#velocity trade toronto

[power-chords]

It's hard to know what to make of Baudrillard's theory. It rests on a solid empirical foundation: people are sometimes fooled into thinking that representations are real. But, like the Marxists, the Matrixists seem to go too far. Media are powerful, but they are not all-powerful. Most people have no difficulty distinguishing reality from representation, even when the latter is presented by fancy modern devices. Is there anyone who thinks that "Reality TV," for example, is reality in the full-blooded sense? Moreover, most people realize that the media can be used to trick them. Everyone knows not to "believe the hype" produced by the media. Hollywood is the "Dream Factory," not the "Reality Factory." The key question, empirically speaking, is this: How effective are different media qua media at deceiving people, or rather, at prompting them to confuse representation and reality? The Matrixists never pose this question, so they never answer it.

McLuhan pointed media studies in the right direction by telling us that media themselves — not the information they convey — do something to us, but he refused to be specific. The Mentalist, Marxist, and Matrix schools are specific, but their theories are empirically unsatisfying. If we desire a convincing theory of media effects, one that will explain the impact of media generally, then we will have to look elsewhere.

Fortunately, there is someplace promising to look, namely, to the neglected work of Harold Adams Innis. Innis was a peculiar figure. He worked as an economic historian at the University of Toronto, where McLuhan was a student and later a professor. All of his early writings suggest a cast of mind that was profoundly different from McLuhan's. The titles of Innis's early monographs tell us much of the man: A History of the Canadian Pacific Railroad (1923), Fur Trade in Canada: An Introduction to Canadian Economic History (1930), Cod Fisheries: The History of an International Economy (1940). These works were exercises in economic empiricism, not abstract engagements in high-flying theory. Believe it or not, they turned Innis into an academic celebrity. He was perhaps the most respected scholar in Canada in the prewar years, the celebrated founder of what is still known as the "Staples Theory" of Canadian economic development. In the early 1940s, Innis began — predictably enough — to study another staple of the Canadian economy, pulp and paper. This research, however, led him in a new and unforeseen direction.

[ ... ] Innis proposed a typology of medium attributes based on weight and durability. This classification has the virtue of simplicity, but it sacrifices too much in terms of depth. We need something more complete. In order to get it, we should put ourselves in the shoes of those who use media and as what really matters to them. Most basically, a medium is a tool for sending, receiving, storing, and retrieving information. Given these fundamental uses, what attributes would make a medium really handy?

[ ... ] [A]ny medium can be made to score well or poorly on any attribute given a sufficient outlay of resources. The actual score of a medium on a particular attribute, then, is a function of cost. This insight enables us to recast our definition of attributes:

Accessibility: the cost of getting and using a medium.

Privacy: the cost of hiding the identity of users and the content of messages in a medium.

Fidelity: the degree to which data in a medium are coded.

Volume: the cost of sending messages in a medium relative to size.

Velocity: the cost of sending messages in a medium relative to speed.

Range: the cost of sending messages in a medium relative to distance.

Persistence: the cost of storing messages in a medium relative to time.

Searchability: the cost of finding messages in a medium.

Marshall T. Poe, A HISTORY OF COMMUNICATIONS: Media and Society from the Evolution of Speech to the Internet, 2010.

[schalaasha]

Top 20 Games of the Decade

Hi, I felt like writing about my top 20 games of the decade because I kept thinking about it. This is a semi-ranked list, but I decided not to throw numbers into the mix since, really, outside of the top 2, I can’t think of how to rank the games prior to them. I also commissioned hyiroaerak (@/HRAK__S2 on twitter, https://hyiroaerak.weebly.com/work.html) for art to commemorate this occasion.  Our characters are cosplaying as characters from our games of the decade!

Mega Man 10

I actually like Mega Man 10 more than Mega Man 9 out of the two platformer revival games in this series. Though a bit of background on this: Mega Man 4 is my favourite, and I prefer the games that are not 2, 6, 7, or 11, so I suppose that contextualises this for others.         Either way, despite it not having weapons that were as useful as Mega Man 9’s, I felt like 10��s level design and pacing worked more for me in my favour. Though I’m saying that as someone who liked the double fortress design in earlier games so that might invalidate how I feel.

 Time Attack mode from Mega Man 9 returns as well as Proto Man (but he’s unlockable right off the bat). It also has a proper Challenge Mode compared to Mega Man 9’s challenges, whereby challenges for certain levels or bosses are unlocked when you actually do it in the main game. Being able to play as Proto Man off the bat allows for the fluidity Mega Man had in 3 and beyond by letting you slide and use charged shots. I personally liked being able to play as Proto Man off the bat as while he has the 3 and beyond advantages for his moveset, he is a glass cannon and you still have to watch where you’re going.

 I feel like the levels were a little better designed and if I needed more of a challenge, Hard Mode was still there to cut my teeth on. I liked the colour schemes throughout the level maps a lot more than 9’s as well. The bosses felt particularly gripping and trading blows with them fit into a nice rhythm.

 It has more content than Mega Man 9 and I had a lot more fun with 10 than I did with either 9 or 11. The formula itself is pretty static compared to other Mega Man games, but I like simple things. Why fix what isn’t broken? It’s just a nice piece of cake at the end of the day and that’s all I really want.

  Trauma Team / HOSPITAL: 6人の医師

When I started university for the first time in 2006, I was pre-med.  I eventually got sick and tired of the politics and people in the program (ie: folks saying they only wanted to go to med school so they can get rich or make friends with pharma reps who might give them perks), and I left the program to pursue program majors and a minor to prepare me for speech-language pathology instead.

 We had a Wii in our student lounge. My main university campus wasn’t exactly big and a lot of the people who hung out in the student center were kind of cliquey. I think I had the benefit of being really good friends with one of the guys who was the biggest social butterflies at the school so I got to meet a lot of people or get involved with stuff if I felt like it. So that meant I got to play with other students in games or wi-fi sessions during classes or after classes if I didn’t have to commute home right away.

 Because almost everyone I knew at my school wanted to go into medicine, everyone played the Trauma series. Some kids played Under the Knife during class. Some kids played Second Opinion on the Wii in the student lounge. Some kids played New Blood. This was before like… Farmville took over everyone’s computers at the time.

 Trauma Team came out way after that, and some of us were either graduating or staying in school an extra year because we didn’t know what to do after the recession or knew what to do but needed extra courses for graduate school.  So the Wii was free to use.  I don’t think people hooked it up as often anymore anyway. By 2010, a lot of us who had met each other in first year decided to go our separate ways, not even in the same majors or programs anymore. A lot of us either branched out into research, psychology, neurology (like me), kinesiology, epidemiology, forensics, genetics, etc. So Trauma Team for the rest of us who were still there was a good fit.

 Trauma Team took some influences from the 2009 Swine Flu pandemic considering that was when the development phase occurred. Now, I live in Canada, and Canada was one of the focal points for the 2003 SARS outbreak. This was when health bodies in the country decided to make some changes to how they respond to potential pandemics. A lot of things they tell medical students or any students studying health policy (like I was at the time) emphasized how different parts of the hospital or medical or health care staff need to work together in order to care for a patient. I actually find the different professions involved in Trauma Team useful and a reflection of what my class of 2010/2011 became later on (a lot of us graduated in 2011 and took an extra year).

 Diagnostics and Forensics were what I was really interested in since they don’t play the same as surgery/emergency medicine since they played out like a point-and-click. Later on in life, I had to look at so many medical reports and radiology reports and file them but by then I realised what my patients had but I can’t tell them myself since I’m not a doctor. But Trauma Team gave me a chance to do so and practice my terminology as a student. A friend of mine, who ended up becoming a doctor at a hospital in Toronto, really enjoyed endoscopy since it merely involved using the Wiimote as an endoscope and the nunchuk to steer. A lot of us played co-op too.

 The difficulty in Trauma Team, I felt, was decreased from previous games. But that doesn’t really spoil it. It was a varied game and it looks fantastic. It’s a shame that the game style hasn’t been replicated or given a sequel in later years, because while I’m older and my classmates are doing completely different things and I haven’t seen some of them in years, I’d love to take a stab at these types of games with a well-practiced laboratory technologist’s hand.

  Sonic Colours

I think it goes without saying. My first community when I joined the old forum was the Sonic community. Just a bunch of people who were interested in talking about Sonic so much in almost every thread that we ended up making a community thread together. I don’t post in the new forum everyone is at but I still talk to mostly everyone via different social mediums.

 I wasn’t around when Sonic Colours came out but I think I remember reading the joy everyone felt when nearly universally everyone in that thread seemed to really like Sonic Colours. I remember the thread title still. I preordered Sonic Colours because apparently previews were saying it was… good? I didn’t bother playing Sonic Unleashed until after I’d joined the forum, but hearing Sonic Colours would be a return to form since I was one of those people who didn’t adjust well to the 3D games made me interested.

 Sonic Colours is everything I wanted from a 3D Sonic game. Or rather, a 3D version of a platformer. I didn’t really like where 3D platformers were going because they were hard to look at, hard for me to pay attention to, and to be honest I got dizzy while playing a lot of them since you’re expected to work in a 3D space as opposed to a 2D space so it was really hard for me to process. I really like the hybrid nature of the level designs that’s where Sonic Colours got me.

 Sonic Colours isn’t without its hangups: some of the levels are really short; existing mostly for ranking/getting red rings. Sonic’s jump is pretty floaty. The script is fairly short even if the jokes can be funny. Bosses are reused. Sonic Colours is not a perfect game, but the attempts it made were fantastic enough in its own right.

 The music continues to be great, but the areas are visual spectacles. Whatever you think of the series, it’s fairly undeniable that the games try to have style. From the lighting, to posing, to setpieces, to colours used in assets in the level design – Sonic has always had really great ideas.  Sonic Colours is no exception – areas like Aquarium Park, Planet Wisp, and Sweet Mountain have a variety of neat level ideas and they look good trying to execute it. From popcorn on the floor to one of the best darned water levels in all of video games due to the drill wisp, to a fresh take on a grassy knoll with beautiful music, Sonic Colours can bring tears to your eyes because of what it attempts. Terminal Velocity Act 2 is also one of my favourite parts of the Uncolourations games partially because it’s a well-executed setpiece, but it also showed me that maybe those 3D racing bits aren’t that bad.

 The bosses may be really easy, and the final boss ends far sooner than it should before it could perfectly execute its Kamen Rider reference, but I think the point was to fully enjoy the theme park that Sonic Team threw at you this time.

 In 2020 I like to say that out of all of the Uncolourations games, Sonic Unleashed is my favourite due to the balance it struck and its presentation/artstyle, and basically having one of the best soundtracks of the previous decade. But I recognise everything that Sonic Colours brought to the table. If it wasn’t for Sonic Colours, I wouldn’t be friends or acquaintances with so many people that I am with now.

  Kirby’s Epic Yarn

Have you ever played a game that made you feel warm and toasty? Canadian winters can be really cold, you know.

 When I lived at my old run-down house, my old room didn’t have good insulation. Whenever it got cold, my room got really cold. I had my own personal heater because we didn’t really have a good heating system in my room either. So I only wore flannel pyjamas, wrapped myself in faux-wool blankets all the time, and went to sleep covered in at least four quilts or comforters (which is something I still do out of habit sorry). I used to make hot choco every day because it was just so cold in my room.

 I love Kirby’s Epic Yarn. Kirby’s Epic Yarn makes me feel warm and toasty inside because I think of being wrapped up in yarn and sheets and scarves and I just feel so happy. There are so many pastels used in KEY’s earlier stages that I can’t help but to feel toasty and happy when I’m playing it. It’s not the most challenging game. The game is really easy and all you mostly do is collect furniture, music, beads, and parts of the results wheel in every level, but I don’t think that’s the point of it. The point is just to have fun. Watching Kirby turn into a car to sprint, watching him turn into a little parachute or transform during those vehicle bits, you just can’t help but to feel so enveloped by the cute.

 Being able to interact with cloth by pulling a loose button and releasing something, taking off tags, pulling on stray thread, spin balls of yarn… it feels so fulfilling because it’s a clever use of the medium. It’s exactly what you’d do if you’re stitching or knitting. Placing furniture around Kirby’s little apartment makes the Animal Crossing fan in me so happy.

 I appreciate the lengths Good-Feel went to producing the level designs. They took photos of the fabric they bought and created the graphics that way. The music is calm and relaxing, with lots of woodwind and piano and lighter sounding instruments. The entire game feels so soft and sweet. It’s a visually-impressive game since everything animates incredibly fluidly.

  Cuphead

Like anyone my age or older, I grew up watching a lot of older cartoons by Max Fleischer with watercolour backgrounds, hand-drawn characters with a lot of focus on expressions, rotoscoping, etc Lots of slapstick and musical scores out of that decade.  I would have never believed I’d play a video game that looks like that but here we are playing Cuphead this decade.

 Cuphead is a blend of that artstyle with older run and gun style games. It combines a gunning experience with puzzles, reflexive actions, and dying… and dying a lot. And learning. Underneath it’s cartoony and child-friendly veneer lies a game that is unrelentingly difficult. There aren’t really any checkpoints in the game save for one. You can’t regain lost health. It’s just you versus the game. You may spend hours on one single level learning everything about it. And you can’t beat the game until you finish off every other level on regular difficulty.

 Different levels have different forms: they can be run and guns á la Contra, which are actually, oddly enough, breathing room levels. They’re probably the “easiest” levels in the game. Other types of levels can be straight up shmup-like boss fights where you’re flying in a plane. They can be hard as a regular shmup.

 The best crafted types of levels are the ones that include platforming as part of their boss battles because they use the artstyle and ideas involved in the art piece as interesting platforming mechanics. You have a more limited control scheme but the scenario you’re involved in is really interesting and unique. You fight a woman in a play and the setpieces in the play change according to how far you are in the boss fight, for example. The game also has a parry mechanic whereby you can double-jump off of anything that’s coloured pink and fill your super meter in order to kill bosses faster. The parry cues change per boss so it’s really cool to see what they look like every time you encounter something new.

 I think while Cuphead can be utterly unforgiving, I think it should be experienced at least once for how much work was put into making things look so fluid and how creative every boss and level can be. It’s what I wanted the UBIart framework to eventually evolve into. I think the game’s aesthetics and sound are its own reward in addition to that feeling when you finally conquer That One Boss.

  Asura’s Wrath

Asura’s Wrath was a game I was incredibly iffy on even buying at all. I heard about how the ending was part of paid DLC, that the game didn’t have a lot of gameplay, and that it was incredibly unremarkable. I don’t think I had a remarkably low bar or anything for this, but I decided to purchase it on the cheap.

 Asura’s Wrath definitely isn’t a game for everyone, and I feel as though it’s an acquired taste. The main character’s art might not jive well with everyone, the lack of ‘play’ will probably deter some folks, and its episodic nature/final chapter unlock sequence would probably get on people’s nerves. With that said, at first, it seems to be an action-cinematic game without necessarily expanding on the “action” part. A lot of it at first seems to be a bunch of QTEs to move the narrative along, with the narrative not necessarily being that strong in the first place. I think that’s due in part to the game’s structure initially. The first few chapters and the first act truly don’t seem very remarkable. The Buddhist and Hindu aspects of the game are very obvious and very central to the game’s plot, but at the same time, they don’t seem to be specifically mentioned whenever someone talks about the game to me. The Asuras were not one singular character or a god, but a race of warlike beings exhibiting wrath and pride. They were incorporated into Hinduism and Buddhism through their mention in The Rigveda. With that said, I was continually impressed by how many references—whether it was mere mention of regular terms/concepts/people, the artstyle and inclusions of things like lacquer skin, mandorlas, Vajras and Pretas, and also Siddham script—was included in this game. Asura’s Wrath ended up feeling incredibly natural and a nice way of shedding some light on non-Judeo-Christian religions.

 Anyway, I genuinely liked that the game felt like a playable anime. I don’t feel like the game would be as effective if it were put into another genre, or were less cinematic. It ends up getting its message across with its carefully-researched artstyle, great scene direction, well-composed music, and penchant for feeling like it was a fantastic shounen anime. I also feel like the game has more combo-based gameplay than people give it credit for. A lot of the complexities come to the forefront on Hard mode, and going for S-ranks and finding ways to do that quickly and effectively on higher difficulty modes is always an interesting affair.

  Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective

I finished marathoning all of the Ace Attorney games in 2010. I don’t recall if I was doing it before Ghost Trick but I think what enticed me to get the game was its amazing animation. I hadn’t seen 2D sprites move that fluidly in a very long time. Characters have exaggerated movements, exaggerated dances (ie: the panic dance), and they have big flashy gestures to show off the game’s animation engine.

 You’re introduced to all sorts of eccentric characters, many of whom don’t overstay their welcome (Circus case from AA2, I’m looking at you). You have a desk lamp, a doggo, a dancing detective, a little girl who’s the focal point for one episode, etc. Everyone’s dialogue is relatively snappy, their expressions and animations make them stand out from others, and due to how everything is presented right down to the character art portraits, everything just jumps off the screen.

 Because you’re a spirit with amnesia, you’re given the ability to go through time, and also the ability to through environments by hopping from object to object and possessing them in order to influence what happens in the past to save people in the present.  This is just a path to trying to figure out who you really are or to find who or what killed you. A lot of the gameplay revolves around trying to figure out which objects to manipulate and when in order to influence an outcome. It makes the game partially point and click, but also partially a physics puzzler. I don’t think I remember a single object in the puzzle segments that was wasted. In other circumstances, you must manipulate time in order to save someone in their last four minutes.

 If anything, I feel like Ghost Trick is a necessary inclusion simply because of its style and attention to detail, as well as its sort but sweet story where nothing overstays its welcome. Its soundtrack also feels similar. The game is fairly consistent and nothing really changes in terms of progression over most of the game. But I see that as a plus as opposed to a minus for the most part. It helps to bring the game to a compelling and surprising conclusion.

  Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood

I marathoned all of the Assassin’s Creed games in one year prior to Assassin’s Creed III since I wanted to see what the deal was with the series because the first game wasn’t that great from a play perspective for me. The thing that resonates the most with respect to Assassin’s Creed for me is marshmallow-flavoured birthday cake and a bag of regular Bugles. I started this marathon on one of my birthdays that decade.

