cockfighting conditioning

cockfighting conditioning Despite boxing legend Joe Frazier's former gym having landmark status that should offer protections, City Council had to step in Thursday to prevent possible demolition of the 109-year-old building. The building at 2917 N. Broad Street has been deemed "unsafe" by the Department of Licenses and Inspections each year since it was purchased in 2022 for $850,000 by Broad St. Holdings, which owes $26,000 in taxes and unpaid utility bills on the space. If it continues to deteriorate and reaches "imminently dangerous" status, the city can knock it down even though it appears on both the Philadelphia and national registers of historic places. To help save the facility, council members unanimously approved a resolution from Jeffery Young Jr. (D-5th) asking L&I to halt any possible destruction plans and calling on the city, state and Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia to find a new use for the building. After Frazier won gold at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo and began his professional boxing career, Cloverlay Group purchased an old warehouse and converted it into a gym for the heavyweight fighter in 1968. Frazier trained here for some of his most noteworthy fights, including against Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. "(Frazier) understood what life was like growing up in the city, making it and coming back to give to your city," Young said. "We will do everything we can to see that iconic building coming to and restore its glory back on North Broad Street." Frazier ultimately purchased the building in 1975 after he retired and opened it to the public. Among the professional fighters he trained there before it closed in 2008 are Bert Cooper, Duane Bobick, Jesse Hart and his son Marvis Frazier. He also sometimes lived in an apartment upstairs. Three of Frazier's granddaughters testified at Thursday's hearing. "What message are we sending to the world to tear down a piece of that history?" Tamyra Frazier-Thomas said. "Where's the love in that? I'm not speaking of fictional characters that run through the city and up the Art Museum steps, but the person that actually did it." Frazier owed $127,000 in unpaid taxes and put the gym up for sale . Eventually , it was sold to Broad Enterprise Group for $350,000, and it became a discount furniture store. But it's now vacant. Frazier died in 2011 from liver cancer at the age of 67. There are other tributes to Frazier around Philadelphia, including a statue of him outside Xfinity Live! and a stretch of Glenwood Avenue between Broad Street and Germantown Avenue was renamed Smokin’ Joe Frazier Boulevard .

USA News Group Commentary Issued on behalf of Oncolytics Biotech Inc. VANCOUVER, BC , Dec. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- USA News Group News Commentary – The American Cancer Society has published its Advances in Oncology – 2024 Research Highlights , underscoring major strides in cancer research and ongoing innovation. However, the optimism is tempered by a troubling finding: a significant global rise in early-onset colorectal cancer cases . This unsettling trend comes as the medical community grapples with the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. A recent Nature article revealed how disruptions in cancer care—particularly delays in screenings, diagnoses, and treatments—have likely exacerbated the progression of advanced disease, diminished survival rates, and complicated long-term data analysis. Still, the oncology field continues to push forward with promising developments emerging from key innovators like O ncolytics Biotech Inc. (NASDAQ: ONCY) (TSX: ONC), Cardiff Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRDF), Personalis, Inc. (NASDAQ: PSNL), Tempus AI, Inc. (NASDAQ: TEM), and Checkpoint Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CKPT). The article continued: Additionally, the American Cancer Society has spotlighted an alarming rise in cancer incidence and mortality among younger age groups. Analysts at Exactitude Consultancy anticipate that the global Cancer Immunotherapy Market will expand at a robust 12.84% CAGR, reaching $258.22 billion by 2031 —a clear indicator of oncology's rapid growth and critical importance. Oncolytics Biotech® to Present Promising Pelareorep Data in Pancreatic and Anal Cancers at ASCO GI Symposium Oncolytics Biotech Inc. (NASDAQ: ONCY) (TSX: ONC), a leading clinical-stage company specializing in immunotherapy for oncology, today announced the presentation of two data sets through two abstracts showcasing pelareorep's potential in difficult-to-treat gastrointestinal cancers, which were accepted and will be presented at the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium in San Francisco January 23-25, 2025 . "We are enthusiastic about pelareorep's applicability across multiple gastrointestinal cancer indications, including pancreatic and anal cancer," said Tom Heineman , M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer of Oncolytics . "Pelareorep engages patients' immune systems to help make commonly used chemotherapies and checkpoint inhibitors, such as atezolizumab, more effective in fighting cancer. This offers the promise of delaying disease progression and improving survival in patients with