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D'oh, Colt!

I think it's late enough into the season and I've given him enough of a chance to be able to say that I'm pretty much over Jason Benetti. I mean, he's miles better than Shep could ever hope to hope, no doubt. And if I had no other choice, I would be OK listening to him the whole game. But I like more business than wisecracking in my baseball broadcasts, so I'll do the radio overlay with Dan Dickerson whenever he's available.

Not true. It's all over reporting from the time, both local and national. And Harris did take responsibility. That too is in the reporting of the time. Eduardo simply flaked out and blocked the trade, and he was able to block the trade because Al Avila, not Scott Harris, gave Eduardo a no-trade clause. So when Eduardo flaked out, Harris's hands were tied. It looks for all the world like Eduardo never really wanted the trade, intended to go to the market in the offseason anyway, and just wanted to give the Tigers a big middle finger by stringing us along on the way out. I have no idea whether that's what happened, but hey, it's as good a hypothesis as any. And look, it worked: he got more money from another team than he would have had he approved the trade. Sometimes "evil" wins. If as you say Eduardo is a player is an airhead who can't be trusted to keep his word, then thank god he's gone. I know you would have liked to buy out his opt-out clause and keep him here, but thank god he is gone.

I agree that we don't know every conversation that went on behind the scenes but we do know that Eduardo agreed to a deal until he threw in a monkey wrench during the last hour to kill it. That part is not in dispute.

Nacho might be a tough get, seeing how Arcia is starting to turn into a pumpkin. But I do think that kind of return would be a great flip for Flaherty no matter what our record going into August is.

Exactly right. Harris never whined about it or hammered Eduardo for it. He was very professional about it and kept his nose clean in the whole affair.

I don’t blame Harris because it is well-documented that Eduardo was on board with the trade all the way up to when he pulled the rug out from under us. That means Harris already worked it out with Eduardo and Eduardo flaked out on him. I don’t think there was anything reasonable Harris could have done to prevent it. You can hammer Harris for it all you like and hold his job over his head as it being his fault, as is your prerogative, but I don’t think that comports with all the reporting that was done on it. Also, I’m glad Harris didn’t do everything he could to keep Eduardo this year, even though he was our best pitcher during the first half of last year. I don’t think you have to worry about Harris dealing Skubal, at least not for a bag of Al Avila-brand circus peanuts. I believe any deal he would make would fall just inches short of the Soto haul, but I think even that is low single digit percent at best. Skubal will open the season In Dodger Stadium next year, and it will be for us.

I think bringing up Madris and Lucas, both sub-replacement players beyond prospect age, is a pretty strong indication that Harris has a plan he is sticking to and probably means there’s no way we are buying at the deadline. Instead of bringing up top prospects and throwing them into the deep end of the pool in a hopeful bid that they will kill it and take us to the playoffs, he is bringing up placeholders for the 26-man while waiting for (hopefully) Carpenter and Olson to come back.

I think we know why.

Yes, you’re right, I misposted, this will be Harris’s second deadline. He got Hao-Yu Lee for Michael Lorenzen. The jury is still out, but the prevailing opinion at the moment is that it was a good flip. I don’t think Eduardo was Harris’s fault. Eduardo, with his agent, pulled the rug out from under everyone at literally the last hour. That was very well-documented.

When a young pitcher who is trying to establish himself in the majors—a time when someone is most likely to push through owies so they can keep pitching—takes himself out of the game for shoulder pain, that is usually a bad sign.

From the story: About a month ago, Swanson took a trip to Detroit to pitch in front of the Tigers’ front office. It was the only team he had time to show his talents to, and immediately made an impression. “They’re excited to get me," he said. "They paid good money for me. I feel they got the steal of the draft.” Well, at least somebody thinks so, anyway!

Right, it’s more strategic deployment of the money you were going to spend anyway.

As long as the season is still playing out, Baez is going nowhere.

Nowadays when I wonder about how people like Nate Silver, or Lara Logan or Matt Taibbi, change from something we thought we knew to something we had no idea about, I wonder whether they had the RFK worms.

I think Harris will have a fairly better payroll next year, and then a much much better payroll in 2026.

Plus I don't think we will be entertaining anymore league-worst defenders at first base.

Because I think Harris won't deviate from his plan of building the system just for a puncher's chance. We will buy when we better establish our core and we need to fill just a few holes. Right now we still have more holes than not, despite our 11-4 run.

This is a good spot to get Shelby Miller back on the horse. Although that first out on the bullet shot was some lucky positioning.

OK, Maeda didn't blow the lead, but it's not a blowout lead anymore. So ... progress? 🤷🏻‍♀️

I won't hammer Vilade for that ill-advised dive in left, as long as he did it realizing it was a seven-run lead and that he could never do that close-and-late. Either way, though, it would probably have been a double.

Not even Kenta Maeda can blow this lead! 😜

Always nice to be on the right side of a bloodbath.

He is a nice kid.

I don't think we are buying at the deadline for any reason. We're not going to go off plan and empty the top of the farm system just to have a puncher's chance at a third wild card spot.