 Assassin’s Creed II is one of my favourite games out there, but Brotherhood adds so much to the formula despite its middling storyline compared to its predecessor. But that’s because most of Ezio’s growth happened in the previous game. He is a middle-aged man searching for the Apple of Eden, and while the story does not carry as much emotional impact, that isn’t exactly what I’m looking for with respect to the earlier AC games.

 One of the things I absolutely love about the earlier AC games is its attention to detail even if it isn’t necessarily completely accurate. At first I missed the fact that I could explore many different towns like I could in AC2. But then I realised how big Rome and its surrounding area is. Rome is gigantic, and it has so much attention to detail with historical buildings everywhere (which you need to pay to rebuild), old tapestries from the era, citizens dancing in the streets, lovers flirting with each other behind pillars, etc. There are more roofs and buildings to parkour over and between. The game adds towards that require you to take over them before you can use them to gain access to vendors and things to renovate. You can also find the glyphs (much like the ones from the previous game) to solve puzzles in order to gain access to more lore.

 I genuinely love the renovation aspect of this game. It’s more involved and a lot better than what the previous game tried to do with its economy. You renovate in order to gain access to shops, which in-turn generates income for you, and then you can renovate other stuff based on the income that you generate. It’s something that I’ve come to miss in later AC games. It felt a lot like a Suikoden game in some aspects.

 Platforming missions return in the form of finding parts of a cult and cutting the beginnings of a conspiracy off by its limbs. They’re faster paced than AC2’s tombs and there is more variety in terms of what you platform through. I like both types equally since one allows you to marvel at the beauty of a cathedral, while the other allows you to clock a few folks while making your way through a lair.

 In addition to the lairs, there are different types of missions for each faction that you forge alliances with, there are Da Vinci missions that involve new war toys and blowing things up in a scripted way. Assassin missions can vary in terms of how you carry out the assassins (albeit still scripted; improvisation was not a thing until ACUnity).

 The crux of AC: Brotherhood is being able to recruit assassins to your cause. Random citizens throughout Rome may be under attack by Borgia soldiers, and once you save them, they are recruited to join your cause. You level them up, send them out on missions, improve their gear, and ask for their help when you can and when they’re available. This feature gets expanded upon in later AC games but it gets a very good start here.

 Brotherhood is so full of content and a lot of little things that playing it for me makes it feel like comfort food for me. It may not have the best story and it certainly isn’t as memorable in that sense as its predecessor. But it’s so fun that I can’t help but to feel satisfied every time I turn it on.

  Pac-Man Championship Edition DX

I played the original Pac-Man CE on 360 years ago at my cousin’s house, where they added a timer and a morphing maze to the base original game. I thought it was a neat novel thing at the time but didn’t think further.

 Pac-Man CE DX adds more mazes and more mechanics and more modes to the championship edition base. It added sleeping ghosts where, if Pac-Man moves near them, they wake up and they chase him around the maze in a line until you can finally eat them all and rack up a huge score. You can also elect to use a bomb at a small expense in order to save yourself and send ghosts to the middle of the maze again. These changes assist in maintaining the game’s flow and it never makes a score attack daunting or boring.

 Devouring big long conga lines of ghosts following you is so satisfying while you’re listening to a bumpin’ soundtrack and chilling out looking at the cool lights on the maze. Really and truly, while at its core, PMCEDX is a score attack game, it makes for a beautiful loving chill sensory experience and I couldn’t ask anything more from it.

  Deadly Premonition / レッドシーズプロファイル

I think I, like a lot of people, was introduced to this game via the GB series. I didn’t have an Xbox 360 so I eventually imported the Japanese version for the PS3. The game’s dub was already in English; the text was in Japanese and it was pretty easy and reasonable to get through. Deadly Premonition actually the Guinness World Record winner for most critically polarizing horror video game since the reviews at the time were so all over the place. And yes, I will contend that Deadly Premonition is definitely not for everyone.

 I am not the type of person to play shooters. I actually hate them a lot. I don’t like gushing blood in video games, and I don’t really like the act of murdering someone in a game. I used to play a lot of survival horror games when I was younger on the PS1 and PS2, but a lot of the time you’re dealing with the undead or oddball things going on around you so it’s not nearly as bad I think. It’s funny; I deal with people’s bodily fluids and body parts all the time in real life as part of my job (ie: I’ve had to help dissect someone’s stomach before fresh out of the operating room), and it doesn’t bother me. But the mere act of seeing it done or doing it, makes me feel squeamish. I don’t like it. I don’t even like watching blood being drawn from me or needles being stuck into me, even though I’ve done it to other people as part of my work.

 For the most part, inexplicably, in Deadly Premonition, you’re dealing with the undead anyhow. I’m not the best person at shooters, but I certainly know what’s a good one and what isn’t.  Deadly Premonition is not a very good shooter. It’s really janky. Some of the weapons don’t make sense in terms of how balanced they are. The controls are also really janky. This is not really a surprise considering the game’s strength wasn’t supposed to be its shooter aspects. In fact, those parts weren’t even supposed to be there.

 Deadly Premonition is often cited as an artistic piece or a good game simply because of its story and character writing.  It has an excellent main character who was cast almost perfectly. It has a lot of eccentric characters filling the town of Greenvale to help you solve the murder mystery or help obstruct it. The end result of having an unreliable narrator works out in the game’s favour. It helped sprout pop culture references, weird humour, quirky dialogue and more. I have certainly never watched Twin Peaks but I got the allusions either way since the show was so big. Slowly uncovering how every cast member lives their lives throughout the town and every day makes you more emotionally connected with them.

 Greenvale is more of a sandbox than just a place where a crime is committed. You can play darts. You can race cars. You can do a ton of sidequests somewhere that will reward you elsewhere. You can collect trading cards??? You can carry some lady holding a pot everywhere? You can taste-test for one of your coworkers? You can do a lot of stuff that makes zero sense but I still end up enjoying it all anyway.

 It looks like a PS2 or Dreamcast game or something and I almost found that utterly endearing in the era in which it was released. The soundtrack itself is so dissonant and doesn’t always fit the situation. Sometimes the sound mixing is so all over the place that it often results in making a scene more hilarious than it should be. There’s a song that’s just… American Idiot… on the soundtrack for some reason. Along the way, you start wondering “is this game real? Am I real? Is this really happening right now?” and yes, yes it is.

 In the end, because of its cult success and getting people talking, it allowed Swery 65 to make more games. Deadly Premonition was lightning in a bottle for him. He followed up with D4: Dark Dreams Don’t Die (unfortunately in limbo). He cowrote Lord of Arcana and Lord of Apocalypse. He recently released The Missing. If anything, I’m more interested in what he makes. I’m eagerly looking forward to The Good Life.

  999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors

Text/Puzzle-adventures, rather than pure visual novels, became a staple of some players’ libraries due in part of the popular Ace Attorney series, Professor Layton series, and whatever Mystery Case File games that were published by Nintendo. 999 is not a pure visual novel. It’s a puzzle adventure game with visual novel elements. With art by Kinu Nishimura and a story written by Kotaro Uchikoshi (who had a few visual novels under his belt), it was difficult for me to ignore this game. I was also at a point where I really wanted to get into a lot of the games that Aksys published so it was a natural choice to buy.

 A lot of the localization and language in this game was edited so that while it stays true to the spirit of the original language, a lot of care was put into making the dialogue and writing sound natural in the English language versus going line by line exactly. It worked out in the game’s favour because the script was fairly large. Based on Uchikoshi’s past games, he likes to ask a question and generally incorporate some pseudoscience in his narratives. 999’s version of pseudoscience ended up being morphogenetic fields (see: Rupert Sheldrake). This theory ended up the basis for a few characters and it is the way the story unravels. He also took inspiration from another older game of Chunsoft’s: Banshee’s Last Cry where the player is put into an unsettling position right off the bat. Indeed, 999 starts the player in media res, but the player is already in trouble when you begin to control the main character.

 The puzzles were added to the game so that it would be received well by a wider audience than just visual novel readers. They were naturally and seamlessly integrated into the experience that the game became almost wholly about the puzzle rooms and whatever flavour dialogue occurred during the puzzle rooms. A lot of inspiration seems to have been taken from browser-based escape games like the Crimson Room from 2004. Escape the Room games were a subgenre of point and click adventure games and it was nice seeing the concept integrated in a narrative experience that wasn’t Myst (see: http://www.fasco-cs.net/ for more information). Due to the puzzles being a fundamental part of the game’s story, with them getting more and more difficult, the final puzzle for the entire game at the end of the true route is both a relief and also incredibly impactful due to using both of the DS screens and also revealing a lot to the player about the narrative.

 If I had criticism for the game, I feel like it would be having to play the game repeatedly, doing the same puzzles repeatedly in order to unlock another prerequisite ending for the true ending. I did not play the later port which rectifies this but I’m not entirely sure that being able to see the branches would be great for the game either. I also feel like, just like a lot of Uchikoshi’s writing and previous games, that when the characters start cracking jokes when they have to urgently do things to not die, the tone feels a little off.

 With that said, 999 is one of the more compelling text/puzzle-adventures from last decade, and it uses its native platform to its advantage. There weren’t a lot of games that used the DS screens to convey a narrative properly but when you are faced with the revelation that the game was using the two screens for a remarkable reason, you feel like the game is a natural and powerful addition to any DS library and gives significance for the dual screens.

  Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

The funniest thing about Metal Gear Rising was that I actually disliked it at the beginning when I first started playing it. I didn’t know what I was doing half the time, and I didn’t ‘get’ the parry mechanic. At first, I guess I was playing it for the sake of playing it? It definitely took me a while to even warm up to it. The camera was obnoxious (and still gets to be obnoxious in some places), and I felt incredibly nauseous while playing it sometimes.

 It wasn’t until I got to the Mistral boss that I finally … found what I was looking for… I’m sorry. I’m serious, though. Metal Gear Rising truly shines during the boss battles. When I finished that particular boss battle, I’d reflected that I was smiling like an idiot the entire way through. I don’t think I’d fought satisfying boss battles in years prior to that. Returning to previous chapters told me that Platinum really likes to frame and teach players via trial by fire. Learn to parry yourself, here’s a test to see if you can parry well and you can get a trophy for it, here’s the final test to see if you can even parry (Monsoon). I loved that Metal Gear Rising threw a lot of what we knew about Metal Gear Solid out of the window, with a significantly interesting score, boss battles that centre around the climax of a battle (expertly done via excellent sound design as I noted in my SotY writeup this year), and a more interesting and personable version of Raiden. It relies far more on offense than defense and stealth, and that’s okay to me. It ends up separating Raiden even more from Snake.

 The final boss is a love-it-or-hate-it sort of affair, and I ended up loving every single part of it. I felt like it was one of the best final bosses in years. Don’t know how to parry? You’re fucked. Don’t know how to use the game’s other offensive rush tactics like Defensive Offense and running? Good luck. The game makes sure you try to know how to do these things before even bothering to attempt the boss, with the major roadblock being Monsoon. And if you can’t parry by then, the game brutally tells you that you aren’t doing it right by making the boss battles ramp up to significantly require you to use one of the game’s core mechanics for elegant combat. This isn’t the most elegantly-designed game whatsoever. In fact, it can be really sloppy. With that said, it’s one of the better action games I played all decade.

  Papers, Please!

Papers, Please is work. It feels like work because it is work. You can grant freedom and admittance to people, or you can just take their freedom away or not permit them to cross the border. Everything you do is controlled by the government, or by rules and regulations. If you do something wrong, you’re written up. Do enough wrong, and your pay is cut. Do enough wrong and your pay is cut multiple times, and you can’t provide enough for your family. Everything about the game just feels like work. Even right down to the end of the day when the whole thing feels like a budget calculation and spreadsheets. Everything about the game’s UI feels a lot like work. Where do you allocate space to do your job? How much money do you allocate to heat/food/medicine? It ends up feeling very tedious, but somehow fulfilling.

 You are an immigration officer in a fictional Soviet state. The interesting part of the game is that it doesn’t only feel like a job, but it also feels like government and self-evaluation. You end up studying why the government keeps regulating the border the way they do, and thinking about how mundane the job can be. You know that people’s livelihood and family lives hinge on whether or not they cross the border, and sometimes your penchant for following the rules and disallowing people across the border may be called into question when people plead with you to go through. Do you accept docked pay so you can reunite people or save people from slavery, or do you do as you’re told and live with the consequences of your actions. In a small way, your ethics are called into question. It’s a nice reminder that a lot of things, despite people being people and having their own stories, generally seem to come down to bureaucracy and pieces of paper as opposed to a full understanding of humanity or extenuating circumstances.

 I’d also like to add that Jorji is one of the best characters of 2013 to me. I think his glass half-full philosophy / if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again philosophy is something to look forward to whenever I encounter him in-game.

 In many ways, Papers, Please feels a lot like the Milgram experiment. Are you going to make cruel judgement calls to separate a family, or keep people in slavery because the authorities and higher-ups essentially tell you to do your job so you can keep your family healthy? Papers, Please in many ways is written incredibly well. It doesn’t use reams of text to make you understand the overall premise of the game but through your actions, you’re also helping to tell the story. That’s the sort of weird and wonky player “agency” that I find interesting.

  World of Final Fantasy

The Final Fantasy series had a better decade than the last decade, I feel, considering the quantity of releases increase from the previous decade.  However, it had a lot of growing pains to deal with at the beginning of the decade. Final Fantasy games sell well all the time, and more people playing games than ever, it makes sense that sales numbers continuously increase. Attach rates aren’t as large.  Final Fantasy XIV came out in 2010 and it was not a good game at all to the point of having to be structured for its 2013 re-release. Final Fantasy XIII had mixed reviews, as well as its subsequent direct sequels.  Final Fantasy All the Bravest wasn’t exactly the best mobile debut for the series. The brand also suffered from dilution – the Final Fantasy name was attached to almost anything and everything for the sake of sales, and numerous spinoffs were released and the quality varied.

 Final Fantasy Versus XIII and Final Fantasy Agito XIII, originally planned to be part of the Fabula Nova Crystallis setting with Final Fantasy XIII were renamed and rebranded/redesigned to be their own titles: Final Fantasy XV and Final Fantasy Type-0. Both games also had mixed reviews and multiple delays. If anything, I can probably say that this decade was the most divisive for Final Fantasy fans.

 World of Final Fantasy came out during the same year Final Fantasy XV. I think I’ve made my feelings about Final Fantasy XV fairly well-known.  Perhaps my feelings about that game influenced how I felt about World of Final Fantasy but as someone who has played this series for decades (for reference: the first game is one year older than I am, and my first Final Fantasy was the first game), I felt like World of Final Fantasy was a love letter written to fans like me. I am a long-standing fan of the series over the course of decades and have been through its up and downs, and while I don’t like every game in the series (we all know how I feel about half of the games in the series, after all), I can still look at them for their influence on the rest of the series.  I also like the newer games equally as the older games and dislike and like games from all of the eras, so I don’t really have issues with how the series is represented in general unless the games are really bad.

 World of Final Fantasy feels like a Kingdom Hearts-esque exploration of the Final Fantasy games while throwing Pokemon into the mix. It involves a lot of older references as well as bringing new references in and throwing it into a presentation mode that fans of all ages can enjoy. The main characters are chibi which fits right into how the older games represented characters, but they can also grow taller to represent how the newer games are represented. You can create stacks of party members according to their height and balance well accordingly out of classic Final Fantasy enemies and characters in order to battle against other classic Final Fantasy characters, villains, and monsters.

 The game is exactly what I wanted a mainline Final Fantasy to look. It retains a cartoony look, embracing stylization while adding so much detail to the areas’ setpieces so that they also stand out while the characters move around on the map. I also felt like the score was also a brilliant blend of old and new: with Masashi Hamauzu composing the score but also remixing older Uematsu themes to fit within the context of the score. The score was loftier compared to Hamauzu’s older works and the strings, synth, and piano works incredibly well to bring the game’s world to life.

 The idea for WoFF was to try to bring younger fans into the fold, hence the Pokemon-like influence for using and rearing many classic FF enemies so that children could start to recognise them. The loftier script was also written in-mind taking into account both lighter storytelling from older FF titles and some darker bits taking into account newer Final Fantasy games. I’m not too sure that SE was very successful with bringing younger fans into the fold, but the way the game was written fit well with what I remember liking about FF for the first few games I had played. I also enjoyed that characters were chosen for their involvement to the plot versus them simply picking the most popular ones. This is why we got characters like Eiko and Shelke as well as regular FF mainstays. All of the characters were woven into the story well, as citizens of Grymoire as opposed to characters who just have their regular identities transported into Grymoire instead.

 I felt like the Pokemon mechanic was handled well. I even loved it enough to have the idea commissioned in combination with our FFXIV characters.  I liked that it changed up whatever skills you had access to, it influenced your stats, and it looked adorable to boot.

 I would absolutely love to see a mainline game made by this team because I felt like the loose style of storytelling and worldbuilding made for a very good Final Fantasy game, and in essence, WoFF was the real Final Fantasy XV to me. It felt more “Final Fantasy” than a lot of the games released in the same decade, or even compared to ones released in the previous decade. It was a nice step and touch to demonstrating that there were staff members who remembered what Final Fantasy is to older fans.

  Va-11 Hall-A

I’m too young to have a big attachment to older PC games like the ones on the MSX or the PC-88/98. But I’ve always had a fondness for their graphics and their music, like sometimes I feel like I was born in the wrong time or something. It’s one of the reasons why I gravitated hard to the PC Engine—I felt like it was a way for me to finally experience stuff like that.

 Valhalla is supposed to be a bartending simulator but in reality, mixing drinks is a bit of a break and distraction between the visual novel bits. Usually if you’re stuck in a futuristic landscape akin to Bubblegum Crisis or Blade Runner, you’re asked to investigate a mystery or explore it. But nope, you’re a bartender making drinks and making enough to scrape by and pay your rent. You hear a lot about the world from various clientele while you serve them drinks but you don’t necessarily have to do anything with the information they give you.