these devasting diseases. Given the versatility of pelareorep, we see multiple clinical and regulatory options for bringing this promising medicine to patients." Oncolytics will present two key data sets from the GOBLET study, with preliminary safety and tumor response results for the relapsed anal carcinoma cohort treated with pelareorep and atezolizumab presented in Poster Session C on January 25, 2025 , from 7:00 to 7:55 a.m. PT . Additionally, results from the safety run-in phase for first-line metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma patients treated with pelareorep, modified FOLFIRINOX, with and without atezolizumab will be presented in Poster Session B on January 24, 2025 , from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. PT . Both abstracts will be available on the ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium website at 5:00 p.m. ET on January 21, 2025 . CONTINUED... Read this and more news for Oncolytics Biotech at: https://usanewsgroup.com/2023/10/02/the-most-undervalued-oncolytics-company-on-the-nasdaq/ In other recent industry developments and happenings in the market include: Cardiff Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRDF), a clinical-stage biotechnology company leveraging PLK1 inhibition to develop novel therapies across a range of cancers, recently announced positive initial data from CRDF-004, a randomized, Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating onvansertib in combination with standard-of-care (SoC) in patients with first-line RAS-mutated metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). Efficacy and safety data are for all evaluable patients as of a November 26, 2024 , data cut-off date, and all efficacy data are determined by a blinded, independent central review (BICR) of each patient's tumor scan. "We are highly encouraged by the robust efficacy signal and favorable safety profile observed with onvansertib plus standard-of-care from the first 30 evaluable patients in our randomized first-line RAS-mutated mCRC CRDF-004 trial," said Fairooz Kabbinavar, MD, FACP, Chief Medical Officer of Cardiff Oncology . "Our data shows an objective response rate of 64% in patients receiving the 30 mg dose of onvansertib in combination with standard of care, significantly higher than the 33% objective response rate observed in the control arms of standard of care alone. In addition, as can be seen in the spider plots, we are observing deeper tumor response in patients receiving the 30mg dose of onvansertib compared to those receiving the 20mg dose with similar safety profiles for both doses." Personalis, Inc. (NASDAQ: PSNL), a developer of advanced cancer genomic tests and analytics, and Tempus AI, Inc. (NASDAQ: TEM), an AI-powered healthcare technology company, recently announced they've expanded their commercial relationship. Both companies agreed in November 2023 to collaborate and bring ultra-sensitive MRD testing to market and launched their efforts at the 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting. Tempus is serving as the exclusive commercial diagnostic partner for Personalis' ultra-sensitive tumor-informed MRD product, NeXT Personal® Dx, for broad patient adoption in breast and lung cancers, and for immunotherapy monitoring across all solid tumors. "While we already offer NeXT Personal through our own biopharma channel, we are pleased to leverage Tempus' integrated platform as well for these biopharma customers who desire to combine NeXT Personal with other Tempus products," said Chris Hall , CEO of Personalis . "We believe the expansion of the relationship with Tempus will accelerate market penetration of our leading ultra-sensitive MRD platform and allow us to better capitalize on the opportunity." Under this expanded relationship, Tempus will be enabled to offer Personalis' NeXT Personal MRD product to pharmaceutical and biotech customers who wish to bundle MRD testing with other Tempus offerings in a given study. Checkpoint Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CKPT), a commercial-stage immunotherapy and targeted oncology company focused on novel treatments for patients with solid tumor cancers, recently announced that the FDA approved its UNLOXCYTTM (cosibelimab-ipdl) for the treatment of adults with metastatic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) or locally advanced cSCC who are not candidates for curative surgery or curative radiation. UNLOXCYT is the first and only programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) blocking antibody to receive FDA marketing approval for this indication. "[This] FDA approval of UNLOXCYT – the first marketing approval for our company – is a significant milestone both for Checkpoint and for patients with advanced cSCC," said James Oliviero , President and CEO of Checkpoin t. "This approval marks Checkpoint's transformation to a commercial-stage company, with the opportunity to compete in a U.S. market estimated to exceed $1 billion annually, where we believe UNLOXCYT offers a differentiated treatment option versus available therapies by binding to PD-L1, rather than programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1), to release the inhibitory effects of PD-L1 on the anti-tumor immune response. Additionally, UNLOXCYT has demonstrated the