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Exclusive streaming games on Amazon Prime and Apple TV+, too. What a time to be a fan.

We’ll for sure try him against lefties, and if he hits them well he’ll get his 600 at bats. If he doesn’t hit them well, we’ll either platoon him, or he’ll still get his 600 at bats.

Oh, no doubt. We need Austin Meadows in left field and the DH spot right now more than we need Isaac Paredes playing third base at Toledo.

Fifteen pitchers on the roster, including ten in the bullpen. Jesus. So much for speeding the game up. Deaden the damn ball already.

I do have the Ticketmaster app. I click on the view barcode link and it shows me a QR code, but no barcode number.

Major League Baseball and their partners suck in so many ways. We're taking a driving trip through the south and swinging through Atlanta. I've never seen a Braves home game at home so I looked for tickets. That day happens to be against the Red Sox. Since it's the world champs and it's the Red Sox, even on a Wednesday, I figured tickets would be tight. Indeed, I saw only two seats available in a 300 section on the first base side, and nothing for several sections on either side of it, so i snapped it up. I figured I'd also need a parking pass so i got one of those, too. When I booked the hotel I saw I was able to get a decent deal within walking distance of the park, so I figured cool, I'll post the parking pass on Stubhub. I saw several parking passes already available there. Except I am completely unable to list even my tickets for resale, let alone the parking pass. Stubhub requires an alphanumeric barcode; neither the tickets or parking pass have one. On the Ticketmaster site, who are the Braves partner, they will allow me to transfer but not sell my tickets, and they won't allow me to even transfer the parking. I called the Braves and they basically shrugged and said, it's'a'no my problem, call Ticketmaster. Ticketmaster has no customer service. I'm stuck. It's only 31 bucks but really, what the fuck. They all suck.

You're right, I went into my account and I see that.

Not necessarily. LaHood is running in that district and he stands a good chance of winning.

I'd much prefer Ramirez over everyone except maybe a dozen players.

I've mentioned this before, maybe just a few weeks ago: I have seen where when I try to tip through my credit card, either for a carryout or sitting down at a restaurant, they ring me up for the bill amount but not the tip. Example: I get a bill for, let's say, $79.55; I write up a tip on the sheet of $15 for a total of $94.55, they ring up my card for just the $79.55. I started noticing this when I set up text alerts for all my credit card charges. I felt a little bad when this happened in a restaurant; for the carryout I just shrug and say oh well. One thing I have been doing more in restaurants is tipping cash even when I pay with a card. I get the bill for $79.55; I leave a ten and a five in the folder with the signed bill; on the tip line I write "CASH". The way I figure it is, here's the cash, the tax situation is between the staff, their god, and their Turbotax.

Royals probably have the best chance of falling lower. Guardians might if Jose Ramirez has another 2019 and the ball consistently bounces the wrong way for the pitchers. All these projections are based on many thousands of simulations which regress every team to its own mean. Projections have the Dodgers with the best record at 94 wins and the Orioles the worst at 97. Maybe the new CBA leads fewer teams to tank and brings the range close to that, but I’d bet there will be at least a couple teams past the 100 mark in both directions.

Kinzinger is so disgusted at his party being run by children that he’s going to step aside and allow his seat to be taken over by one of them.

How can they not be proud of so much bot affirmation?

I don’t think 74 wins will be last place in this division.

If anyone can unlock the value of Isaac Paredes, a top-flight bat-to-ball guy who walks more than he strikes out, it's the Rays. That said, Ike's gonna have a hell of a time breaking into the mix there anytime soon. The Rays' middle infield is spoken for the next several years, there's a big logjam at third base, and I don't know who's gonna move Randy Arozarena out of the starboard-side DH spot. Paredes gonna have to crush it at Durham to force his way into the conversation—otherwise, he might just get packaged into another trade sometime down the road.

Fangraphs' Ben Clemens finally posted his take on last night's trade. Here's the elevator pitch: I started out thinking this trade was a layup for the Tigers. I pretty quickly decided it was a layup for the Rays; I know our prospect rankings don’t reflect it, but I think Paredes is a more valuable player than Meadows straight up. But in the end, as I’m wont to do, I understand the Tigers’ motivation in making the trade, even if I think they gave up more than is optimal.

Fun fact: Ike grew up in Hamtramck. I met him when he was checking in to the Lakeland Holiday Inn during one of the fantasy camps I went to (either 2007 or 2008). He said his nickname growing up in the Mostly-Polish neighborhood he lived in was "Ike Blessitski".

Remember the Insidious Trend thread I started on the old board, back in, what, 2006 or so? It became a thread about tipping in general, but it started because I was seeing more and more tipping jars at the retail and carryout levels. Here's what I said back then: One of the worst trends I have seen in this century is the retail tip jar. I never really saw it much before about seven or eight years ago, but the usage of this device appears to me to have really accelerated in the last couple years. Tell you what got me thinking about this. I ordered takeout from Maggiano's. I drove downtown to pick it up and parked. I walked in and I was fourth in line. It took them ten minutes to get to me, but they did, and I picked up my food, and paid. As I was leaving, I noticed it: the tip basket on the counter. There appeared to be fifteen, maybe twenty bucks in it. OK, so let's see -- I drove to them, I waited in line to get my food, I made all the effort to consummate the transaction ... so, what it is I'm tipping them for, now? Now? Carryout tipping is no longer a trend. It is now established practice: 1 big thing: Carryout tipping here to stay Data: Axios poll. Chart: Will Chase/Axios We recently reported on the changing views around carryout tipping and asked for your opinions. As dine-in restrictions are lifted for local restaurants, should we keep tipping on transactions we may not have before the pandemic? Your answer is clear: Carryout tipping is here to stay. 💵 By the numbers: In an informal survey of 460 Axios readers: 38% will continue to tip 10-15%. 23% will continue to tip a couple of bucks. Under 20% will continue to not tip at all. Why it matters: Restaurants are seeing almost 60% more delivery and carryout business than before the pandemic. What they're saying: "Restaurant employees strive to ensure customers have a great experience in-person and in the comfort of their homes," Illinois Restaurant Association president Sam Toia tells Axios. "We encourage all patrons to continue to support restaurant team members." Yes, but: "Pre-pandemic tipping on carryout wasn't expected, but it quickly shifted as we were all trying to help restaurant's frontline essential workers," Beyond Etiquette founder Bonnie Tsai tells Axios. "However, if you are unable to tip 10-15% due to your own financial situation, there's no need to overextend yourself." 💭 Justin's thought bubble: I'll continue to tip, but you can't make me stop trying to get the worker's attention so they see that I did. Classic Dad move. 💭 Monica's thought bubble: I'm grateful to anyone dealing with the public these days — especially now that my daughter is a part-time hostess who handles carryout orders. She recently called from Urbana to say, "Mom, I had such a good night. I made almost $20 in tips!" A few of your thoughts: Carolyn L: "A lot of the apps give you the percentage option, so you're not just tipping on the total of your food, but also their service fees." Blind L: "I've found that some restaurants won’t take my tip on carryout." Eileen M: "We don't tip for takeout orders. When we dine in we always do since you receive service from waitstaff."

https://www.mlb.com/prospects/rays/josh-lowe-666139

I agree that the Tampa Bay Rays do not win every single last trade.

Thank you, Captain Anecdote! 😉

If nominating a centrist justice will yield zero Republican votes anyway, then why had it better be a centrist justice?

This one fits the thread title to a t.