 I worked as a medical administrator for a few years and over that time, I got to hear a lot of stories, meet some famous people (like been on TV people or youtubers or people who got paid to do things for celebrities), and just meet a lot of neat and interesting regular people. I got to hear stories about people’s health or their personal lives or witness people falling in or out of love. You don’t necessarily have to do anything with that information (in fact you can’t due to patient confidentiality), but the stories become sealed in your head. I can’t help but to think of some of these people I met for those few years or where they are now. I actually run into some of them at my current lab so I keep getting to see some of their stories. You eventually learn how quickly icebreak in situations like these to make people feel at ease or find a topic of conversation while they’re waiting. I even used my phone to gauge news because a lot of the time when I got home, I was too tired to do anything or getting news in the palm of my hand was incredibly easy to do.

 In this sense, I understood Valhalla. It may look dull and it doesn’t look special but you’re the one who makes it so that it doesn’t have a dull moment in the bar. You’re the one who has to make it enjoyable even if your pay sucks. Because you don’t want to be miserable either. It’s through the conversations with others that you learn about Jill because she has to add commentary too. Everyone has a different way of requesting something and it’s up to you to figure out how to decipher it. It’s a lot of like practice in being in the service industry.  You need to consistently gauge a conversation in order to actually give the client what they want to unlock more conversation.

 The pacing in this game may be a little slow, but it doesn’t feel like a hindrance because the writing is really good. Something always happens to keep you interested or you have to mix drinks to keep yourself on your toes. The humour comes across well, and nothing really falls flat. Part of the reason why I feel like the writing is genuine is because the game’s developers wanted to write something that reflected how they live in Venezuela, akin to laughter in the middle of despair according to the developers. The writing is balanced well with the music and the visuals which makes the whole package a wonderful experience.

 This game also has Rad Shiba so it belongs on the list by default.  

  El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron

I had gone to Catholic Schools all my life. I was even in a nursery school operated by nuns when I was a toddler, and they always tried to get me to write with my right hand instead of my left (which left me ambidextrous for some things lol).  Because of my experiences with religion growing up, I absolutely had questions and doubts and concerns with metaphysics, theology, and epistemology. Every Catholic, I think, as they grow up and have to take religion classes, and having to take what the province mandates as metaphysics are somehow inserted into math and biology syllabi without even being mentioned in the coursework at all, questions it. And that’s okay. You should. The best religion and philosophy teacher I ever had growing up always said we should question everything we learn including what he taught us.

 Going through school, though, and reading the Bible and having Bible study, my friends and I always sorta wondered what it’d be like if a game was made about this stuff?  I know it may be a little sacrilegious but there are so many stories in there that would fit a game. Throughout my life, as I became acquainted with others from different branches of Christianity or other western religions, I talked with others who played games who… surprisingly had the same ideas and desires?  It probably won’t ever be done. El Shaddai is inspired by the Book of Enoch and while it is considered as non-canon in most Christian and Jewish sects, I guess it might come close to what some of us wanted.

 El Shaddai was a game that I picked up mostly because I bought almost every niche game back then. I just looked at some of the trailers, thought it looked just okay, and picked it up because I felt like Ignition was going out of business and it would be a novelty item. Ignition did not have the best reputation among the people I talked to back then. I played Lux-Pain whose localization left a lot to be desired. Nostalgia was a middling RPG. Arc Rise Fantasia’s localization left a lot to be desired despite being a good game. Deadly Premonition had an English dub already but the text localization wasn’t that great. I felt like El Shaddai was the most polished game that Ignition released. They got incredibly great voice actors, including Jason Isaacs. They developed a score attack combo ranking system for replayability. They had a fantastic art director and background art. They made two bishounen that screamed for female audiences to pay attention.

 All of it didn’t exactly work out for the time the game came out, and I always contended that the game was released before its time. Unfortunately, all the effort put into El Shaddai didn’t exactly save Ignition. I feel like if El Shaddai were released in the later half of the decade, it would have been accepted. However, I also feel like its marketing was mishandled. It doesn’t feel like a Devil May Cry successor. It shifts between genres continuously. It is very much like Nier in this regard: it is not for everyone and it has its own unique feel that sets it apart from other games.  It is also a score attack action game, not a hard character action game.

 One thing I really enjoyed about El Shaddai was that all of the setpieces aren’t exactly the same. It ranges from a watercolour painting to abstraction to 2D children art to more abstraction to Final Fantasy VII and keep going like that. It references rhythm games, 2D Platformers, racing games, action games, Devil May Cry (with its own brand of Devil Trigger to boot), and other genres to create something that syncs up very well with the rest of the game due to lore reasons: different enemies prefer different things so that’s why each environment looks different or the gameplay styles may be a little different. I’m okay with this because it shakes things up per chapter and the game doesn’t feel stale at all. You’re expected to adjust to new mechanics per area.

 The combat is a lot like Rock-Paper-Scissors, where certain weapons beat other weapons, or some bosses change which weapons they’re weak against (and the game gives you other weapons so you can adjust accordingly during fights). The weapon you wield also modify your platforming abilities (ex: one allows Enoch to dash, one weighs him down, etc), and they also vary in terms of character strength. In order to obtain G-rankings for each stage, the player needs to analyse which weapon would be the most useful for certain enemies and combo while guarding, guard-breaking, and stealing enemies’ weapons.

 I am putting El Shaddai on this list because I really enjoyed it for what it was. It’s a brilliant score attack action game with a fantastic soundtrack and fantastic art design. It made for a pleasant sensory experience and made some religious figures fairly compelling with good character designs. It’s definitely one of the most rewarding and prettiest score attack games I’ve played this decade.

  To the Moon

Everyone goes through life with regrets. I’m in my thirties now and I think I’ve done things I’ve regretted, or I didn’t other to do something and I’ve regretted that. Kan Gao was inspired by his grandfather’s illness when he was writing and making To the Moon, he’s noted that when he gets old and when his time would come, he might end up regretting some decision he’d made throughout his entire life.  Everyone goes through that when faced with introspection. You can have the courage to love, you can feel pain, you can live your life fully, or not live it enough. To the Moon explores this, and while the writing isn’t the best and can be a little messy (this gets improved on in Gao’s later sequels to this game: A Bird Story and Finding Paradise), I understand what To the Moon was trying to accomplish. To the Moon is an exploration of everything that life throws at us, and the results of the decisions made throughout our lives that touches everyone and everything around us until our time passes.

 Eventually you build up so many wishes and have a big bucket list but eventually there will come a time where you won’t remember why half of those things are on those lists.  To the Moon relates the story of Johnny Wyles, an elderly man on his deathbed with one wish: to go to the moon. The problem is that he could not remember why. The general flow of Gao’s games have involved two scientists from Sigmund Corp, specialising in wish fulfillment at the end of someone’s life, creating memories for people in their final moments to generate comfort for the patient. How ever you may feel about the moral implications of generating false memories for someone prior to their end of life, this is merely a set up for traveling through time to understand what the patient had wanted and what they’d accomplished.  

 Johnny’s character revolves around another character with an ASD. I will also note that my brother has autism (compounded with a multisystem syndrome). While the central focus was on Asperger’s Syndrome (Tony Attwood books being mentioned in the game), I’m a little happy that ASDs are being brought up in games and the game truly hit home for me. The writing may not be stellar, but I felt that the theme of the impact of medical disorders was communicated well. Particularly the theme of why communication and connections with others is so difficult for those with ASDs and those who take care of those who have ASDs. It’s easy to sympathize with the characters trying to express what they mean to each other.

 The game itself is relatively short. Regardless of its length, players must confront some uncomfortable situations and emotions that people struggle with daily or even at different points in our lives. I’m older now and I appreciate this game a little more since I’ve come to experience more of what the game had been trying to tell me a decade ago. The writing may not be the best, and it can be a little messy at times with respect to how it’s presented and written, but a lot of its messages come across as utterly genuine. Slowly unraveling the reasoning behind Johnny’s desire to go to the moon is beautiful. This game is quite human and I appreciate all three games that are a part of this subseries that came out this decade.  I am looking forward to more.

  Nier Gestalt

If you’ve played a Drakengard game or the first Nier game at all, you kind of know what you’re getting into.  Not the best graphics of the decade, plays pretty janky, having bosses that can be difficult to manage, etc.  So going into Nier Gestalt in 2010, I knew what I was getting into. Not a lot of people bothered playing this game since I don’t think it got as much promotion considering it came out during the same year a mainline Final Fantasy game got localized.  Nier also got a little scrutiny since the west got a different protagonist from the Japanese version.  I will say that this worked out in its favour, since the protagonist being one of the central character’s father versus her brother makes for a better, more interesting story than having yet another shounen protagonist.

 I will support the case that, like the Drakengard games before it, Nier Gestalt was difficult to get into. The gameplay is jank.  Easy is too easy.  Normal doesn’t drop enough stuff to warrant playing on the mode. Hard can be a little hard but eventually it evens out. I generally used spears for the charge portion of the combo but in the end it doesn’t necessarily matter what weapon type you use. It doesn’t even matter if you use magic or not unless the game prompts you to do so. It’s either broken or not and the game doesn’t have a set balance for anything. Combos are boring and you’re essentially mashing a button. Even playing through the Nightmare DLC for extra drops, it continues being like this. I was used to playing shmups so it wasn’t necessarily revolutionary that AoE attacks looked as though they were spat out from a shmup either.

 I wasn’t quite understanding why game started acquiring a cult following, because what I’d played of it was pretty boring and standard. “It’s just a regular ARPG starring an older character versus a young protagonist,” I said to myself. I guess that was the reason.  I didn’t quite understand why, even past acquiring Kaine, because I guess I accepted that there weren’t a lot of NPCs and certain towns were the way they were due to, what I surmised were, RPG conventions. It wasn’t until I finished the questline for the brothers, where their mother tried to run away with a man and abandon her children, that I finally started to understand.

 Within every substory, there was something that resonated with someone.  I couldn’t fathom why someone would want to abandon their responsibilities, and at the same time I understood. Sometimes you just want to take care of yourself. With the way the older brother sort of understood why even through his anger and disappointment, it resonated with me. I finally ‘got’ the story, so I wanted to play more. This became one of those rare games where I played only for the story and lore and abandoned any hopes of the gameplay getting better.  I fished, I upgraded weapons, I did enough sidequests for the trophies. I almost platinumed this game, but since the drop rates are so terrible for this game, I didn’t.

 I started enjoying the game for what it was. It was genuinely a fun romp where it feels like everyone taking part in the game’s design contributed something unique and something they were fond of.  If you read any interview from Emi Evans from this time period, you’d realise language is something she’s particularly fond of, so much of the composition and lyrical content of every song was a phoneme from any language that would make it sound like an evolved or a sort of Esperanto version of a current language. This came into play with the game’s lore, and many of the interviews were interesting to read from back then.

 Many of the game’s stages borrowed from different genres of video games. There were the obvious shmup references, the rail shooter reference, the visual novel reference, the Resident Evil/fixed angle horror game reference, the Shadow of the Colossus references, the 2D platformer references, the Zelda references, the top-down puzzle game references, etc. For what the game lacked with respect to its combat, the game excelled at reliving genres and putting maps together in such a way that it felt like an ode to other games and genres that inspired it. The City of Façade’s language being a loose phoneme reconstruction of Japanese felt right at home with the dungeon’s Zelda references complete with Zelda fanfare for me. The Forest of Myth being one long visual novel was so hilarious and unique at the same time.  

 Playing more of the game and opening up the lore with every playthrough was neat. I don’t particularly like when games waste my time, but Nier made each new playthrough worth it. Killing bosses quickly for a trophy, redoing dungeons to see the enemies’ perspectives, and unlocking more of the story and learning more about the world that came from a Drakengard ending felt satisfying. As someone who was studying linguistics at the time, constructing nonsense words from drops out of different morphemes to act as accessories or armour was really amazing for me.

 Much of Nier felt organically put together, from characters’ writing and what they wanted from each other, to the dungeon design, to maybe even the combat design… it felt like a truly special game made from the heart with as much lore as it could possibly include. I had purchased the Nightmare DLC primarily to get weapon drops and while it isn’t nearly as interesting as the rest of the game, it has some implications for the lore. The music and resulting soundscape lends so much to the worldbuilding and includes many peoples’ languages from the area with French, Japanese, English, German, etc phonemes thrown around to sound utterly organic and special.

 At the end of this, I have come to realise that despite saying to myself that I never played this game for the game… I’ve been lying to myself this entire time. I actually did play the game for its game parts. Those are the bits I remember the most about it, and they’re the reasons why I genuinely loved the game. It’s unforgettable for me and it’s why it’s one of my favourites in general.

  Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward

I did not care about MMOs in my late 20s because I was far more focused on finishing school and actually working hard in my field. I think by the end of university, I barely played games because I literally didn’t have time for them. I probably stressed myself out a lot. I threw myself into a semester where I had what felt like 500 evaluations, had to study a lot, had to write papers, and I ended up breaking up with my ex-boyfriend amicably. I was on my own a lot and to be honest, I think I felt okay that way. I think maybe others thought I was unapproachable.

 My best friend now turned fiancé had been begging me to start playing Final Fantasy XIV for a really long time, since he was in the beta prior to its 2.0 release. I made excuses and said I won’t play until a speedster class was implemented since nothing really stuck out at me. In reality, I was mostly busy. Well, Ninja got implemented late 2014, so I ran out of excuses. I got a copy of ARR but to be honest, I didn’t have time for it and I didn’t play it much so I didn’t bother to try harder since my focus was elsewhere.

 Luckily, I got into a semester where I didn’t have that much coursework to think about so I ended up playing XIV more. I caught up during ARR and really my intention was to only play through ARR and finish the story and quit. But my fiancé’s friends were so nice and welcoming to me. When the servers shut down for Heavensward maintainance and I’d finished the ARR storyline literally that night, I made the conscious decision to buy Heavensward. By that time, I was falling a little too hard for my best friend and I really liked my newfound friends. I wasn’t ready to leave Eorzea yet.

 Of course, I had some quests to finish up during Early Access so I didn’t get the opportunity to play with anyone I knew during the main storyline for Heavensward. Heavensward was leaps and bounds above anything I experienced in ARR. The story was well-written, the English voices were recast and given better direction, character deaths were meaningful, a smaller cast made for good character building, the environments were large and you could only assume things happened in each area eventually (they didn’t in the long run), each area was different, it reminded me of Canada… Heavensward made me feel at home.

 Almost every job felt built on, since nothing was really truly culled. A lot of what you got felt like an extension of what you already did. The three new jobs didn’t start out too well or too balanced. Machinist was a mess. Astrologian felt weird. Dark Knight had some growing pains but probably performed the best out of the three once the Alexander raid was implemented given that its specialty at the time centered on magic defense. I was one of the five people who really liked bowmage since it required you to think before you cast but you still did a lot of damage if you thought before firing. I swapped to an omnihealer main officially halfway through the patches because my fiancé requested it.

 Heavensward had a lot of growing pains. For all the team did for the base game, they took a six-month vacation to recharge. 3.1 wasn’t really worth the wait and a lot of people quit the game or stopped playing because nothing really meaningful was added to the game other than a faceroll raid, poorly-tuned exploration missions, and two dungeons. Gordias earlier in the expansion nearly killed the raiding community as a whole.  3.2 didn’t fare too much better, though it did add the best raid tier that has yet to be topped. 3.3 was when FFXIV solidified itself as an MMO with a grand story to tell, with one of the best conclusions a Final Fantasy game had seen in almost a decade. The sound design was near-perfect for this patch, and it was when a lot of us genuinely felt comfortable with the game and its future. Heavensward wasn’t perfect; it still had its missteps and balancing issues, but it was the most comfortable and profoundly skilled I’d ever felt with the game.

 Final Fantasy XIV may not be what it used to be.  I feel old and I feel like I’ve played the game for a really long time.  Now while it’s riding the wave of success, currently having the best story Final Fantasy has seen in a very long time, I can’t help but to remember Heavensward when we finally felt assured about the game and it felt like a cohesive gift to players who were active at that time.  I got to know so many people during Heavensward, and now I’m engaged to my best friend partially due to our experiences together playing at that time.

  Undertale

The late half of 2015 was a really bad year for me. The first half was really great. I started playing FFXIV often, I finished the hardest year I’ve ever had of my 9 years of university so far with high grades and was going full-on hard into my residency year, I fell in love with my best friend.  I was pretty happy since I finally felt very successful.

 If anyone can recall (or this may be new to the person who is reading this), towards the end of 2015 my dad was falsely accused by our neighbour of possession of a weapon (it was a gardening tool), and he had a restraining order put against him so he couldn’t live with us anymore.  My little brother is severely disabled so that’s why I still lived at home so I could help out.  Without my dad around, it was so much harder.  I came home from my days at the hospital every day after a 12-hour day, had to babysit my brother since my mom still cooked food to carry for my dad who had to live at my aunt’s, somehow had to find time to study for my licensing exam and do some work for school and my thesis, had to find time to socialise a tiny bit otherwise I’d go crazy, maybe had to take my brother to his appointments by coming home a little early, and then had to find whatever time I had left to sleep.  I stopped posting on message boards because I literally had no time to do so and I wouldn’t have anything of value to contribute to discussions either.  

 I detached myself from a lot of people. It was actually kind of lonely. It was really hard. I lashed out at people when I shouldn’t have. I don’t look back on those days other than the bright spots with fondness at all.

 Before that, everyone was telling me to play Undertale but I sort of didn’t want to? I felt like the fanbase was sort of making the game unapproachable around the time it came out. By the end of the year, I was so out of the loop about games that I didn’t give a hoot.  A friend of mine, Shadow Hog, bought the game for me on Steam. I still have the e-mail message for it.

 My now-fiancé got his own copy so we could play it together because at that point I didn’t want to do much of anything alone. I was actually sinking deeper into depression and verging on a mental breakdown. I was not mentally sound and every single week it felt like someone had to save me from doing something stupid.

 I started Undertale and I didn’t really think much of it at the start.  I can’t remember when it started clicking with me but maybe it was around the time I got into a battle with Tsunderplane and Vulkin and got to Hotland that I gave up and started having fun with it because it was just… silly. It was time to let down your hair and have some fun for once and not feel completely guilty about it.