ability to induce antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC), another potential differentiating feature of the drug compared to existing marketed therapies for patients with cSCC." Source: https://usanewsgroup.com/2024/09/21/is-oncolytics-biotech-the-markets-most-undervalued-cancer-opportunity/ CONTACT: USA NEWS GROUP info@usanewsgroup.com (604) 265-2873 DISCLAIMER: Nothing in this publication should be considered as personalized financial advice. We are not licensed under securities laws to address your particular financial situation. No communication by our employees to you should be deemed as personalized financial advice. Please consult a licensed financial advisor before making any investment decision. This is a paid advertisement and is neither an offer nor recommendation to buy or sell any security. We hold no investment licenses and are thus neither licensed nor qualified to provide investment advice. The content in this report or email is not provided to any individual with a view toward their individual circumstances. USA News Group is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Market IQ Media Group, Inc. ("MIQ"). MIQ has been paid a fee for Oncolytics Biotech Inc. advertising and digital media from the company directly. There may be 3rd parties who may have shares of Oncolytics Biotech Inc., and may liquidate their shares which could have a negative effect on the price of the stock. This compensation constitutes a conflict of interest as to our ability to remain objective in our communication regarding the profiled company. Because of this conflict, individuals are strongly encouraged to not use this publication as the basis for any investment decision. The owner/operator of MIQ own shares of Oncolytics Biotech Inc. which were purchased in the open market, and reserve the right to buy and sell, and will buy and sell shares of Oncolytics Biotech Inc. at any time without any further notice commencing immediately and ongoing. We also expect further compensation as an ongoing digital media effort to increase visibility for the company, no further notice will be given, but let this disclaimer serve as notice that all material, including this article, which is disseminated by MIQ has been approved by Oncolytics Biotech Inc.; this is a paid advertisement, we currently own shares of Oncolytics Biotech Inc. and will buy and sell shares of the company in the open market, or through private placements, and/or other investment vehicles. While all information is believed to be reliable, it is not guaranteed by us to be accurate. Individuals should assume that all information contained in our newsletter is not trustworthy unless verified by their own independent research. Also, because events and circumstances frequently do not occur as expected, there will likely be differences between the any predictions and actual results. Always consult a licensed investment professional before making any investment decision. Be extremely careful, investing in securities carries a high degree of risk; you may likely lose some or all of the investment.The Detroit Tigers captured the imaginations of underdog fans everywhere with their stunning run to — and in — the 2024 American League playoffs. Before falling to the Cleveland Guardians in the Division Series, the Tigers shocked the defending AL champion Houston Astros in the Wild Card round. Detroit has long been rumored to be in pursuit of Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman. However, Brandon Wile sees the team taking a different path in signing outfielder Teoscar Hernandez away from the Los Angeles Dodgers. Hernandez leaped up the wish list of several Major League Baseball teams after a sterling 2024 with the World Series champion. Now a free agent after playing last season on a one-year, $23.5 million contract, the nine-year Major League Baseball veteran is a hot commodity on the open market. Hernandez hit .272 with 33 home runs and 99 RBI with Los Angeles, further bolstering his already splendid career numbers. The two-time Silver Slugger Award winner smacked three home runs for the Dodgers in 16 postseason games this past October, logging 12 RBI and scoring eight runs in helping Los Angeles to its first full-season world title since 1988. Spotrac calculates Hernandez's market value to bring him a three-year contract over $71 million, but a bidding war for his services could push the numbers even higher to acquire the 32-year-old. Hernandez is far from a flash in the pan. He patrolled the outfield over six seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays, hitting 129 home runs with 369 RBI and a .263 batting average for "Canada's Team." After the 2022 season, he was dealt to the Seattle Mariners with one year remaining on his contract. After putting up a solid season in the Emerald City, he signed a one-year, $23.5 million contract with the Dodgers last January. The youthful Tigers are in dire need of solid bats and veteran leadership. The team remains fairly flush with cash as it tries to lock up staff ace and American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal. In today's market, signing Hernandez to anchor the outfield could prove to be a very prudent bit of business. More MLB: Could White Sox land future 1st baseman in blockbuster trade?

