplish.

I want Toronto to win for a reason I can't talk about here. 😏

Whether we go out feebly one-two-three, or we put a bunch of guys on base, not scoring all the time is low-key infuriating.

Really, though, how does your leadoff hitter reach base six times in a game and you score only two runs??

ANOTHER great throw by a catcher on a caught stealing! Holy ****, this game.

Two on and no out have turned into an out and an inning ending double play for the second inning in a row! This game has entered the realm of the all-time classics.

Two called thirds on the far edges of the zone. Just ... agggghhhh ...

Holy ****, what a ****ing game!

Holy ****, this is going to be Brandon Inge all over again! That's it, we're ****ed. ****ed right up the ass by MLB. Even the announcers know it was a foul.

Man, what a game.

Other things being equal, men on first and second, no outs = 1.44 expected runs.

McStinky has finally figured out how to put his quad-A skills to good use.

Sorry to be That Guy, but these putatively nonpartisan national announcers are totally in the bag for the Mariners.

Man, Raleigh was slow on the draw going after that passed ball. Is he gassed??

OK, on to the eleventh ... I love seeing expectations here thwarted ... 😉

Holy crap Will vest, did we ever need you there! OK, AJ, who's up next? Please let it be Tommy Kahnle with an eight-run lead!

Vest at 32 pitches ... please god don't let him run out of gas ...

Crowd is definitely a factor right now.