 The idea of having to win and achieving a certain ending by sparing your enemy isn’t necessarily new – SMT’s demon negotiation, Silent Hill 2’s morality system, and MGS3’s fight with the Sorrow have some sort of sparing mechanic. The hybrid of a turn-based battle system with enemy negotiation, as well as dodge system inspired by a shmup makes every encounter both strategic (ie: having to avoid bullets while also sparing enemies in a set order per battle) and consistently active.  Unless you are going for a certain other ending, you cannot just sit there and hold down the attack button and expect to win.  That said, this makes a lot of encounters a little longer than a standard RPG battle, but the flavour text for each uniquely-designed enemy makes many of the battle worth it. Undertale isn’t a hard game unless you’re playing on a certain route. But I don’t necessarily think the gameplay part of Undertale speaks properly for it. The dungeon maps are relatively simple. They all have their little gimmicks. The battle system is relatively easy to understand.

 The reason why Undertale has such a prolific fanbase is primarily because of its character writing and ability to make and use memes properly enough that they catch on. Many of the characters are easily encountered early, are easy to draw (propels a lot of fanart), and understand due to the character writing. What also helps is that the game is 4-6 hours long, and it came out at the right time with the right kind of word of mouth.  Undertale could have easily fallen into the sea like so many other RPGs before it but it didn’t.  My fiancé and I were shopping for work clothes one day at a store that sells business clothing, construction clothing, and scrubs. He was wearing a shirt with the Delta Rune on it since he loves game shirts that are relatively subtle. Even then, one of the sales clerks pointed it out and was pretty excited to see it.  It was pretty crazy to both of us how popular Undertale had gotten.  I don’t think the popularity was unwarranted. I think it’s a fantastic game, helped by a considerably lengthy varied and catchy soundtrack. Granted, I was not as exposed to how explosive its popularity was when it came out. But I understood why so many people liked it. It wasn’t for its gameplay.

 As I progressed through Undertale, instead of thinking of the lore (which was well-written), I was thinking of how the monsters treated your character with respect and love because you treated them that way.  They didn’t go out of their way to fear you, and welcomed you as one of their own.  In the end, they were hesitant to even kill you, and you were hesitant to kill them.  Even then you still had the spare/save commands.

 At the very end, you only had the Save command.

 And that’s how I felt. When Hopes and Dreams started playing, I couldn’t help but to cry. When I was repeatedly nudged to press the Save command, I didn’t actually feel like the game nudged me to do so. That was something I wanted to do. Just remembering how depressed I was when I started playing this game and then progressing to its true end with Hopes and Dreams and SAVE the World playing, I couldn’t help but to feel like my hopes and dreams were still alive.

 Even if I was going through a really hard time in my life, hope was still there as long as I had people around me that supported me all the way through. That was the time in my life that I realised who my real friends were. And in the end, I felt like Undertale told me my friends saved me and that my dreams weren’t crushed, now matter what threw at me.

 And that’s why it’s my game of the decade. It may not be the most perfect game that came out this decade or the objectively best-crafted, but it did so much for me. When I was prompted for my game of the decade, Undertale was the first thing that popped into my head. I didn’t question it. I just knew. I don’t think we’ll get another Undertale again in my lifetime, but I’m glad to say that I gave it a shot and I love it for what it is.

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Scholar forcibly removed just after scientist tells University of Tub boss to 'move ahead'Vice chancellor Professor Dame Glynis Breakwell was confronted above her 451k a calendar year income by an employee18:07, sixteen NOV 2017Updated10:56, 17 NOV 2017Get Day-to-day updates straight to your inbox+ SubscribeThank you for subscribing!Couldn't subscribe, try out yet again laterInvalid EmailA scientist within the College of Tub told the vice chancellor to 'move on' at an celebration which saw a university student forcibly taken out by security guards.Vice chancellor Professor Dame Glynis Breakwell was lectured by director of specialized solutions Malcolm Holley on the annual Let us Talk party on campus this afternoon (Thursday, November sixteen).Referencing underneath hearth Dame Glynis's wage, he claimed: "Once i started off out as a infant scientist, a zoologist, I grew to become incredibly adept at recognizing elephants."I feel you will find 451,000 elephants During this room that we're not in fact addressing."My key position is we have all talked about elevating profiles, this, that and another. In the meanwhile I do not Assume the university can proceed right up until you progress on."We've got to the point wherever the only real individuals ringing us up are for information and facts requests about this, that and the other."I want to propose that it is time to maneuver on, so the rest of the university could get on with staying a College."When men and women become the story, they should go forward."Read through MoreVice chancellor spend rowLet's Chat is actually a 1 hour party at the Arts lecture theatre open up to pupils and university personnel who will be "welcome to return and hear the shows from your senior staff, request questions and keep to chat into the senior professionals afterwards".It was described as a "excellent prospect to speak to our senior crew together with get together with other departments and hear about many of the operate that will take location through the organisation".

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Wednesday, February 23, 2022 Canadian TV Listings (Times Eastern)

WHERE CAN I FIND THOSE PREMIERES?: FREDERICK DOUGLASS: IN FIVE SPEECHES (HBO Canada) 9:00pm A MILLION LITTLE THINGS (W Network) 10:00pm SNOWFALL (FX Canada) 10:00pm

NEW TO AMAZON PRIME CANADA/CBC GEM/CRAVE TV/DISNEY + STAR/NETFLIX CANADA:

CRAVE TV FREDERICK DOUGLAS: IN FIVE SPEECHES THE NEWSROOM (Seasons 1-2) NOVA VITA (Season 1)

DISNEY + STAR BREEDERS (Season 2) MAYANS M.C. (Seasons 1-3) THE PROUD OF FAMILY: LOUDER AND PROUDER NETFLIX CANADA WORST ROOMMATE EVER UFO

ARNOLD CLARK CUP (TSN4) 9:30am: Spain vs. Canada

AHL HOCKEY (SN Now) 7:00pm: Laval Rocket vs. Toronto Marlies

NHL HOCKEY (SNEast/SN1) 7:30pm: Sabres vs. Habs (SNOntario/SNWest/SNPacific) 7:30pm: Oilers vs. Lightning (SN360) 7:30pm: Jets vs. Stars (SN Now) 10:00pm: Kings vs. Coyotes

STILL STANDING (CBC) 8:00pm: Minden, ON: Comic Johnny Harris travels to small towns and puts on stand-up shows for the communities.

CHILDREN RUIN EVERYTHING (CTV) 8:00pm (SEASON FINALE): Frustrated over their cluttered home full of kids' stuff, James and Astrid decide to purge.

THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE CIVIL WAR (History Canada) 8:00pm (SERIES PREMIERE):  Looking at the birth of America's first intelligence units, set in motion in by President Lincoln himself in the early days of the war; exploring a spy who broke the boundaries of gender and race.

ROADKILL GARAGE (Discovery Velocity) 8:00pm/8:30pm (SEASON PREMIERE):  David makes Steve's teenage dreams come true when he surprises him with a 1965 VW Dune Buggy; they create the Boon Duggy; there's only one problem, it's been sitting around for years and may not even run.  In Episode Two, David and Steve are challenged by Fred Williams and Dave Chappelle from "Dirt Every Day" to a Jeep build-off.

RUN THE BURBS (CBC) 8:30pm: Andrew tests Leo's ability to walk to school alone; Camille takes a Khia bra shopping; Ramesh takes a stand at Bubble Bae when he learns he's not a regular customer.

PRETTY HARD CASES (CBC) 9:00pm: Kelly and Sam pursue different leads to exonerate an innocent teen accused of shooting their colleague; both investigations wind up informing the Coyote case in an unexpected way.

7TH GEN (APTN) 9:00pm:  Nadya Kwandibens is from Animakee Wa Zhing First Nation in Northwestern, Ont. Nadya is an internationally renowned photographer and travels extensively for her photography work. Recently honoured as a Canon ambassador, where will Nadya's path take. MARS: ONE DAY ON THE RED PLANET (Nat Geo Canada) 9:00pm: An epic journey around Mars, built from data, as one has never seen it before.

TRIBAL POLICE FILES (APTN)  9:30pm: The Tosguna arrest an intoxicated man for shooting a BB gun out of a window.

100 DAY DREAM HOME (HGTV Canada) 10:00pm (SEASON PREMIERE):   A couple are using an inheritance to trade their starter home on a traffic-heavy street for a safer, quieter spot for their two young children; with their current home already sold, the heat is on to finish this family's dream home quickly. NOSTRADAMUS: END OF DAYS (DTour) 10:00pm (SERIES PREMIERE): Nostradamus had terrifying visions of massive earthquakes flattening buildings, triggering tsunamis and forcing rivers to run backwards; scholars analyze Nostradamus' predictions to uncover exactly how and when the world will shatter.

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un potente mago probabilmente invischiato con l'omicidio dei genitori di Potter

Dos franquicias históricas que han vivido una temporada de auténtica pesadilla pueden ver la luz al final del túnel si la diosa fortuna les sonríe en mayo. Los Celtics tendrán un 10,6% de posibilidades de ser los primeros en elegir en el draft más esperado de la última década, mientras que los Lakers se quedan con un 6,3%. Por su parte, los Wolves de Ricky Rubio apenas tendrán un 0,6% de que su nombre salga en primer lugar. Well, pour yourself a glass of bull shot and tighten those mittens, because it's mid December and the NBA decided to have a season this year. As such, the exegetes at Ball Don't Lie are previewing the 2011 12 campaign in a mad rush, as if you or we would have it any other way. So put down the shovel long enough to listen to Kelly Dwyer, Dan Devine and Eric Freeman as avenida alicante sillathey break down each of the NBA's 29 teams, plus Toronto.. Rowling vero fenomeno librario e non solo degli ultimi anni, stavolta impegnato a sventare un'entit malvagia che minaccia la sua stessa vita. , infatti, evaso dal carcere il famigerato Sirius Black, un potente mago probabilmente invischiato con l'omicidio dei genitori di Potter, che pare voglia completare "l'opera" uccidendo anche il povero Harry. Siamo giunti al terzo anno nella scuola di Hogwarts, il luogo in cui giovani apprendisti maghi provenienti da tutto il mondo cercano di imparare e di affinare le principali tecniche magiche. OKC All Star Kevin Durant rightfully took his obsessive brand of ignorance to task, and Bayless responded by pumping up his own credits as a high school point guard who finally learned that PGs should think "pass" 12 times before they fire away, on Twitter. Bayless didn't start for his high school squad, it turns out, and didn't even play for the varsity until his senior

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season, when he averaged 1.4 points per game. Here's the video of Rose calling a clearly uncomfortable Bayless out:the fine folks at The Last Ogle, who found out that Bayless played only 15 of his teams 22 games during his senior year, and that no player on his squad scored fewer points than Bayless. Jason Terry was the only non starter to score for Boston in the half. With Lee sidelined, Crawford made his first start for the Celtics in 17 games since being traded from the Washington Wizards and finished with 14 points. Y también es normal que los jugdores, entrenadores etc. Voten al PSOE que aún siendo también multimillonarios, no dejan de ser tabajadores por cuenta ajena. Se sienten del pueblo. "Everybody knows we both can score like crazy. But I think everybody thinks we can't win together. That's going to be one of our biggest challenges. Andrea Bargnani had a rough end to his career in Toronto. adidas stan smith j white tactile blue The onetime top overall pick in the NBA draft disappointed in his seven years with the team, his production dropped over his final three seasons there, as Bargnani was consistently brought up as a candidate to be waived by the team with no compensation with the NBA's amnesty clause. Because the Knicks are the Knicks. "Fue uno de los mejores momentos de toda mi vida", apunta el nuevo jugador de los Wolves. "Ver todo lo que mi padre era capaz de hacer por m". Era una muestra más del amor de los Town por el pequeo Karl, dispuestos a hacer cualquier cosa por él.. Tornavo qualche sera fa da Palermo, dall'aeroporto Falcone e Borsellino, e devi attraversare tutta la citt per accedere all'autostrada che conduce alla parte pi a sud della costa siciliana: raggiungevo la mia citt, Agrigento, e dopo di noi, ci sono, infatti, le isole, le Pelagie, e poi l'Africa. Si era fatto gi notte, l'aereo era atterrato alle 11 e vai, con le operazioni di sbarco, prendi la macchina al nolo, percorri quei 150 Km circa di notte attraversando le strade pi brutte d'Italia, sempre funestate da incidenti gravissimi, air jordan mini melissa picole vidro aj4 strade che tutti noi, provenienti da citt prive di Universit, abbiamo sempre fatto per proseguire i nostri studi, affidati solo, noi e i nostri figli, alle preghiere dei nostri cari, da casa. Ed era il diadora focicipő buio della notte, mentre percorrevo le strade dell'entroterra siciliano, a permettermi di vedere la mia bella terra, la Sicilia, in tutta la sua miseria , quando miseria sinonimo di privazione: strade prive di luci, di segnaletica, strade tortuose che si ostinano a chiamare "a scorrimento veloce", ma di veloce trovi solo qualche macchina che, guidata da un incosciente, rischia di venirti addosso affrontando, in un doppio senso di circolazione, una curva, effettuando un sorpasso sempre azzardato. C O R D O V A P O N C E F R A N C I S C O A L F R E D O 3 6 . C O R O N A A G U I L A R A N G E L 3 7 . C O R T E C A R R I L L O L U I S M I G U E L 3 8 . He's earned that right. He has now taken advantage of it multiple times. That anger not only represents a ludicrous double standard in air max 90 ultra sean age when players are

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un deseo para llamarlo invento :O vamos a ver, deron a dicho publicamente q se va?: no, es obvio. Deron a dicho en publico q va a seguir en nets?: no. Yo creo q es obvio la respuesta: si. Already dealing with enough Cubs problems, Joe Maddon insists no 'ill will' toward RaysThe Cubs didn't dial up Kyle Schwarber to create some Fourth of July fireworks, keeping their World Series legend in the minors as Triple A Iowa moved on to Oklahoma City. But Schwarber Watch is on alert, with farm director Jaron Madison saying "it's not out of the question" the left handed slugger could rejoin the Cubs before the All Star break, though that final decision rests with team president Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer. "He's feeling really good," Madison said Tuesday at Wrigley Field after returning from a trip to Des Moines.

[truth-tv]

New on SI: How Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Can Still Win AL MVP in the Year of Ohtani

The Blue Jays star is treating the race with Shohei Ohtani as he does fastballs over the plate: he’s conceding nothing.

View the original article to see embedded media.

Welcome to The Opener, where every weekday morning you’ll get a fresh, topical column to start your day from one of SI.com’s MLB writers.

What Shohei Ohtani is doing is so unique and elite that maybe he cannot be caught as the American League MVP. He leads the league in homers and slugging while striking out 11.7 batters per nine innings over 13 starts. But Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is treating that race as he does fastballs over the plate: he is conceding nothing.

Guerrero has his own trump card to play: the Triple Crown. Guerrero trails Ohtani by just three homers while leading the league in batting average and RBI. He is on pace to hit 55 homers and bat .332. Only three players ever have reached those thresholds, none in the past 89 years: Jimmie Foxx, Hack Wilson and Babe Ruth (twice). And all of them when they did so were older than Guerrero, who is 22.

What makes Guerrero such a devastating hitter is not just a flat, powerful swing that turns around any velocity at any height. (He is hitting .399 and slugging .757 against fastballs.) It is also that Guerrero is supremely disciplined at the plate. Much has been made of his weight loss as the key to his breakout season. The bigger impact has been made by his improved selection of what pitches to attack. Guerrero has dropped his chase rate from 28.9% in 2019 to 21.9% this year. He has more hits on pitches in the strike zone than any hitter in baseball.

Add up his hitting profile—massive power, elite contact, superb pitch selection and the way he almost never gets off balance at the plate by being fooled—and Guerrero is reminiscent of Manny Ramírez. And to complete the comparison, look at the close resemblance to the start of their careers:

First 273 Career Games

There is one more element that could swing some voters toward Guerrero: a playoff spot. Toronto has a 67% chance of playing in the postseason. Their rotation is better than you think, with pitching coach Pete Walker turning Robbie Ray into a strike-thrower and rookie Alek Manoah making an impact. Ray, Manoah, Hyun Jin Ryu and Steven Matz are 27-14. The bullpen, which has run through 26 relievers, could use a power arm such as Craig Kimbrel.

The Jays play seven of their next 10 games against Boston, then come home to Toronto to play their first games at Rogers Centre in almost two years—an almost guaranteed emotional boost for the club in the second half.

Guerrero, who has played in every game, could have more meaningful September moments than Ohtani—the kind of moments that can leave an impression with MVP voters. And the Blue Jays finish with 14 of their last 23 games against Baltimore and Minnesota, two of the three worst pitching staffs in the AL.

Ohtani remains the clear favorite to win the MVP. But Guerrero is on his own historical path to possibly create a debate with echoes of 1941 (Joe DiMaggio over Ted Williams) and 2012 (Miguel Cabrera over Mike Trout).

New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole has made the adjustment in baseball’s crackdown period on sticky substances. The spin rates are down on his fastball (-184 rpms) and slider (-180 rpms), but so are the batting averages against those pitches. How has he done it?

After struggling with poor fastball command—and getting pounded in a start at Boston on May 31—Cole made a key change in his next outing. He moved from the center of the rubber to the far first-base side. His ERA this month is 2.45—down from 4.65 in June—and he has cut his percentage of pitches in the middle of the plate from 28% to 23%.

In 2019, when he “learned” how to spin fastballs with Houston, Cole threw 340 fastballs at 2,600 rpms or more. In June and July, with the crackdown in place, he has thrown just three such pitches. His high-spin heater disappeared virtually overnight. But Cole is proving that he is still an elite pitcher without ridiculously high spin rates.

Monday marks one month since the enforcement phase of the sticky-substances crackdown began. Overall batting average and slugging are up while RPMs dropped by an average of 72.

Biggest Change in Overall Spin Rate

Least Change in Overall Spin Rate

More MLB Coverage: • Second-Half Mysteries: Inside MLB's Thrilling Stretch Run • Five ‘Angel and Devil’ Trade Deadline Conversations • In the Year of Ohtani, MLB’s Stars Are Celebrating the Greatest of Them All • Three Big Questions Ahead of the MLB Trade Deadline

July 19, 2021 at 05:59PM Tom Verducci https://ift.tt/2UrKNhl

[your-dietician]

Abaxx Provides Q2 Business Milestone and Regulatory

New Post has been published on https://tattlepress.com/business/abaxx-provides-q2-business-milestone-and-regulatory/

Abaxx Provides Q2 Business Milestone and Regulatory

TORONTO, June 30, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Abaxx Technologies Inc., (NEO:ABXX) (“Abaxx” or the “Company”), a financial technology (fintech) company, majority shareholder of Abaxx Singapore Pte. Ltd., the Abaxx Commodity Exchange (ACX), and producer of the SmarterMarkets™ Podcast, is pleased to provide an update to shareholders regarding the progress of the company’s road map and milestones in preparation for the launch of Abaxx Commodity Exchange in Singapore, including the Company’s ID++ suite of Abaxx workflow applications and software services.