Halifax International Security Forum concludes with ‘sense of optimism’Axon Enterprise president Joshua Isner sells $2 million in stockCyanobacteria research unlocks potential for renewable plastics from carbon dioxide

The Detroit Tigers captured the imaginations of underdog fans everywhere with their stunning run to — and in — the 2024 American League playoffs. Before falling to the Cleveland Guardians in the Division Series, the Tigers shocked the defending AL champion Houston Astros in the Wild Card round. Detroit has long been rumored to be in pursuit of Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman. However, Brandon Wile sees the team taking a different path in signing outfielder Teoscar Hernandez away from the Los Angeles Dodgers. Hernandez leaped up the wish list of several Major League Baseball teams after a sterling 2024 with the World Series champion. Now a free agent after playing last season on a one-year, $23.5 million contract, the nine-year Major League Baseball veteran is a hot commodity on the open market. Hernandez hit .272 with 33 home runs and 99 RBI with Los Angeles, further bolstering his already splendid career numbers. The two-time Silver Slugger Award winner smacked three home runs for the Dodgers in 16 postseason games this past October, logging 12 RBI and scoring eight runs in helping Los Angeles to its first full-season world title since 1988. Spotrac calculates Hernandez's market value to bring him a three-year contract over $71 million, but a bidding war for his services could push the numbers even higher to acquire the 32-year-old. Hernandez is far from a flash in the pan. He patrolled the outfield over six seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays, hitting 129 home runs with 369 RBI and a .263 batting average for "Canada's Team." After the 2022 season, he was dealt to the Seattle Mariners with one year remaining on his contract. After putting up a solid season in the Emerald City, he signed a one-year, $23.5 million contract with the Dodgers last January. The youthful Tigers are in dire need of solid bats and veteran leadership. The team remains fairly flush with cash as it tries to lock up staff ace and American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal. In today's market, signing Hernandez to anchor the outfield could prove to be a very prudent bit of business. More MLB: Could White Sox land future 1st baseman in blockbuster trade?

U.S. Dialysis Market to See Rapid Expansion Over the Next Decade 2024-2032 12-20-2024 06:56 PM CET | Health & Medicine Press release from: Cognate Insights U.S. Dialysis Market Latest Market Overview The U.S. dialysis market is a vital sector within the healthcare industry, projected to reach USD 46.2 billion in 2024, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.8% from 2024 to 2032. The growing prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD), particularly end-stage renal disease (ESRD), is a major driver of the market. Dialysis is a life-saving treatment for individuals with kidney failure, either through hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis. As the U.S. population ages and the rates of diabetes and hypertension increase, the demand for dialysis services and products is expanding rapidly. Additionally, advancements in dialysis technology, home dialysis options, and reimbursement policies are also contributing to the market's growth. The U.S. Dialysis Market has experienced steady growth in recent years and is expected to continue expanding at a strong pace from 2024 to 2032. This analysis offers a comprehensive overview, providing valuable insights into key trends and developments within the U.S. Dialysis industry. These findings equip business leaders with the necessary knowledge to devise more effective strategies and enhance profitability. Furthermore, the report serves as a useful resource for new and emerging businesses, helping them make informed decisions as they navigate the market and seek growth opportunities. Major Players of U.S. Dialysis Market are: Fresenius Medical Care: Waltham, MA; Revenue: USD 20 billion (2023) DaVita Inc.: Denver, CO; Revenue: USD 11.6 billion (2023) Baxter International: Deerfield, IL; Revenue: USD 12 billion (2023) Nipro Corporation: Bridgewater, NJ; Revenue: USD 3 billion (2023) Get Latest PDF Sample Report @ https://www.cognateinsights.com/request-sample/us-dialysis-market-research Our Report covers global as well as regional markets and provides an in-depth analysis of the overall growth prospects of the market. Global market trend analysis including historical data, estimates to 2024, and compound annual growth rate (CAGR) forecast to 2032 is given based on qualitative and quantitative analysis of the market segments involving economic and non-economic factors. Furthermore, it reveals the comprehensive competitive landscape of the global market, the current and future market prospects of the industry, and the growth opportunities and drivers as well as challenges and constraints in emerging and emerging markets. Global U.S. Dialysis Market Landscape and Future Pathways: North America: United States Canada Europe: Germany France U.K. Italy Russia Asia-Pacific: China Japan South Korea India Australia China Taiwan Indonesia Thailand Malaysia Latin America: Mexico Brazil Argentina Korea Colombia Middle East & Africa: Turkey Saudi Arabia UAE Korea Speak to Our Analyst for A Discussion on The Above Findings, And Ask for A Discount on The Report @ https://www.cognateinsights.com/check-discount/us-dialysis-market-research Key drivers and challenges influencing the U.S. Dialysis market: Regional Analysis: The report involves examining the U.S. Dialysis market at a regional or national level. Report analyses regional factors such as government incentives, infrastructure development, economic conditions, and consumer behaviour to identify variations and opportunities within different markets. Market Projections: Report covers the gathered data and analysis to make future projections and forecasts for the U.S. Dialysis market. This may include estimating market growth rates, predicting market demand, and identifying emerging trends. Company Analysis: Report covers individual U.S. Dialysis manufacturers, suppliers, and other relevant industry players. This analysis includes studying their financial performance, market positioning, product portfolios, partnerships, and strategies. Consumer Analysis: Report covers data on consumer behaviour, preferences, and attitudes towards U.S. Dialysis This may involve surveys, interviews, and analysis of consumer reviews and feedback from different by Application. Technology Analysis: Report covers specific technologies relevant to U.S. Dialysis. It assesses the current state, advancements, and potential future developments in U.S. Dialysis areas. Reason to Buy this Report: -Analysis of the impact of technological advancements on the market and the emerging trends shaping the industry in the coming years. -Examination of the regulatory and policy changes affecting the market and the implications of these changes for market participants. -Overview of the competitive landscape in the U.S. Dialysis market, including profiles of the key players, their market share, and strategies for growth. -Identification of the major challenges facing the market, such as supply chain disruptions, environmental concerns, and changing consumer preferences, and analysis of how these challenges will affect market growth. -Evaluation of the potential of new products and applications in the market, and analysis of the investment opportunities for market participants. For In-Depth Competitive Analysis - Purchase this Report now at @ https://www.cognateinsights.com/purchase-report/us-dialysis-market-research Contact Us: Cognate Insights Web: www.cognateinsights.com Email: info@cognateinsights.com Phone: +91 8424946476 About Us: We are leaders in market analytics, business research, and consulting services for Fortune 500 companies, start-ups, financial & government institutions. Since we understand the criticality of data and insights, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available. To be at our client's disposal whenever they need help on market research and consulting services. We also aim to be their business partners when it comes to making critical business decisions around new market entry, M&A, competitive Intelligence and strategy. This release was published on openPR.Max George will be spending Christmas in hospital. The 36-year-old pop star - who is best known for being part of the boyband The Wanted alongside Siva Kaneswaran, Nathan Sykes, Jay McGuinness and the late Tom Parker - took to social media on Thursday (12.12.24) to reveal that he had started to feel "really unwell" earlier in the week and will to have surgery after doctors discovered some heart problems. He wrote on Instagram: "Yesterday I felt really unwell and was taken in to hospital. Unfortunately after some tests they’ve found that I have some issues with my heart. "I have a lot more tests to determine the extent of the problems and what surgery I will need to get me back on my feet. It’s gonna be a difficult few weeks / months... and Christmas in a hospital bed wasn’t exactly what I had planned!" The 'Glad You Came' hitmaker - who is currently dating former soap actress Maisie Smith - admitted that the whole ordeal had come as a "huge shock" to him but is glad that things were dealt with as soon as possible, even if it means he will be spending the festive period in bed. He said: " But, as always, I’m surrounded with love and support from my wonderful partner Maisie, her family, my family and friends.. and I’m 100% in the best place. "Although this is a huge shock and no doubt a set back, it’s something I’ll take on with all I’ve got! I count myself very lucky that this was caught when it was. "Apologies if I bore you with updates in the coming weeks..I’ve probably got a month in a bed and there’s not THAT