Dear Shareholders,

As we close out the first half of 2021, our primary project activities are progressing toward our previously stated goal of “internal launch readiness” by the end of the June quarter, with most project activities at or near internal completion and awaiting further coordination and completion with external partners, as detailed below. Abaxx is actively engaged in the senior management review phase before the Monetary Authority of Singapore (“MAS”), our primary regulator, as we await our Approved Clearing House (“ACH”) approval in principle (“AIP”) and advance the exchange toward launch in 2H 2021. As of June 30th, all Clearing House application materials including technical-review comment documentation and supplementary requests have been submitted as required for AIP. No assurances can be made as to the final timing of AIP, but Abaxx has advanced discussions with prospective membership launch-partners to begin the final stage of commercial preparedness.

The Company has categorized development activities broadly as regulatory applications and operations ramp up in Singapore; commercial engagement and exchange product development; internal technology development and external technology integration. In addition to these core Exchange development activities, Abaxx Technologies is testing an advanced suite of productivity and workflow applications which are not required for exchange participants, but function symbiotically with the core capabilities of the Exchange and Clearinghouse. The suite is intended to enable Measurement, Verification and Reporting (MVR) activities related to ESG externality-pricing considerations for commodity market participants.

Regulatory and Operations Milestones

Abaxx Exchange is awaiting regulatory approval as a Recognized Market Operator (“RMO”) and Approved Clearing House (“ACH”) in review before the MAS. On September 7, 2020, Abaxx received Approval in Principle of its RMO application, subject to various terms and conditions. The Company is in frequent contact with the MAS and is working toward the completion of the ACH AIP in the near term, though no assurances can be made as to the exact date of the approval.

Abaxx Exchange is evaluating access requirements and preparing necessary filings in secondary jurisdictions including Switzerland, UK and the US, where potentially advantageous.

Abaxx Exchange has successfully recruited the senior executives required for launch and its management team is substantially in place.

Target staff levels in the operations, regulatory, risk and tech departments are on track. Remaining operations staff will be scaled up over coming months as the project progresses towards launch. Senior and middle line leadership have developed and completed the necessary training programs for new staff onboarding.

Commercial Engagement and Exchange Product Development

The Abaxx executive team has extensive experience in organizing markets via various market advisory committees at global commodity exchanges. Abaxx believes the working group approach is the most effective way to form industry consensus and create positive feedback loops to entice market liquidity when launching new products. Abaxx has been leading a global Carbon Neutral LNG Working group since early Q1 and continues to add new participants in each working session.

While the futures contracts being developed for launch are initially focused on global LNG markets, Abaxx is also advancing new working groups and contract standardization development around voluntary carbon offset markets, precious metals, and critical battery metal markets. Outreach and initial engagement in these market segments has been encouraging, and the Company expects to update new development timelines for additional products by late Q3.

Exchange Technology Development

The Abaxx Exchange matching engine and clearinghouse software suite is licenced and developed in partnership with Nasdaq Market Technology. In addition to the deployment and testing of this core marketplace software, Abaxx has built proprietary service enhancements for member account access and management, custom trading APIs, custom Fix Field Mapping to support ESG data management, a dynamic greenhouse gas calculator for commodity trading, and other custom trade and data entry services. These proprietary enhancements are integrated with ID++ and the Abaxx Console Applications (Verifier, Chat, AI/ML service integration, Drive, Vault, Sign) developed by Abaxx Technologies, with an innovative cloud architecture developed in line with the principles of Web3.

Core exchange and clearing software development is complete, with the enhanced services currently in QA and load testing. Abaxx Clearing is preparing for beta testing, and the Company is engaged with Nasdaq and Independent Software Vendors partners to finalize a timeline for all remaining third party software updates, integrations, and additional operational testing and training. The Company expects these final external-vendor milestones to be completed in line with the expected launch timelines following ACH AIP.

ID++ enabled Application Suite and Workflow software services

As described in previous disclosures, the company has developed a blockchain digital-identity based modular, integrated-suite of productivity and workflow applications, with the services built on open Digital Identity standards (WC3 Verified Credentials and DID Resolvers). The functionality includes end-to-end encrypted instant messaging, voice and video with regulatory compliant transcription, document management and collaboration with multi-party digital signature capabilities, secure document and digital contract storage and transfer protocols.

The modular nature of the ID++ tools and services has allowed the Company to develop custom exchange and clearing software enhancements, with an initial application use case of bundling verified ESG data and assets within a traditional commodity-trade workflow. Core development and integration of these services with the Abaxx Exchange trade workflow is complete, and the Company is working towards a live demo and pilot group trade execution in the second half of the year to showcase these new tools and services.

With the June completion of the integration of ID++ tools and services into the Abaxx Exchange, Abaxx has initiated an internal working group to explore B2B and B2C commercialization for the Abaxx Console and applications outside of exchange clients.

Through work with the Carbon Neutral LNG Working Group, Abaxx believes significant opportunity exists to leverage the ID++ technology architecture, and the relationships and network Abaxx has developed, to form new business models for the ESG economy and the energy transition. Initial business plans to be capitalized and potentially spun out of Abaxx are in advanced stages of development.

SmarterMarkets™ Podcast

The weekly SmarterMarkets™ podcast continues to exceed expectations for listener engagement and stakeholder recognition. Recent series titled, “The Role of Digital Innovation in Advancing the ESG Economy”, and the current series, “ An Emerging Energy Framework for the 22nd Century”, have proven to be both prescient and attractive to prospective partners interested in adding their voices and views to the discussions guiding the corporate strategy.

About Abaxx Technologies

Abaxx is a development stage financial software company that has created proprietary technological infrastructure for both global commodity exchanges and the digital marketplace. The Company’s formative technology increases transaction velocity, data security, and facilitates improved risk management for the majority owned, Abaxx Singapore Pte. Ltd. (“ACX”, “Abaxx Commodity Exchange”, or “Abaxx.Exchange”) – a commodity futures exchange that is seeking final regulatory approvals as a Recognized Market Operator (“RMO”) and Approved Clearing House (“ACH”) in review before the Monetary Authority of Singapore (“MAS”). Abaxx is also the owner of the LabMag and KeMag iron ore assets, resulting from the reverse take-over of New Millennium Iron Corp, and the creator and producer of the SmarterMarkets™ podcast.

For more information please visit abaxx.tech, abaxx.exchange and SmarterMarketsPod.com

Media and Investor Inquiries:

Abaxx Technologies Inc. Paris Golab, Head of Investor Relations Tel: +246 243-3390 E-mail: ir@abaxx.tech

Forward-Looking Statements

This News Release includes certain “forward-looking statements” which do not consist of historical facts. Forward-looking statements include estimates and statements that describe Abaxx or the Company’s future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that Abaxx expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward-looking statements may be identified by such terms as “seeking”, “believes”, “anticipates”, “expects”, “estimates”, “may”, “could”, “would”, “will”, or “plan”. Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Although these statements are based on information currently available to Abaxx, Abaxx does not provide any assurance that actual results will meet management’s expectations. Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, Abaxx’ objectives, goals or future plans, statements, timing of the commencement of operations and estimates of market conditions. Such factors include, among others: risks relating to the global economic climate; dilution; the Company’s limited operating history; future capital needs and uncertainty of additional financing; the competitive nature of the industry; currency exchange risks; the need for Abaxx to manage its planned growth and expansion; the effects of product development and need for continued technology change; protection of proprietary rights; the effect of government regulation and compliance on Abaxx and the industry; network security risks; the ability of Abaxx to maintain properly working systems; reliance on key personnel; global economic and financial market deterioration impeding access to capital or increasing the cost of capital; and volatile securities markets impacting security pricing unrelated to operating performance. In addition, particular factors which could impact future results of the business of Abaxx include but are not limited to: operations in foreign jurisdictions, protection of intellectual property rights, contractual risk, third party risk; clearinghouse risk, malicious actor risks, third-party software license risk, system failure risk, risk of technological change; dependence of technical infrastructure, an inability to predict and counteract the effects of COVID-19 on the business of the Company, including but not limited to the effects of COVID-19 on the price of commodities, capital market conditions, restriction on labour and international travel and supply chains. Abaxx has also assumed that no significant events occur outside of Abaxx’ normal course of business.

Abaxx cautions that the foregoing list of material factors is not exhaustive. In addition, although Abaxx has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. When relying on Abaxx forward-looking statements and information to make decisions, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. Abaxx has assumed that the material factors referred to in the previous paragraph will not cause such forward-looking statements and information to differ materially from actual results or events. However, the list of these factors is not exhaustive and is subject to change and there can be no assurance that such assumptions will reflect the actual outcome of such items or factors. The forward-looking information contained in this press release represents the expectations of Abaxx as of the date of this press release and, accordingly, is subject to change after such date. Readers should not place undue importance on forward-looking information and should not rely upon this information as of any other date. Abaxx does not undertake to update this information at any particular time except as required in accordance with applicable laws. The NEO Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

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Can a pharma company change? Profit, not altruism, motivates COVID-19 vaccine development

The pharmaceutical trade opposes the suspension of mental property rights on COVID-19 vaccines and coverings, and no pharma corporations have but contributed to the COVID-19 Know-how Entry Pool. (Shutterstock)

Well being Canada introduced its approval of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine on Dec. 9. Earlier, the information that the identical vaccine was on the best way in the UK — and that others will not be far behind — was a reduction to folks all around the world, or no less than these in developed international locations that may afford the vaccine.

The arrival of the vaccine additionally appears to have boosted public approval for the pharmaceutical trade. Globally, the trade’s “belief and like rating” grew to over 68 per cent of individuals surveyed in 2020 from 65 per cent in 2018.

The bump within the trade’s rating was in all probability helped by the September joint pledge from 9 corporations that they’d “stand with science” and never attempt to get a vaccine permitted till it had been totally examined for efficacy and security. This assertion was broadly seen as the businesses standing as much as U.S. President Donald Trump, who was making guarantees about an “October shock” in a bid to boost his re-election possibilities.

Can a drug firm change? The proof is just not clear minimize.

The AstraZeneca vaccine is a living proof. The corporate has promised to not make a revenue from the vaccine through the pandemic and goes to promote it at US$three to US$four per dose, a value that’s one-fifth to one-tenth the price of the opposite main vaccine contenders from Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.

AstraZeneca, whose Cambridge, U.Ok. places of work are seen right here in July 2020, has pledged to not revenue from its COVID-19 vaccine through the pandemic, but in addition reserved the appropriate to declare when the pandemic is over. (AP Picture/Alastair Grant)

The corporate can be making offers with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and has a licensing settlement with Serum Institute of India to provide low- and middle-income international locations. In response to the corporate’s CEO Pascal Soriot, “We need to cowl the entire world so everybody can get entry to this vaccine.”

On the identical time, when there was a potential security downside in September and AstraZeneca’s medical trials needed to be briefly stopped, the corporate disclosed the data on a convention name with JP Morgan purchasers, however didn’t make the identical info public.

AstraZeneca has additionally reserved the appropriate to declare when the pandemic is over, which might be as early as July 2021 based on a doc seen by the Monetary Instances. Presumably at the moment the value will go up, though Soriot has not disclosed what that value will likely be.

Mental property

South Africa and India are calling on the World Commerce Group to briefly waive mental property rights associated to COVID-19 merchandise and coverings. The goal is to make certain that that medicines, vaccines and different applied sciences wanted to regulate the pandemic will be made out there to all. The pharmaceutical trade is against this proposal.

A vial of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on the Royal Victoria Hospital, in Belfast, Dec. 8, 2020. The UK has begun its vaccination marketing campaign. (Liam McBurney/Pool by way of AP)

Corporations argue that they’re already taking voluntary actions that make this transfer pointless. Moderna is just not going to implement its COVID-19-related patents in opposition to different corporations “whereas the pandemic continues,” and is prepared to license its mental property for COVID-19 vaccines for the post-pandemic interval.

An organization assertion stated, “We really feel a particular obligation beneath the present circumstances to make use of our sources to deliver this pandemic to an finish as rapidly as potential.” However as Ron Labonte and Mira Johri wrote in The Dialog, it is a one-time deal and has “the aura of charity fairly than of obligation.”

Others against the waiver argue that it could be a lot faster to stress corporations to permit non-exclusive licences and know-how switch of their merchandise. However the AstraZeneca settlement with India’s Serum Institute is simply a restricted success. The deal lacks transparency about prices, whereas Pfizer has not proven any signal of licensing or transferring the know-how wanted to fabricate its patented merchandise. Pfizer’s reply to this criticism is that “a one-size-fits-all mannequin disregards the particular circumstances of every scenario, every product and every nation.”

The arrival of a COVID-19 vaccine might have boosted public approval of pharmaceutical corporations. (Unsplash/Daniel Schludi)

To this point, no pharmaceutical firm has contributed to the COVID-19 Know-how Entry Pool, an initiative backed by the World Well being Group and endorsed by 40 international locations that encourages the voluntary donation of COVID-19 well being know-how associated information, mental property and knowledge. The goal of C-TAP is to make sure all populations all over the world have entry to inexpensive well being merchandise as quickly they want them.

Again in Might when C-TAP was introduced, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla stated, “At this time limit, I feel it’s nonsense, and … it’s additionally harmful,” a comment echoed by AstraZeneca’s Soriot, who maintained that mental property is “a elementary a part of our trade and for those who don’t shield IP, then basically, there is no such thing as a incentive for anyone to innovate.”

Non-public earnings, public companions

Each CEOs have reaped main monetary rewards through the pandemic. Between April and August, AstraZeneca inventory and choices owned by Soriot elevated by almost $15 million in worth. The day after Pfizer introduced promising interim outcomes about its vaccine, Bourla offered over 130,000 shares of Pfizer inventory value $5.6 million as a part of a recurrently scheduled plan to periodically promote a few of his Pfizer shares.

Learn extra: As U.S. buys up remdesivir, ‘vaccine nationalism’ threatens entry to COVID-19 remedies

Lastly, it’s vital to keep in mind that the drug corporations had public companions that offered massive quantities of cash to speed up the event of vaccines.

Moderna obtained $955 million from the Biomedical Superior Analysis and Improvement Authority and the U.S. authorities’s Operation Warp Velocity initiative. As well as, Moderna inked a cope with the U.S. authorities value $1.5 billion for 100 million doses of its vaccine ought to it’s profitable.

Even Pfizer, which didn’t instantly take cash from the U.S. authorities, had a contract value $1.95 billion to fabricate 100 million doses of its product whether it is efficient.

President Donald Trump speaks throughout an Operation Warp Velocity Vaccine Summit on the White Home advanced on Dec. 8, 2020, in Washington. (AP Picture/Evan Vucci)

In distinction to Moderna’s earlier altruistic pronouncement, its CEO Stephane Bancel informed buyers that “Moderna retains worldwide rights to develop and commercialize [its vaccine] mRNA-1273. And not using a company companion, Moderna will notice all of the earnings from our COVID-19 vaccine.… We must always have a novel money place on the finish of 2021.”

Regardless of the injection of cash from the U.S. authorities, the federal government has no say in Moderna’s manufacturing program.

We must always applaud drug corporations for creating a number of vaccines in report time, however let’s not be beneath any phantasm about whether or not a drug firm can change. Ultimately it’s earnings which can be motivating them.

In 2017-2020, Joel Lexchin obtained funds for being on a panel on the American Diabetes Affiliation, for talks on the Toronto Reference Library, for writing a short in an motion for unwanted side effects of a drug for Michael F. Smith, Lawyer and a second transient on the position of promotion in producing prescriptions for Goodmans LLP and from the Canadian Institutes of Well being Analysis for presenting at a workshop on conflict-of-interest in medical follow tips. He’s presently a member of analysis teams which can be receiving cash from the Canadian Institutes of Well being Analysis and the Australian Nationwide Well being and Medical Analysis Council. He’s a member of the Basis Board of Well being Motion Worldwide and the Board of Canadian Docs for Medicare. He receives royalties from College of Toronto Press and James Lorimer & Co. Ltd. for books he has written.

from Growth News https://growthnews.in/can-a-pharma-company-change-profit-not-altruism-motivates-covid-19-vaccine-development/ via https://growthnews.in

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Sports Digest: Royals finalize two-year deal with lefty Mike Minor

Mike Minor signed a two-year deal to play for Kansas Metropolis. Jeff Chiu/Related Press

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

Left-hander Mike Minor and the Kansas Metropolis Royals have finalized an $18 million, two-year deal, reuniting the 32-year-old starter with the membership that helped him revive his profession.

Kansas Metropolis brings within the 2019 All-Star to spice up a rotation that leaned largely on unproven children in 2020. The contract consists of salaries of $7 million in 2021 and $10 million in 2022 plus a $13 million membership choice for 2023 with a $1 million buyout. If traded, the choice turns into mutual with the buyout owed if both aspect declines.

He would earn bonuses of $50,000 every for 180 and 200 innings in the course of the first two seasons.

The 32-year-old Minor cut up 2020 between the Texas Rangers and Oakland Athletics, going 1-6 with a 5.56 ERA and diminished velocity after posting the very best numbers of his profession a 12 months earlier. In 2019, he was 14-10 with a 3.59 ERA and struck out 200 batters for the primary time in his profession.

A primary spherical choose by Atlanta in 2009, Minor spent 5 seasons within the Braves’ rotation earlier than a torn labrum in his left shoulder saved him out of the majors for 2 years.

• The Milwaukee Brewers have agreed to phrases on a significant league contract with catcher Luke Maile, an individual acquainted with the scenario informed The Related Press. The particular person spoke on situation of anonymity Wednesday as a result of the deal has not been introduced.

Maile, who was with the Pittsburgh Pirates final season, missed all the abbreviated season as a consequence of a fractured proper index finger. The 29-year-old performed for Tampa Bay from 2015-16 and Toronto from 2017-19. He’s nicely regarded for his protection and has a profession batting common of .198 with 10 homers and 60 RBI in 215 video games.