much to do!" Max was inundated with words of support from his fans and friends in the comments, with bandmate Siva writing: "Here for you brother. Rest up and get well soon." Perez Hilton said: "Oh no!!!!!!! Sending you all of the healing!!!" Westlife star Nicky Byrne wrote: "Get well soon Max", whilst JLS singer Marvin Humes said: "Sorry to hear you’re not well geezer..you’re strong and will fight through..big love mate."As Mariners fans await an answer to the most pressing (depressing?) question hovering over the team this offseason — will they have to trade staff anchor Luis Castillo to upgrade the lineup? — the club has already executed its most meaningful move to complement the offense. When the Mariners last month announced the return of franchise icon Edgar Martinez as the team’s top hitting instructor, it came with a tacit endorsement of the Hall of Famer's old-school methods . It also signaled a strategic pivot for the Mariners front office, which has followed a league-wide trend over the past decade in investing heavily in technology and advanced analytics during Jerry Dipoto’s tenure as the head of baseball operations. Those investments have proven particularly fruitful on the pitching side, an area in which the Mariners have earned one of the strongest reputations in the industry. Those investments have not yielded consistent results on the hitting side, an area in which the Mariners this year have had to reassess their organization values. When Dan Wilson replaced Scott Servais as manager on Aug. 22 and brought in Martinez as the hitting coach, there was “an immediate shift,” Dipoto said, in the Mariners offense. Martinez’s emphasis on an all-fields mentality — trying to hit line drives up the middle and to the opposite field — clicked for many of the Mariners hitters, and for Julio Rodriguez in particular. That well-rounded approach, Dipoto said, is better suited for T-Mobile Park, which has ranked as MLB’s most challenging home for hitters for much of its existence. “Our ballpark might not be conducive to doing it quite the way we have [in the past],” Dipoto said in late September. “Shame on us for taking this long to understand that.” The Mariners won 21 of their 34 games with Wilson and Martinez in the dugout, closing out a disappointing 85-win season that saw them fall one game short of a playoff berth for the second year in a row. Within that 34-game sample were indicators of what the Mariners believe is a sustainable offensive strategy. They struck out far less and hit the ball to the opposite field more often; they were more aggressive on the base paths and even turned back to the oldest of old-school tricks — the sacrifice bunt — to help rev up their offensive engine. “What we saw for the last six weeks or so, it was really illustrative of the way we want to play,” Dipoto said last week at the MLB Winter Meetings. “We want to be athletic. We want to move the game. You know, the same players who struggled to make contact [for most of the season] all of a sudden started making contact better, and we went from the worst contact team in the league to about league average for the last six weeks.” In 2023, the Mariners were an extreme pull-happy offense, leading MLB in pull-side contact (45.1%) and ranking dead last on balls in play to the opposite field (21.8%), per FanGraphs. They also set a franchise record for strikeouts that season. Even with a new hitting coach, Brant Brown, to open the season, that trend largely continued into 2024 for the Mariners, who again ranked 30th out of 30 MLB teams in balls in play to the opposite field (21.4%) through Aug. 22. At that point, they were on pace to break the MLB record for strikeouts in a season. Over the final 34 games, the Mariners still pulled the ball more than most teams (43.3%) but they improved their opposite-field contact rate (24.3%) fairly significantly under Martinez, to about league-average. The buy-in from Rodriguez, the Mariners’ star center fielder, was especially notable. True, early in his career Rodriguez has proven to be a much better hitter in the second half — as the weather heated up, so did he — but the way he did it this year was different. Working closely with Martinez, Rodriguez saw his opposite-field rate rise dramatically — from 24.8% through Aug. 22 to 35.7% after Aug. 22. Across the board, Rodriguez’s offensive numbers rose too. He had a .313/.364/.537 (.901 OPS) slash line with nine homers, 30 RBI and 159 wRC+ over his final 162 plate appearances, the resurgence of a middle-of-the-lineup difference-maker the Mariners had so desperately needed earlier in the year. Rodriguez and Martinez grew close , and Rodriguez was hopeful the Hall of Fame designated hitter would come back in 2025. Indeed, Martinez agreed to return to Wilson’s staff with a new title — Senior Director of Hitting Strategy. The Mariners also added longtime Atlanta Braves hitting coach Kevin Seitzer to the same role and hired his assistant, Bobby Magallanes, to round out the hitting staff. Dipoto described Seitzer, a Kansas City native, as the “Midwest Edgar,” because of their shared hitting philosophies. “Having Edgar come back is so huge — a chance to continue what he started toward the end of the year,” Wilson said last week at the MLB Winter Meetings. “Using the stuff that Edgar brings — the idea of middle of the field, the idea of two-strike battles, doing what it takes to get runners in — really became a big part of our offense late in the season.” J.P. Crawford (31.9%) and Cal Raleigh (30.1%) also had notable spikes in their opposite-field contact rates late in the season. Pulling the ball in the air with authority is a valuable approach for hitters in today’s game, and plenty of teams (see: Los Angeles Dodgers) have had sustained success with a three-true-outcomes methodology (walk, strikeout or home run). It just might not be the best approach for sustained success for hitters at T-Mobile Park. With the midseason additions of Victor Robles, Randy Arozarena and Justin Turner, the Mariners fielded a more athletic and more contact-oriented lineup that ranked as the No. 3 offense in MLB over the final 34 games, as measured by their wRC+ of 125 (100 is average). “The line drives, using the middle of the field, those things are sort of timeless and resistant to park factors in a lot of ways,” Mariners GM Justin Hollander said, adding: “I thought we did an excellent job over the last six weeks with what — you can call it old-school or just fundamental baseball, just doing all the little things. And with our pitching, if you do the little things offensively, now all of a sudden your 2-nothing lead becomes 4-nothing. It changes the tenor of the game a lot.” As an organization, Dipoto said the Mariners have discussed various ideas about structural changes to T-Mobile Park as a way to potentially boost offense. Move in the fences? Change the batter’s eye? Close the roof more often? None of them, Dipoto said, would necessarily help manufacture more offense. “It's just adapting a team to the ballpark,” he said. “It's not trying to adapt the ballpark to some fictional team.” T-Mobile Park has earned its reputation as a notoriously difficult place for hitters — a reputation that has seemingly grown worse the past few years. Yes, Seattle has historically been the coldest MLB city during the spring, and other environmental factors — the marine layer , among them — add to hitters’ frustration. Some new hitters who have arrived in Seattle have not adjusted well to that reality — Jesse Winker, Teoscar Hernandez, Kolten Wong, Mitch Garver, to name a few in recent years. Hernandez home-road splits were pronounced during his one season in Seattle in 2023. And in an interview this summer, Hernandez blamed the “crooked” batter’s eye beyond center field for his struggles hitting at T-Mobile. Dipoto said the Mariners have talked about potential options to change the batter’s eye, but he also doesn’t see it as a glaring problem. “When teams struggle, when people struggle, you tend to find things or magnify an issue that might not be such an issue,” Dipoto said last week. “Our players find a way there. And I'd say for the most part, you don't really hear a lot of complaints. They know. They know the challenges early in the season and they know the rewards that you get later in the year, because during the summertime it's an awesome place to hit.” A more well-rounded approach, Dipoto said, should serve Mariners hitters better at home and on the road, and throughout the season. “What we need is we need to refine our messaging. We need to refine what we're looking at and how we're conveying what it's like to play in this ballpark to good players,” Dipoto said. “That's where I'm most encouraged by what Edgar and Dan have been able to do. ... “I don't think it’s, you know, ‘The curse of T Mobile Park.’ We need to do a better job at messaging, especially early in the season. Messaging patience. I think the ballpark plays a little bit different in April than it does in July and August. And the players who've been here know that and there's a patience to allow their season to develop.” Having that context is instructive for how the Mariners are seeking upgrades — at first base and third base, primarily — to the lineup this offseason. In Robles, Rodriguez and Arozarena, the Mariners have three dynamic players at the top of the lineup, and they have power bats in Raleigh and Luke Raley for the middle of the order. Add in Crawford as a cornerstone shortstop, and the core of the position-player mix is likely in place. “The team has shown that they are capable of doing this, that we don't need to go out and revamp a roster,” Dipoto said at the end of the season. “There's a reason we've had a good team for a handful of years now, and it's because our players are good. "Now we just have to continue to help them evolve their game in a way that suits our ballpark, that we can really magnify the results."

Trump tax-cut plans could be slowed by a wary bond market