OLYMPICS

SKIING TEST CANCELED: The ultimate scheduled World Cup ski races used to check the 2022 Olympic downhill course have been canceled by the Chinese language ski federation.

The Worldwide Ski Federation says it has been informed by the Chinese language federation that the ladies’s downhill and super-G races scheduled for Feb. 27-28 in Yanqing won’t happen due to the coronavirus pandemic.

FIS says says it expects to verify the cancellation inside days.

Males’s World Cup races on the Olympic hill have been canceled in February. These have been among the many first worldwide sports activities occasions to be known as off as infections unfold from China.

CURLING

CANADA BUBBLE: Curling officers say they are going to attempt to create a pandemic-free “bubble” surroundings in Canada that can permit the game to proceed with a lot of its greatest tournaments in 2021.

The boys’s world championships, the Scotties Event of Hearts, the Tim Hortons Brier and the Canadian blended doubles championships will all happen in a managed entry surroundings at Calgary’s Markin MacPhail Centre. The world championships, which is able to decide six of the ten nations within the 2022 Olympics, will probably be April 3-11; dates for the opposite occasions haven’t been determined.

“Nobody can deny that these are difficult instances, and never only for curling, clearly,” Curling Canada CEO Katherine Henderson mentioned. “However we additionally know the way vital these occasions are to the athletes, to our companions and, in fact, to our followers.”

Organizers say they are going to use classes discovered from the NBA and NHL to remain secure. Relatively than enjoying their seasons in empty house arenas, just like the NFL and Main League Baseball, the professional basketball and hockey leagues introduced all of their video games to a closed surroundings in a single (NBA) or two (NHL) cities.

The curling season often runs within the winter by way of Might. Like different sports activities, curling shut down in mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic, canceling the boys’s, girls’s, blended doubles and senior world championships, amongst different occasions.

SOCCER

MESSI FINED: Lionel Messi was fined $720 for taking his jersey off to pay tribute to Diego Maradona, the Spanish soccer federation mentioned on Wednesday.

The federation’s competitions committee fined the Argentine participant for his actions after scoring in Barcelona’s 4-0 win over Osasuna within the Spanish league on Sunday. After a strike from outdoors the field, Messi took off Barcelona’s blue-and-burgundy to disclose the red-and-black of Maradona’s jersey from his stint at Newell’s Outdated Boys. Messi then blew a kiss with each arms to the sky as he seemed upward.

After the sport, Messi posted a photograph of his tribute alongside an older picture of Maradona in the identical shirt, including the message “Farewell, Diego” in Spanish. Maradona died final week on the age of 60. The federation additionally refused to void the yellow card that was proven to Messi for taking off his jersey, and fined Barcelona $216.

Messi and the membership can attraction the selections.

AC MILAN COACH Stefano Pioli has recovered from the coronavirus and will probably be again on the sidelines for Thursday’s Europa League match in opposition to Celtic, the membership mentioned Wednesday.

Milan mentioned the most recent COVID-19 assessments on Pioli and assistant coach Giacomo Murelli have been unfavorable.

Pioli, who has been self-isolating at house since testing constructive on Nov. 14, will even take cost of Wednesday’s coaching session.

With out Pioli, Milan gained two league matches and drew a Europa League recreation in opposition to Lille. The Rossoneri are in first place in Serie A and second of their Europa League group.

AUTO RACING

FORMULA ONE: Jack Aitken will drive for Formulation One crew Williams alongside Nicholas Latifi on this weekend’s Sakhir Grand Prix.

The 25-year-old Aitken will take the place of standard driver George Russell. The crew launched Russell to drive for Mercedes in Bahrain as a result of Lewis Hamilton is unable to race after testing constructive for COVID-19. Hamilton, a seven-time Formulation One champion, was examined thrice final week and returned a unfavorable consequence every time, the final on Sunday afternoon on the Bahrain Worldwide Circuit.

However Hamilton wakened Monday morning with gentle signs and was then knowledgeable {that a} contact previous to arrival in Bahrain had subsequently examined constructive, Mercedes mentioned Tuesday. This led to a subsequent take a look at returning a constructive consequence, and Hamilton mentioned he has gone into self-isolation for 10 days.

• Mick Schumacher will make his debut in Formulation One subsequent season for the Haas crew.

Haas mentioned Wednesday it had signed the 21-year-old son of F1 nice Michael Schumacher, bringing the well-known identify again to the grid for the primary time because the seven-time champion retired on the finish of the 2012 season.

Mick Schumacher will probably be stepping up from Formulation Two, the place he leads the standings with one spherical to go.

Schumacher is a part of Ferrari’s driver improvement program and his arrival continues an in depth relationship between Haas and the Italian automobile maker, which provides the U.S. crew’s engines and quite a few different parts. He will probably be partnered at Haas by Russian driver Nikita Mazepin.

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Here are the winners and losers from a wild MLB trade deadline

The Padres were ultra aggressive, while the Yankees and Rays decided to stand pat.

The 2020 MLB trade deadline is unlike any other in the history of the sport. With an expanded playoff format and a truncated season, most teams believe they have a shot at the playoffs this year, and we all know anything can happen in the MLB postseason if you make it.

Teams also have had less time to determine if they’re buyers or sellers, and perhaps more financial concerns than ever before given the lack of fans in stadiums. While there was some speculation teams could be hesitant to add salary in the weeks leading up to the deadline, we saw several aggressive moves with headline talent changing teams that reinforces just how wide open the World Series chase will be this season.

The San Diego Padres are all-in. The Oakland A’s added reinforcements. Cleveland traded a stud pitcher even while in first place in their division. Here are the winners and losers from the 2020 trade deadline.

The San Diego Padres are the trade deadline’s biggest winner

It’s been 14 seasons since the San Diego Padres last made the MLB playoffs. Now armed with arguably the most exciting young core in baseball after a long rebuild, San Diego entered the trade deadline with the third best record in the National League. Most expected the Padres to look to bolster their roster, but no one could have predicted just how aggressive executive A.J. Preller would actually be.

The Padres are all-in on trying to make the World Series. San Diego picked up the single best player moved during the trade deadline in acquiring starting pitcher Mike Clevinger. They also acquired slugging catcher Austin Nola from the Seattle Mariners, first baseman Mitch Moreland from the Red Sox, and veteran catcher Jason Castro from the Angels.

The Padres gave up depth for Clevinger, their No. 5 prospect Taylor Trammell for Nola, and two quality prospects — outfielder Jeisson Rosario and infielder Hudson Potts — for Moreland. The best part of San Diego’s moves? Their farm system is still loaded:

Even after this trade the Padres still have 2nd best farm by fangraphs using their value system

— B-L-M/Life Long Pelicans fan (@advancedstats23) August 31, 2020

The Clevinger deal feels like the biggest winner for the Padres, getting a top of the rotation starter while preserving most of the best talent in their farm system. The prices were higher than expected for Nola and Moreland, but we’re still naming San Diego a winner simply because they’re going for it. The aggression has to be such a welcomed sight for a long-suffering fanbase that has never seen a World Series championship.

Seattle and Boston are also winners for their trades with San Diego

Two things can be true: the Padres deserve praise for trying to win the damn thing this season, and they also gave up some promising long-term prospects for short-term success. That should be perfectly fine with San Diego: part of having so many talented young players and splashy free agent additions like Manny Machado is that there simply isn’t room for everyone. The Mariners and the Red Sox are happy to take some youngsters off their hands.

The big piece going to Seattle is Trammell, a super fast left fielder with power potential. While his throwing arm is questionable and his slugging percentage has dropped a bit after failed swing adjustments as a Reds prospect, it’s still a nice upside bet for the Mariners in exchange for an odd ball catcher like Nola who only has 108 career games at the MLB level under his belt despite being 30 years old.

Kate Preusser has a tremendous look at Trammell over at our Mariners community, Lookout Landing. Seattle will hope the soon-to-be 23-year-old’s power reemerges and his speed adds excitement to the big league club.

reminder that Taylor Trammell’s last official at-bat of 2019 (and as a Padres prospect) was a go-ahead grand slam for the @sodpoodles in the top of the 9th inning of the Texas League championship game pic.twitter.com/FxLSlkNFKZ

— Céspedes Family BBQ (@CespedesBBQ) August 31, 2020

Trammell is also Rule-5 eligible in Dec., so San Diego would have to make a decision on him soon either way. It feels like a good exchange for both teams.

The Red Sox also got a nice haul for Moreland with Potts and Rosario. Like Trammell, both prospects going to Boston will be Rule-5 eligible at the end of the season. Potts is a third baseman with major power potential who has issues making contact. Rosario knows how to walk and has plus-speed, but his upside will ultimately be determined by how his hit tool comes along.

Our Red Sox community Over the Monster has a terrific look at Potts and Rosario from writer Matt Collins. The site has Potts slotting in as Boston’s No. 10 prospect, and Rosario as the team’s No. 13 prospect. Not a bad haul for an aging first baseman like Moreland who was hitting over his head this season for a team that isn’t in contention.

The Indians probably didn’t get enough back for Clevinger

Clevinger is one of the better starting pitchers in the American League when he’s on. Of course, he also broke the trust of his team by forgoing Covid protocol to go party in Chicago.

Cleveland has plenty of quality starting pitchers and an amazing history of pitcher development. Even still, it feels like they sold low on Clevinger, getting depth from the Padres but no studs.

Gabriel Arias was Padres’ No. 7 prospect, lefty pitcher Joey Cantillo was their No. 9 prospect, and middle infielder Owen Miller was No. 11. Cleveland also got Josh Naylor, who they intend to play in the bigs the rest of the season. Read Let’s Go Tribe for a full breakdown on Naylor.

Perhaps it comes down to organizational philosophy in determining whether Cleveland is a winner or loser. The Tribe acquired several young players who project as regulars, but no stars. When trading a true top of the rotation arm like Clevinger, the preference here would be to get a stud in return. We’ll see how it works out for Cleveland.

The Oakland A’s are a winner for getting two 2019 All-Stars for little

The Oakland A’s feel like they’re primed for a World Series run this year. The A’s entered the deadline with the second best record in the American League, and bolstered the roster by adding a pair of players who were All-Stars just last season at minimal cost.

Tommy La Stella feels like a perfect fit for Oakland. The infielder is an impressive contact hitter with surprising power who has a rare ability to avoid strikeouts. Alex Hall at our A’s site Athletics Nation wrote up a nice summary of why La Stella could be such a good addition for Oakland despite being poor defensively:

There is nobody in the majors who strikes out less than La Stella. He’s fanned SEVEN times in 117 plate appearances, good for a 6% rate. Seeing a single-digit value in that K-rate looks like a typo, but in this case it’s not. And it’s not a short 2020 fluke, as his rate the previous summer was 8.7%. That’s 438 plate appearances worth of a skill that takes far fewer than that to normalize

Even better, when La Stella hits the ball he actually does something with it. His 2019 breakout season featured 16 homers in 80 games, and this summer he has a .202 isolated slugging percentage — that would rank fifth on the A’s, ahead of Mark Canha, Marcus Semien, Ramon Laureano, and Sean Murphy. La Stella isn’t just a slap hitter, he’s a guy who hits everything and drives it.

The A’s also acquired pitcher Mike Minor from the Texas Rangers on Monday. He fills Oakland’s big need for starting pitching help. Minor has been very good the last three seasons, and was excellent last year — 3.59 ERA, 208⅓ innings pitched, 200 strikeouts — as he was named an All-Star.

Minor has struggled this season, posting a 5.60 ERA thus far. Even still, the A’s didn’t appear to give up too much for Minor, who feels like a buy-low option with a high ceiling and gives the rotation something it needed badly: a starter who can actually strike out opposing batters. Read Athletics Nation for more on Minor.

The Blue Jays are making a playoff push by improving their rotation

Nothing comes easy in the AL East with the league-leading Tampa Bay Rays at the top of the division and the Yankees always lurking. But credit the Toronto Blue Jays for making aggressive moves to get into the wild card in the expanded playoff format. Toronto made several acquisitions with a focus on improving their pitching depth.

The Blue Jays’ starting rotation was shaky, especially after the injury bug hit multiple players in the last few weeks. Enter Taijuan Walker, a 28-year-old who only needs to be league-average to be a big boost to the rotation. Walker had a UCL tear and subsequent Tommy John surgery in 2018, but has looked solid this year even as his velocity has dropped. In five starts this season with the Mariners, Walker posted a 4.00 ERA. In his first start with the Blue Jays, Walker went six innings, allowed zero runs, and only four hits to beat the Orioles.

The Blue Jays also added starter Robbie Ray from the Diamondbacks on Monday. Ray has impressive strikeout stuff, but has struggled with control. So far he’s been rocked this year for a 7.84 ERA, but he’s still worth a gamble as a rental if Toronto can unlock something that once made him a dependable starter in 2017.

Right before the deadline, Toronto acquired 29-year-old infield Jonathan Villar from the Marlins. He’s hitting .272/.328/.360 in 29 games this season and gives Toronto a switch hitter and someone who can fill a utility role.

Toronto made one last buzzer-beater, acquiring Ross Stripling from the Dodgers.

Ross Stripling has been traded from the Dodgers to the Blue Jays. That's three new starters for Toronto.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 31, 2020

The Marlins are buying and selling at once

The Miami Marlins were expected to be one of baseball’s worst teams this year. Instead, Miami got off to a red hot start before falling back to Earth lately. Even still, the Marlins entered the deadline just one game under .500. It feels shocking to see Miami as one of the most active teams at the deadline, both buying and selling to give the team a shot at the expanded wild card this year while also still building for the future.

The Marlins acquired Starling Marte for the Diamondbacks, who posted an .845 OPS with the Pirates last year and has posted similar numbers at the plate in 33 games with Arizona this season. Marte is also under a team option next year, giving Miami a solid bat for two seasons with cost control.

As for dealing Villar, Miami was trading from a position of strength:

The main reason why Villar was dealt, is that Isan Díaz has returned to the club. Awaiting MLB joint committee reinstatement in Jupiter. Will take over as starter at 2B. Díaz opted out in July. He is back.

— Craig Mish (@CraigMish) August 31, 2020

The Reds bolstering their bullpen is a win

The Cincinnati Reds are trying to get back in the wild card picture, and improved their bullpen depth by acquiring 28-year-old righty Archie Bradley from Arizona for utilityman Josh Van Meter and outfielder Stuart Fairchild.

Bradley had 18 saves and a 3.52 ERA last season with the Diamondbacks. As Arizona has gotten off to a terrible start this season, Bradley has seen his numbers take a hit (4.22 ERA) but still has a pedigree as a successful bridge arm in the bullpen.

Fairchild is a former second round pick who has talent, but the Reds have better outfield prospects. Cincinnati is currently two games out of a wild card spot.

The Reds also landed Brian Goodwin from the Angels. Goodwin is hitting .242/.330/.463/.793 with four homers and 17 RBI and can play all over the outfield. Both Bradley and Goodwin are solid additions.

The Rangers feel like a loser for holding onto Lance Lynn

Veteran righty Lance Lynn was widely speculated to be one of the best available arms on the trade market coming into the deadline. Despite being the third worst team in the American League at 12-21 overall and numerous teams needing pitching help, Texas decided to hold onto Lynn.

The Rangers might feel like they can compete in 2021 with Lynn under contract next year. Perhaps they think he’ll be more valuable during the offseason or next year’s deadline. They should also get a comp draft pick for Lynn when he hits free agency in the winter of 2021, so ultimately it comes down to whether or not Texas thought it could get more later. Texas was reportedly asking for a big package.

Dodgers, Yankees and White Sox were among teams interested in Lance Lynn but all thought the price was too high

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) August 31, 2020

Lynn finished 5th in Cy Young last year, and has quietly been one of the better innings eaters in baseball the last two years. He would have helped a lot of teams.

You’d think they’d have learned their lesson about holding hot starting pitchers too long after what happened with Minor, as he went from being a hot commodity as recently as last winter to a cheap rental this summer.

The Yankees and Rays feel like losers

The Rays and Yankees are two of the best teams in the American League, but each could have done more to bolster their roster the way Oakland did.

The Rays entered the deadline at 24-11 as winners of five straight, so it makes sense that they thought they could compete for a championship as currently constructed. Even still, Tampa Bay has loads of depth in the minors and could have used a starting pitcher, a corner bat, or a catcher to gear up for the postseason. They chose to stay quiet instead.

The Yankees have been hit with an onslaught of injuries lately, and will see a boost when some of their regulars return. But New York was rumored to add pitching depth in the lead up to the deadline, and it’s a bit disappointing they didn’t make an impact move.

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MLB Trade Rumors and News: Cub throw no-hitter, Josh Bell to undergo MRI

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MLB Trade Rumors and News: Cub throw no-hitter, Josh Bell to undergo MRI

The MLB Daily Dish is a daily feature we’re running here at MLBDD that rounds up roster-impacting news, rumors, and analysis. Have feedback or have something that should be shared? Hit us up at @mlbdailydish on Twitter or @MLBDailyDish on Instagram.

It is always nice to start the day with some good news and Cubs fans woke up to fuzzy feelings all around as Chicago used four pitchers including starter Zach Davies and closer Craig Kimbrel to no-hit the Dodgers. Kimbrel looked like the Kimbrel of old and lets not understate how difficult it is to shut down that Dodgers offense. Really impressive.

The Nationals suddenly find themselves surging in the NL East and right in the thick of the race for first place. Unfortunately, Josh Bell, whose hot hitting had helped propel Washington up the standings, is headed for an MRI on his right side which is never great news.

There was a bit of news coming out of the NL East last night on the eve of the series finale between the Braves and Mets. For the Mets, it was good news as Michael Conforto was activated from the injured list after dealing with a hamstring injury for a month or so. The news was less good for the Braves as MVP candidate Ronald Acuna Jr. ended up being a late scratch from the game due to tightness in his lower back.

MLB’s routine foreign substance checks for pitchers, which began on Monday, got a little weird on Tuesday night. Nationals ace Max Scherzer lived up to his “Mad Max” nickname, rolling his eyes and throwing his hands in the air during an early routine check. Then when Phillies manager Joe Girardi requested that he be checked for a third time during the middle of an inning, Scherzer threw down his hat, unbuckled his belt, and looked like he was about to take off his pants before being discouraged from doing so. As it turned out, Scherzer walked so Sergio Romo could run, as the veteran A’s reliever threw down his hat, glove, and belt before dropping his pants during a foreign substance check.

The Rays promoted top prospect Wander Franco, and he immediately made his presence known on Tuesday night, hitting a game-tying homer for his first major league hit while also collecting a double and a walk. At Triple-A Durham, the 20-year-old was slashing .323/.376/.601 with seven home runs in 173 plate appearances.

The Mets’ rotation sustained a pair of blows on Tuesday, as the team announced that lefty Joey Lucchesi will undergo Tommy John surgery, then right-hander Marcus Stroman exited his start early with left hip soreness. While they have a comfortable lead in the NL East, the Mets continue to be dealt an incredible amount of adversity, so it’ll be interesting to see if they can stay afloat.

The Blue Jays have signed veteran reliever John Axford, reports Jamie Campbell of Sportsnet. The 38-year-old hasn’t seen a major league mound since 2018 and had been working as an analyst on the Jays’ pre and postgame shows before being asked to pitch for them again. The bulk of his career came with the Brewers, as he played in Milwaukee from 2009-13, but now the Ontario native will embark on his third stint with Toronto.

The Tigers have released Wilson Ramos, per a club announcement. The 33-year old signed a $2M deal with Detroit at the beginning of this year, and he looked like he was really giving the Tigers the most value for their buck after going yard six times in his first nine games. Unfortunately that took a turn in early May, when a back injury completely derailed the 12-year major league veteran. Should he be able to heal quickly enough for a late season renaissance, he could make a great extra backstop for a team in contention. Posting a 105 wRC+ for the Mets in 2019, he’s still got some gas left in the tank for whatever team is willing to take the risk.

Astros third baseman Alex Bregman is going to be out for an extended period after suffering a quad injury trying to beat out a double play last week.

Rays ace Tyler Glasnow’s season is in jeopardy after he suffered a partially torn UCL and flexor strain in his right arm. He’ll initially try to rehab the injuries rather than immediately opting for Tommy John surgery. In an interesting crossover with the biggest story being discussed around baseball right now, Glasnow said MLB’s crackdown on foreign substances contributed to his injury, as he stopped using a mixture of sunscreen and rosin, and as a result he began gripping the baseball so hard that he injured his elbow.

A lot has been made in recent weeks about the proliferation of foreign substances used primarily (but certainly not exclusively) by pitchers to get better grip on balls to have better command as well as to generate greater spin. It has been clear that MLB was going to crack down on the practice and now it looks like it has landed on its chosen punishment, as it was announced that players found to be using such substances will receive a 10 game paid suspension.

The Cleveland Indians received some pretty rough news about the reigning 2020 CY Young Award winner as Shane Bieber landed on the IL with a strained shoulder. Cleveland’s pitching staff has struggled to stay healthy and/or effective for most of the season and with the loss of their best pitcher in Bieber for a few weeks at least, their quest to try and run down the division-leading White Sox just got that much harder.

It is fair to say that the 2021 season has been a particularly weird one. Teams that we all thought would be good haven’t been and teams that were thought to be afterthoughts have been anything but. Our own Andersen Pickard broke down the five most surprising teams from the 2021 season so far.

It’s the most glorious time of the year: here’s your 2021 MLB Draft primer for notable players, draft order, and more.

The Twins are dragging their feet for extension talks with Jose Berrios, SKOR North’s Darren Wolfson reports. Berrios has one last year of arbitration eligibility before he’s free to sow his wild oats and hit the market in the 2022-23 offseason. And as of now, the Twins have done little to nothing to stop him. Could that be because the NL Central 4th place team is looking to use him as a lucrative trade chip come this year’s deadline? The 27-year old could bring a significant return for Minnesota, but is it enough to risk for them losing him? He’s having another strong season this year, with a 3.49 ERA and a 26% strikeout rate. Either way, as the trade deadline gets closer, we’ll see what moves the Twins are thinking of making.

After going 5-24 in the month of May, the Arizona Diamondbacks are reeling and are already buried in an NL West where even a good season would not guarantee a playoff berth. In order to try to stop the bleeding and try to get back to some level of decency, Arizona fired hitting coaches Eric Hinske and Darnell Coles. Sadly, given the breadth of that roster’s issues, it seems like that they will still end up as one of the league’s worst teams.

Baseball’s draft is slowly transitioning more and more to how drafts are run in other sports which is definitely a good thing. While the MLB draft has certainly been covered as an event, there were not a lot of players present during the draft festivities because of the conflict with the college season and the pre-draft workouts were largely private and lesser in number, again, because of conflicts with games being played. The league appears to be trying to change that as they announced a draft combine with over 100 players scheduled to attend towards the end of June.

Designated hitter Khris Davis, the 2018 major league home run and an imposing slugger for the last half decade, has been designated for assignment by the Rangers after slashing .157/.262/.333 in 22 games with Texas. Davis, who was acquired from Oakland for Elvis Andrus in February, will now look to latch on with another club, though he may have trouble finding another opportunity considering that he’s no longer a viable option in the outfield.

Yankees starter Gerrit Cole, long suspected to be one of baseball’s most prominent sticky substance users, delivered an extremely uncomfortable minute-long answer when asked by the New York Post’s Ken Davidoff whether he’s ever used Spider Tack while pitching. Cole did not provide an explicit yes or no, saying “I don’t know quite how to answer that, to be quite honest” and suggesting the shady practice was the fault of veterans who had passed it down to younger pitchers.

Outfielder Jarred Kelenic, widely regarded as one of baseball’s top prospects and the potential savior of the Mariners organization, was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma after getting into an 0-for-39 slump. Kelenic, who played just 28 games in the upper minors (21 at Double-A in 2019 and seven at Triple-A this year) before reaching the majors, has an .096 batting average and .378 OPS in 23 major league games.

The Orioles have placed John Means on the injured list for a strain in his throwing shoulder, which yes, is totally a bummer from any standpoint. While an MRI revealed no structural damage, reports Roch Kubatko of MASN, Baltimore isn’t taking any chances exacerbating his shoulder. He’ll be reevaluated after seven to ten days and the team will have a clear decision on what to do from there. In the meantime, Zac Lowther has been recalled from Tripe-A Norfolk to take his place.

The Nationals really needed Stephen Strasburg to look like the Stephen Strasburg from their World Series run in order to be consistently competitive during the 2021 season. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been what we have seen from Strasburg as he has lost some velocity and his stuff is not as crisp. Now, the Nats got even worse news after Strasburg was forced to leave his start against the Braves early as he was placed on the 10 day injured list with a neck strain that is causing nerve irritation.

The Mets had been hopeful to get Noah Syndergaard back in their rotation soonish to try and hold off their division rivals in what has been a surprisingly bad National League East. Unfortunately, they will have to wait a good bit longer, as Syndergaard’s rehab hit a setback, and elbow inflammation will keep him out until at least August.

Mickey Callaway has been awaiting his official fate from the league in the wake of some some serious and troubling allegations regarding his treatment of female members of the media. Well, MLB announced the results of their investigations where they found that Callaway had engaged in lewd and inappropriate conduct regarding his sexual advances towards journalists. He is now suspended through at least the 2022 season, and the Angels immediately fired him upon the decision being made.

The Rays have traded Willy Adames to the Brewers in a four-player deal. Trevor Richards was also dealt to Milwaukee in exchange for relievers Drew Rasmussen and J.P. Feyereisen. The 25-year old Adames was arguably the core of the Rays’ young lineup last season, though he had struggled this season before being dealt. He will be taking over as the shortstop for that Brewers, who have been starved for consistency at the position and in desperate need of an offensive boost.

Perennial MVP candidate Mike Trout probably won’t win the AL MVP Award in 2021, as he’s going to spend the next 6-8 weeks on the shelf recovering from a calf strain. Even though Trout had slumped in May, he still led the majors with a .466 OBP and 1.090 OPS due to the ridiculous .425/.523/.781 slash line he posted in April, and his loss is as massive as can be for an Angels team that was already struggling to stay above water in the AL West.

The Dodgers signed veteran slugger Albert Pujols to a major league deal, less than a month after he was designated for assignment and released by the Angels. For a moment there was a rumor floating around that the 41-year-old might sign with the Cardinals so he could play out his career with the team he made his name with. But clearly the Dodgers believe he has some fuel left in the tank, despite the .198/.250/.372 slash line he posted with the Angels this season.

Remember when the league and MLBPA got in a very public back and forth that resulted in MLBPA essentially calling the league’s bluff and calling for a shortened slate of games with the idea that the players were going to file a grievance? Do you remember that Manfred tried to one-up that by saying no season was going to happen at all unless the players waived the right to file a grievance? That was fun…and that grievance has arrived as MLBPA formally accused the league of negotiating in bad faith on the terms of the 2020 season.

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Tauchman and Urshela Lead the Yanks to Their 9th Straight Victory

Another impressive offensive exhibit was showcased on Thursday night in Toronto. The Yanks powered in 12 runs to win their 9th straight victory since the trade deadline. Coincidence? I think not.

Seriously, the Yanks have been scorching hot offensively, and the pitching has made huge strives in the last week. Gio Urshela led the charge by blasting a 2-run homer to left-center field in the top of the 1st, traveling 407 feet with an exit velocity of 108.2 MPH.

The Yanks tacked on a 6-run rally in the top of the 3rd, with Mike Tauchman and Urshela executing most of the punching. Thanks to a wild pitch, Breyvic Valera crossed home plate, extending the Yanks lead to 3-0. Urshela followed immediately after, launching his 2nd, 2-run homer of the night to deep left field, traveling 415 feet with an exit velocity of 100.5 MPH. 

Cameron Maybin also desired an invite to the party, cashing in an RBI single to center field and extending the Yanks lead to 6-0. Maybin passed the baton to Tauchman, smashing a 2-run homer to right field, traveling 366 feet with an exit velocity of 93.4 MPH.

Domingo German would eventually run into some complications in the bottom of the 5th. Derek Fisher led the charge by driving in a solo homer, followed by a 2-run homer by Bo Bichette, who has been turning heads this season with his incredible and dynamic start with the Blue Jays. Gurriel Jr. would also record an RBI single to center field. German was eventually relieved by Chad Green, posting a final line of:

5.0 IP / 8 H / 4 R / 3 ER / 1 BB / 3 K / 90 pitches - 64 strikes

The Bronx Bombers fired back in the top of the 6th. The RISP legend himself, known as DJ LeMahieu, drove in a 2-run single to right-center field and extending the Yanks lead to 10-4. The Blue Jays followed in the bottom of the 6th. Bichette, who is already becoming a thorn for the Yanks to deal with, drove in an RBI double to right-center field. Green was then relieved by Luis Cessa, posting a final line of:

1.0 IP / 2 H / 1 R / 1 ER / 0 BB / 3 K / 21 pitches - 14 strikes

The Blue Jays would record 1 more run in the ballgame. In the bottom of the 8th, Reese McGuire struck a solo shot to right field, cutting the deficit to 10-6. In the top of the 9th, Tauchman drove in a 2-run double to left field, giving him 4 RBI on the night. and extending the Yanks lead to 12-6. Cessa would complete the 9th inning, collecting his 1st save of the season and posting a final line of:

3.0 IP / 2 H / 1 R / 1 ER / 1 BB / 5 K / 43 pitches - 30 strikes

With a final score of 12-6, the Yanks acquired their 9th straight victory, improving to 76-39 (.661) and possessing the best record in baseball. The Red Sox are now 16.0 games back from 1st and the Rays are 10.5 games back from 1st. Life is good, eh?

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MLB Trade Deadline Uncertainty – CBS Los Angeles

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(CBS New York/CBS Local) — Major League Baseball’s trade deadline is just a couple days absent. And fifty percent the teams in the League are within three video games of a wildcard location. Still additional are in just placing length, or at the very least imagine they are.

So the trade industry is a minimal murky. Teams considered to be sellers may perhaps conclude up as potential buyers, and vice versa. Heaps of teams want pitching, and some good quality pitching is however accessible, for the appropriate rate, however likely not ample to fill all the needs. High-quality hitting is a very little much more scarce.

How will it all shake out?

The New York Mets aren’t waiting around to discover out, trading potential customers around the weekend for Toronto Blue Jays’ Marcus Stroman. The knowledge of the team’s pondering (and their future measures) remains to be noticed. But their bold move and regardless of what could possibly observe have significantly altered the landscape.

The Baltimore Orioles are much, considerably from competition this time, no matter of any moves they make this week. But that did not cease them from securing an uncommon earn over the Los Angeles Angels late previous week, and notching a Big League initially in the procedure.

This week’s Baseball Report discusses trade deadline scenarios, examines the Mets trade and highlights an strange Orioles initial.

MLB Trade Deadline Rapid Approaching

The MLB trade deadline is this Wednesday, and about 50 percent of the League fancies themselves contenders. Continue to, trade action has been fairly gradual so much. Players have been included to rosters, and prospective clients have been additional to farm groups. But the Mets’ Stroman acquisition was the very first deal to go the needle.

There need to be others this week.

Pitching is the key have to have amongst contenders and wannabes. And numerous of the teams searching for pitching help, such as the Houston Astros, Atlanta Braves and New York Yankees, have slight league belongings that must pique interest amid potential trade partners.

Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke has stayed effective at 35 yrs previous. In addition to his 2.87 Era, he’s collected 128 strikeouts in opposition to just 18 walks over 141 innings. The Philadelphia Phillies, among the other groups, could use his arm.

With Stroman before long to be a Satisfied, the team’s ace, Noah Syndergaard, much more so than Zack Wheeler, would seem to be on the current market. Sydergaard is slogging via a down calendar year — his 4.33 Period measures much more than a comprehensive stage previously mentioned his vocation common. The velocity and ensuing strikeouts are continue to there. The Astros could easily slot a energy pitcher like him into their rotation and make the compact adjustments that return him to elite position.

Starter Matthew Boyd from the lowly Detroit Tigers really should draw in some desire. The exact goes for lefty starter Mike Minor from the Texas Rangers and lefty reliever Felipe Vazquez from Pittsburgh Pirates. Madison Bumgarner, for all the interest in his expert services, likely will not be traded, with the Giants in the National League playoff hunt.

The selection of hitters even now out there is significantly considerably less engaging. Mets catcher Wilson Ramos, who’s hitting .259, with 10 HRs and 45 RBI, and Reds appropriate fielder Yasiel Puig, who’s hitting .257 with 22 HRs and 59 RBI, could assistance a contender in the stretch operate. But middle-of-the-lineup manufacturing appears a small sparse.

Stroman Traded To Mets

The Mets, who sit five games beneath .500, six games out of the wild card and fourth in the NL East weren’t anticipated to be a buyer in no cost agency this time. But their new great fortunes, profitable 4 in a row and 10 of their last 15 game titles, may possibly have altered their outlook. Have the Mets made a decision to double-down on this period?

As described prior to, the workforce traded pitching prospective customers Anthony Kay and Simeon Woods-Richardson for Blue Jays starter Marcus Stroman. The right-hander, who was believed to be on his way to the Yankees, has gone 6-11 the period with a 2.96 Period (fifth very best in the American League) for the brutally undesirable Toronto Blue Jays.

Stroman is greater than his stats reveal, on the other hand. He does not rack up strikeouts, finding batters to hit groundballs instead. One particular small problem with his strategy could be that the Mets’ infield just is not that great defensively. Then all over again, neither is the Blue Jays’.

Incorporating Stroman to the Mets’ current starters (he’s beneath deal by way of 2020) would give the workforce a robust rotation future time. So this trade may well not be a participate in for this season — which, new great fortunes apart, already would seem like a misplaced lead to — but for the potential.

Then once more, the Mets are also pondering about investing Noah Syndergaard and/or Zack Wheeler, each present-day starters. Stroman’s arrival makes Syndergaard’s departure a lot more most likely. Possibly we’ll get some clarity in the up coming couple days, or perhaps we will not. These are the Mets, just after all.

Orioles Wilkerson Notches Unlikely Preserve

The Orioles attained a to start with late final week, and for the moment it was great news for a person of MLB’s worst groups. Center fielder Stevie Wilkerson turned the initial situation player in MLB historical past to record a help you save.

It was the 16th inning of a activity against the Los Angeles Angels that lasted around six hrs. Wilkerson was the team’s 10th pitcher of the evening. Even though none of his 14 pitches topped 60 miles an hour, he obtained 3 outs to close the sport, logging a preserve.

The Orioles Jonathan Villar was probably the game’s unsung hero. He threw out the Angels’ likely winning operate at the plate in the base of the 15th inning and then hit a two-operate homer in the leading of the 16th to give his group the direct.

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Everything to know about Cubs' closer role

As the 2019 season draws near and rosters take a clearer scope, MLB.com has been examining each club's current construction and projecting how personnels might look on Opening Day.

With bullpens becoming more versatile and less defined, the closer role has seen as drastic a change as any in recent years -- particularly with many clubs opting for their best relief arms in the most high-leverage situations, regardless of inning.

That trend could certainly continue in 2019, and it has led to some uncertainty about who will pitch the ninth for a handful of clubs. And for others, some of the most established closers will retain their roles. Here is a breakdown of where things stand for each club at closer. 

AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST

Blue Jays: Ken Giles The Blue Jays' bullpen has plenty of question marks this year, but the one area where there appears to be a lot of certainty is at the very back end. Toronto might have parted ways with an established -- yet troubled -- closer in Roberto Osuna but they got an effective one in return by landing Giles during last year's trade. The 28-year-old posted a shaky 4.65 ERA in 2018 but almost all of his troubles came in non-save situations. In save opportunities, Giles was a perfect 26-for-26, and he enters camp as Toronto's undisputed closer. The better he pitches this spring, the more likely it is he will be dealt before the July 31 non-waiver Trade Deadline. -- Gregor Chisholm

Orioles: Mychal Givens Like nearly everything with regards to the Orioles roster, the closer spot remains in flux. Givens is the obvious choice. One of the O's few veteran holdovers, Givens finished 2018 as the closer after spending the previous three and a half years as an effective setup man, particularly against right-handed hitters. He is clearly Baltimore's most accomplished reliever at this point. But whether Givens closes remains an open question. It'll likely take weeks of assessment before new O's manager Brandon Hyde tabs someone specific for the ninth, if he even does so at all. The O's could also decide whether they prefer to deploy Givens in high-leverage situations regardless of inning. For what it's worth, Givens has said he's open to any role. -- Joe Trezza

Rays: Jose Alvarado There's a good chance the Rays go into the 2019 season without naming an official closer. Sergio Romo led the team with 25 saves last season, but he's not expected to return in '19. For the most part, Romo served as the team's primary closer, but manager Kevin Cash wasn't afraid to use Romo earlier in the game if he believed that was the pivotal part of the game. While that will continue to be the case this season, left-hander Alvarado has the chance to establish himself as the primary closer, with right-handers Diego Castillo and Chaz Roe as other potential options. Alvarado finished third on the team with eight saves last season and established himself as one of the best relievers in the American League. His fastball velocity ranks in the 93rd percentile, and he showed a dominant curveball also. -- Juan Toribio

Red Sox: Matt Barnes, other contenders For a team that won the World Series last year and is loaded in most areas, it is somewhat eye-opening that the closer's role remains unknown so close to Spring Training. If Craig Kimbrel isn't re-signed, who will fit at the back end of Boston's bullpen? Barnes (96 strikeouts in 61 2/3 innings last year) is the top internal candidate, but the righty has never done it before. Ryan Brasier, who came out of nowhere as a Minor League free agent last year, will also compete for the job. Brasier mixed his pitches better in 2018 than ever before, leading to his breakout. If you're looking for an unconventional option, don't rule out knuckleballer Steven Wright, who has consistently pitched well for the Red Sox when healthy. -- Ian Browne

Video: Barnes discusses potential closer role in 2019

Yankees: Aroldis Chapman The Yankees' closer situation is clear-cut, with Chapman set to be again entrusted with the ninth inning. Chapman converted 32 of 34 save opportunities last season with a 2.45 ERA, holding opponents to a .136 average while leading all relievers with a 16.3 K/9 ratio. Chapman missed four weeks late in the season due to left knee tendinitis, but with Dellin Betances, Zach Britton and Adam Ottavino pacing their setup crew, the Yanks appear to be well covered in the event of any similar absences in 2019. -- Bryan Hoch

AL CENTRAL

Indians: Brad Hand The Indians acquired lefty Hand -- one of the game's elite back-end arms -- and right-hander Adam Cimber from the Padres last July in exchange for catching prospect Francisco Mejia. The addition of the two relievers was not only to bolster the bullpen in 2018, but to also prepare for the departure of Andrew Miller and previous closer Cody Allen at the end of the year due to free agency. The immediate plan was to leave Allen in his ninth-inning role, but with Hand's arrival along with Allen's uncharacteristically shaky season, the Indians soon decided to leave the relievers' roles undefined. After both setting up and closing for the Tribe last year, Hand will officially earn the label of Cleveland's closer in 2019. In his time with the Padres and Indians in '18, the two-time All-Star recorded a 2.75 ERA with 32 saves and 106 strikeouts against 28 walks in 72 innings over 69 outings. -- Mandy Bell

Video: Hand talks Cleveland, perspective on trade rumors

Royals: Wily Peralta The Royals will go into 2019 presumably with the same closer, right-hander Peralta, who finished 2018 in that role. The Royals re-signed Peralta last fall to a one-year deal. But while manager Ned Yost likes to point out, and he did so again at the Winter Meetings, that Peralta was 14-for-14 in save opportunities once he claimed the job from Kelvin Herrera (who was traded), club officials have hinted that the closer's role isn't necessarily locked in stone. There is a sense that the Royals will get somewhat creative with how they employ their bullpen in 2019, and set roles may never be completely defined. "It comes down to whatever we can do to get 27 outs," general manager Dayton Moore told MLB.com. -- Jeffrey Flanagan

Tigers: Shane Greene While Joe Jimenez is the Tigers' closer of the future, Greene remains the closer going into this season. Part of the reason is his experience in the ninth inning, while part can be tracked to his potential trade value down the line if the Tigers make a move. Greene's 32 saves last year ranked tied for fourth-most in the AL, but his ERA nearly doubled from 2017 (2.66) to 2018 (5.12) thanks to 12 home runs allowed 63 1/3 innings, despite a four-percent drop in his hard-hit rate dropping according to Statcast™. Five of those homers came off his sinker, which dropped in velocity from 2017. On the flip side, his 3.42 strikeout-to-walk ratio last year was the best of his career. If he can avoid the longball, he should be in line for a bounceback season. If not, Jimenez will be looming. -- Jason Beck

Twins: Several contenders There are five pitchers in the Twins' bullpen -- Trevor May, Taylor Rogers, Addison Reed, Trevor Hildenberger and Blake Parker -- with the ability and experience to close, but manager Rocco Baldelli and his staff aren't in any hurry to install anyone in the role. Instead, the Twins are confident they have several arms capable of pitching three of the last nine outs, and how exactly those nine outs will be allocated will be determined in the weeks to come. Fernando Romero, a hard-throwing 24-year-old, has been a starter throughout his Minor League career, but the Twins' braintrust has also had discussions about whether his fastball might play better as a late-inning option moving forward. There's still time for the Twins to acquire a more proven arm via free agency or trade, but even if they don't, remember that Joe Nathan and Glen Perkins weren't proven when they stepped into Minnesota's closer role, either. -- Do-Hyoung Park

White Sox: Alex Colome, other contenders The White Sox haven't named an official closer, and to be honest, they have given themselves a number of options for the 2019 season. Colome led the Majors with 47 saves in 2017, but he also worked as a setup man for the Mariners last season. Kelvin Herrera, who the White Sox brought in via free agency, and returnee Nate Jones also have closing experience, and the White Sox could turn to Jace Fry from the left side. The focus for the White Sox simply is getting outs late in the game, and they have a number of high leverage options. -- Scott Merkin

AL WEST

Angels: Cody Allen The Angels signed right-hander Allen to a one-year deal worth $8.5 million earlier this month to be their closer in 2019. Allen is coming off a down year with the Indians that saw him post a career-worst 4.70 ERA in 70 appearances, but he's averaged 29 saves over the last five seasons and has a career 2.98 ERA. His velocity has declined over the years, but he still has a strong strikeout rate, so the key will be limiting homers. If Allen falters, the Angels could turn to Ty Buttrey, Justin Anderson, Hansel Robles or Cam Bedrosian as closer, but they're confident Allen will bounce back. -- Rhett Bollinger

Video: Allen joins Angels on one-year contract

Astros: Roberto Osuna After the up-and-down tenure of Ken Giles, the club stabilized its late-inning situation by trading for Osuna last July. The Astros sent three pitchers, including Giles, to Toronto for Osuna, who was suspended for the 75 games last year. He converted all 12 save chances with the Astros in the regular season, posting a 1.99 ERA in 22 2/3 innings over 23 games, walking three and striking out 19. The former All-Star will be only 24 years old on Opening Day, and he is under club control for three more seasons, so the Astros should be in good hands in the ninth inning for the foreseeable future. He's the youngest pitcher in Major League history to record at least 100 saves. -- Brian McTaggart

Athletics: Blake Treinen The A's employ one of the game's best closers in Treinen, who posted historic numbers in 2018. The right-hander compiled 38 saves and turned in a tidy 0.78 ERA, the lowest in Major League history among pitchers with 80 or more innings. He was also the first pitcher in the history of the game to notch at least 30 saves and 100 strikeouts with a sub-1.00 ERA. The All-Star pitcher showed no signs of slowing down and could very well duplicate this success in 2019, leading a bullpen that also includes newcomer Joakim Soria -- who also boasts closing experience -- and flamethrower Lou Trivino. -- Jane Lee

Mariners: Hunter Strickland, other contenders A year ago, manager Scott Servais could trot out All-Star closer Edwin Diaz, whose 57 saves tied for the second-most in Major League history for a team that went an amazing 66-0 in games where he entered with a lead. But after dealing Diaz to the Mets along with Robinson Cano in a seven-player blockbuster, the picture is a little fuzzier. Free agent right-hander Strickland, who saved 14 games for the Giants last year in a season shortened by a broken hand, signed a one-year deal on Sunday and could be the early favorite to fill that role. Fellow newcomers Anthony Swarzak (six), Cory Gearrin (five) and returnee Shawn Armstrong (one) are the only other contenders with an MLB save to their name, and Servais said he'll likely use different ninth-inning options depending on matchup situations. -- Greg Johns

Rangers: Jose Leclerc Manager Chris Woodward made it known on Friday that Leclerc would be the Rangers' closer this season. The Rangers had debated the best use for Leclerc, but decided to keep him in the role he excelled in for the final two months of the season after Keone Kela was traded to the Pirates. Leclerc can be dominating with his fastball and changeup if he stays under control and keeps his emotions in check. He did that for all of last season, but especially after taking over as closer. Leclerc did not allow a run in his final 21 games last season, and he allowed just five hits and six walks while striking out 32 and saving 12 games in that stretch. Overall, he pitched in 59 games with a 1.56 ERA and a 0.85 WHIP. He posted a13.3 K/9 ratio and allowed 3.7 hits per nine innings. -- T.R. Sullivan

NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST

Braves: Arodys Vizcaino or A.J. Minter A healthy Vizcaino has proven to be a reliable closer, but concerns about the durability of his right shoulder could lead the Braves to primarily use Minter in this role. Minter struck out 43 percent of the batters he faced while experiencing his first 16 career appearances in 2017. That number dipped to 25.6 percent last year, when he tried to be too fine and then battled the lingering effects of lower back discomfort. If the young southpaw further develops the changeup he displayed more frequently in September, he'll have an offspeed pitch to compliment his effective cutter. -- Mark Bowman

Marlins: Drew Steckenrider, Adam Conley, other contenders Without a clear front-runner, the Marlins may be leaning to "closing by matchup." Right-hander Steckenrider and lefty Conley are the likely choices, but adding a veteran free agent to join the mix is certainly possible before Opening Day. Their closer situation came in question when Kyle Barraclough was dealt to the Nationals in October for international bonus pool money, as it created an opening in the ninth inning. Manager Don Mattingly said at the Winter Meetings that the team may be leaning toward going by matchups. If there are tough lefty batters lined up in the ninth inning, Conley may get the call on those days. If not, it could be Steckenrider, who had five saves as a rookie in 2018. A third candidate could be Tayron Guerrero, one of the hardest throwers in the league. Guerrero's average fastball was 98.8 mph, per Statcast™, with a high of 104 mph. But Guerrero lacks a reliable second pitch. Should he find it, the lanky right-hander could join the closer mix. -- Joe Frisaro

Mets: Edwin Diaz Upon acquiring Diaz in a seven-player deal in December, the Mets made it clear that Diaz would take ownership of the ninth inning both in 2019 and beyond. Arguably the game's best closer last season, Diaz converted 57 of his 61 opportunities with a 1.16 ERA in save situations. He would need to take a half-dozen steps backward to lose his grip on the ninth. The Mets have another proven closer in Jeurys Familia to fill in on Diaz's off-days, or if injury strikes, but he's not a threat to take Diaz's job any time soon. -- Anthony DiComo

Video: Diaz excited to be playing for the Mets

Nationals: Sean Doolittle Remember a few years back when "who would close?" used to be an annual question for the Nationals? Well, not anymore. Doolittle has all but erased those concerns since he arrived in the summer of 2017. His dominance on the mound, personality quirks and passion off the field are all reasons he quickly became a favorite in Washington, inspiring fans to chant "Doooo" as he marches out for a save in the ninth inning at Nationals Park. And last season further cemented him as one of the game's best relief pitchers. He made the NL All-Star team after compiling a career-low 1.60 ERA with 25 saves in 26 chances, although his season was interrupted by a nagging foot injury. His hold on the closer's job is very secure. -- Jamal Collier

Phillies: David Robertson, other contenders Robertson will receive some closing opportunities, but so will Seranthony Dominguez and possibly Hector Neris. Yes, Phillies manager Gabe Kapler still plans to use his relievers like he used them last season. If Robertson's best matchup is the eighth inning, then the Phillies will have him pitch the eighth. If that spot is best for Dominguez, it will be Dominguez, or Neris or Pat Neshek or Tommy Hunter, and on and on. Kapler might not be ready to implement an opener, like some other teams, but he loves relievers being open to any situation in any inning. -- Todd Zolecki

NL CENTRAL

Brewers: Corey Knebel, Jeremy Jeffress or Josh Hader The club appears likely to split closer duties between three capable relievers: right-handers Knebel and Jeffress, and left-hander Hader when an opposing lineup warrants it. Because manager Craig Counsell likes to pick his spots with Hader, often for multiple-inning stints that burn Hader for the next day or two, Knebel and Jeffress are the leading candidates for what we think of as traditional closer duties. Both have experience in that role and made the NL All-Star team; Knebel in 2017, and, after Knebel went down with a hamstring injury last April, Jeffress in 2018. Whomever emerges as the ninth-inning guy, Counsell has solid options for the late innings. -- Adam McCalvy

Cardinals: Andrew Miller Perhaps the Cardinals' depth chart at closer should read Miller with an asterisk, as the club intends to maintain some flexibility in how they cover the ninth. Miller is the most experienced option, but because he's the most dynamic lefty in the bullpen, he will also be deployed in key situations earlier in games. That will open up opportunities for second-year righty Jordan Hicks to receive some ninth-inning exposure. And don't forget about Alex Reyes, the returning top prospect who could be used as a late-inning reliever if the Cards feel that's the best way to manage his workload. In other words, the Cardinals believe they've built a bullpen with options. -- Jenifer Langosch

Cubs: Pedro Strop Expect Strop to begin the season as the Cubs' primary option for save opportunities, given Brandon Morrow's situation. Morrow underwent a debridement procedure on his right elbow in November and will likely miss at least the first couple weeks of the regular season. That will likely lead to more chances for Strop, who has a 2.63 ERA in 361 games with the Cubs over parts of the past six seasons. He notched 13 saves in '18 when Morrow was also injured. The heavily-used Steve Cishek will present another option, and the Cubs also have an agreement in place with righty Brad Brach, who has closing experience over the course of his career. -- Jordan Bastian

Pirates: Felipe Vazquez Vazquez will be back in the ninth inning for the Pirates this year. The Bucs are betting on their bullpen being a strength, and it starts with the 27-year-old left-hander. Vazquez has put together a 2.35 ERA and 1.13 WHIP with 216 strikeouts in 172 2/3 innings since joining Pittsburgh in a trade that sent former closer Mark Melancon to Washington. Last season, the hard-throwing Vazquez racked up 37 saves and struck out 89 in 70 appearances despite a handful of blown saves in May. Right-hander Keone Kela gained plenty of experience as a closer with the Rangers, but he is set to serve as a high-leverage setup man in his first full season with the Bucs. -- Adam Berry

Reds: Raisel Iglesias Iglesias is in his fifth year with the Reds but he has quietly become one of the game's better closers the last two seasons with a 2.43 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 58 saves in 64 chances over 129 games. But after signing him to a new three-year, $24.1 million contract in November, Reds management indicated that Iglesias' role could expand beyond the ninth inning. New manager David Bell and pitching coach Derek Johnson could tap into the right-hander's starting experience and enjoyment of working multiple innings in relief to use Iglesias' elite arm in a variety of ways to get outs in high-leverage situations. If he's not closing a game, the job could fall to Jared Hughes or David Hernandez. -- Mark Sheldon

NL WEST

D-backs: Archie Bradley With the departure of Brad Boxberger, it appears like Bradley will inherit the closer's role. After a dominant 2017, the right-hander had some struggles in 2018. Some of that might be attributable to trouble with the nail of his right forefinger, which continually cracked and made it difficult for him at times to use his curveball. Yoshihisa Hirano will also be a big part of the backend of the bullpen and look out for rookie Yoan Lopez, who flashed electric stuff and a confident demeanor during a September callup. -- Steve Gilbert

Dodgers: Kenley Jansen The Dodgers know who their closer is, they just don't know how he is. Jansen had a five-and-a-half-hour procedure to address a recurring irregular heartbeat. He had one six years ago and was fine by Opening Day and the Dodgers are cautiously optimistic that the issue -- which disrupted his 2018 season -- is resolved and he will be ready for Opening Day, but they won't really know until observing him in Spring Training. If he isn't, the acquisition of Joe Kelly looms large. At the club's FanFest on Saturday, Jansen said he's lost 25 pounds and is ready to roll for the start of Spring Training. -- Ken Gurnick

Giants: Will Smith Smith enjoyed an impressive bounceback season with the Giants last year after missing the entire 2017 season while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. The 29-year-old left-hander posted a 2.55 ERA with a 0.98 WHIP over 54 appearances and converted 14 saves in 2018. Smith is currently projected to reprise his role as the club's closer, but it remains to be seen if he'll still be wearing a Giants uniform on Opening Day. The Giants have been taking calls on Smith this offseason, and they could move him or fellow left-hander Tony Watson as they look to build a younger and more versatile roster under new president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi. Smith is slated to earn $4.225 million in his final season before free agency, further motivating the Giants to explore trades for him. -- Maria Guardado

Padres: Kirby Yates Coming off a career year, Yates enters camp as the presumed closer in San Diego. He took over last July when Brad Hand was dealt to Cleveland. Despite a couple late-season hiccups, Yates finished with a 2.13 ERA and 90 strikeouts in 63 innings. In fact, Yates' 37.2 percent strikeout rate since joining the Padres in 2017 is highest in franchise history. It's worth noting, however, that the Padres played around with matchups quite a bit last season. Yates, a right-hander, will presumably pitch the eighth inning on occasion if he's set to face a string of tough righties. In such cases, a lefty like Jose Castillo could be saved for the ninth. -- AJ Cassavell

Rockies: Wade Davis In many senses, the Rockies and their closer, Davis, are in an enviable position. Davis led the NL in saves with a club-record 43, with 5.70 strikeouts for each walk and a .122 batting average against in those games. But he also had a career-high six blown saves (two off the league lead). Manager Bud Black points out Davis has been dedicated to tweaks to improve his pitches, and bullpen coach Darren Holmes revealed that Davis -- who during last season had to change his eating and workouts because he felt more worn than usual -- has added weight and strength this offseason as he heads for the middle season of a three-year, $52 million contract. -- Thomas Harding

Source: https://www.mlb.com/news/each-mlb-clubs-projected-closer-for-2019/c-303272400