Maybe emotion would have carried the day back in March, and Kans

TORONTO -- Plenty of star power and promising pitching by the Baltimore Orioles gave the Toronto Blue Jays every reason to resign themselves to a long night. Through three innings, that is. Edwin Encarnacions grand slam was the highlight of Torontos 12-6 win over the Orioles on Thursday, but the adjustments made by Adam Lind, J.P. Arencibia and Brandon Morrow helped the Blue Jays overcome an early 3-0 deficit. Credit goes to Lind and Arencibia for being the first Toronto batters to figure out hard-throwing Orioles starter Kevin Gausman. Back-to-back doubles by the pair put the Jays on the scoreboard in the fourth inning, and they were back at it in the fifth following Arencibias two-run homer for a 4-3 lead. "We were able to put some good at-bats," said Arencibia. "Their starters got pretty good stuff and throws hard. Edwin hitting that ball gives us some breathing room, makes the game, definitely not easier but definitely makes it a little more relaxing." Arencibia said it helped to see Gausmans arsenal after the first at-bat. The Orioles drafted the 22-year-old righty fourth overall last year, and he came into the game with just 13 games of pro experience and no appearances above double-A. Gausman (0-1) was effective early on the strength of a fastball that touched 98 miles per hour, but he lasted just five innings after surrendering four earned runs on seven hits with five strikeouts and two walks. Arencibias homer off Gausman put Toronto ahead for good. The Blue Jays catcher said he hoped it was a sign the team wont break so easily when trailing against opponents. "I think that weve shown some confidence. It just wasnt going the way we needed it to go. ... This game, its a game of failure. So everyones not going to be on their best every night. So everyone just to try to chip in and try to squeeze as many runs as we can." There was no doubting Torontos confidence after Encarnacion hit the teams first grand slam of the season into the left-field foul net off reliever Pedro Strop in the sixth inning. Encarnacion matched Arencibia with four RBIs each for the Blue Jays (20-27). Baltimore (25-22) looked to go on an early run after a two-run double by Manny Machado and the major-league leading 15th homer of the season by Orioles first baseman Chris Davis. But Morrow (2-3) rolled with the hits and gave Torontos offence time to rally. The right-hander looked in control until the eighth inning when he gave up back-to-back homers. He finished the game with a season-high six earned runs allowed on 10 hits, with five strikeouts and a walk. "I fell in a good rhythm and was rolling pretty good through there," said Morrow. "Kind of had my sight set on finishing the game. Its frustrating for me to go out give up the two home runs without getting an out there in the eighth. Its a good win, but it put a sour taste in my mouth." Morrow also struggled whenever Machado was at the plate. The Orioles star third baseman hit three doubles off Morrow and leads baseball with 21 on the season. Morrow wasnt all that bothered by it after the game. "Well, I mean, he just scored once right? Wasnt all that bad," he said. Gausman meanwhile didnt seem as though hed taken a loss. He won praise from both teams managers on a night he said hed been waiting for his whole life. "Definitely a learning experience for me but it was awesome. It was everything I could have imagined and more," said Gausman. The game turned contentious in the sixth inning when Colby Rasmuss hit forced Os outfielder Nate McLouth to dive into the left-field stands to make the catch. He went out of view but popped up with the ball in his glove as Blue Jays fans around him waved off the catch. That prompted a drink thrown at McLouth from the stands and a trip to the outfield by the umpires and Baltimore manager Buck Showalter. In the end, Rasmus was ruled out and McLouth stayed in the game. "It just kind of startled me for a second," McLouth said of the tossed drink. "Im not really sure how close it landed. Thats just one person doing something they shouldnt do." Encarnacions grand slam later in the inning put Toronto ahead for good. J.J. Hardy scored in the seventh for Baltimore, which made a game of it in the eighth when Markakis and Jones hit back-to-back home runs off Morrow. The Blue Jays added plenty of insurance in the bottom of the inning. First, Anthony Gose stole home from second base on a passed ball by Os reliever T.J. McFarland for a 9-6 lead. Gose just barely beat the relay and home plate umpire Tony Randazzos safe call prompted another visit from Showalter. "I think that (Gose) could spare some of his speed and give it to me," quipped Arencibia. Encarnacion and Mark DeRosa walked to load the bases before Arencibia knocked in his fourth run of the night. Lawrie followed with a broken bat single to score Encarnacion, and Rasmus hit a sac fly to bring home DeRosa for a 12-6 lead in an inning that saw every Blue Jay hitter visit the plate. Notes: Blue Jays prospect Sean Nolin will make his major league debut Friday. The left-hander was promoted after going 2-0 with a 1.17 earned-run average in three games at double-A New Hampshire. Hell face Orioles righty Chris Tillman (3-2, 3.52 ERA). ... A moment of silence was held prior to the game for former Toronto scout Epy Guerrero, who died at 71 in the Dominican Republic. Guerrero is credited with recruiting Blue Jay greats Tony Fernandez, George Bell and Carlos Delgado. ... Attendance at Rogers Centre was 21,466. NFL Jerseys Wholesale .C. -- Todd Fiddler scored a hat trick, including the overtime goal, as the Prince George Cougars survived an 8-7 win against the Kamloops Blazers in Western Hockey League play Sunday. China NHL Jerseys .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. http://www.chinajerseysnhlwholesale.com/ . By having more great seasons. Manning was the only unanimous choice for the 2013 Associated Press NFL All-Pro team Friday. Cheap Jerseys . The next step is a better finish. Bae played bogey-free Friday on another gorgeous day at Riviera for a 5-under 66, giving him a one-shot lead over Aaron Baddeley and Robert Garrigus going into the weekend. Wholesale Hockey Jerseys Authentic . No. 13-seeded John Isner and No. 21 Philipp Kohlschreiber were among six players who dropped out of the tournament on Tuesday, joining No. 12 seed Tommy Haas and two other players who withdrew on Monday. It sure was a fun ride with Von Miller, John Elway and the Denver Broncos the past month and a half.The NFLs franchise-tag rule, which allows teams to keep their top players off the market while negotiating long-term deals with them, made for some particularly interesting theater in Millers case. There were weird deadlines set by the team more than a month ahead of the real one. There was an Instagram post in which? Miller cut Elway out of the picture to express his displeasure with what he would later refer to as some of the tactics Elway was using in negotiations.In the end, it all worked out, as it always seemed it would. Miller and the Broncos signed a six-year, $114.5 million contract extension?Friday, just a couple of hours before the deadline, and now everyone is happy. The franchise tag gave us all something to talk and write about during the slow summer months of NFL coverage, and for that we are grateful.But we got to wondering what this all would have been like if there were no such thing as the franchise player designation. What if that rule simply didnt exist? How would that have affected Miller, or any of the other players who were tagged this offseason? How would it have affected the market in general?Before we get too far into this, understand that the franchise tag isnt going anywhere. It has been around since 1993, first installed as an ostensible means of allowing smaller-market teams to keep their stars out of free agency and out of the hands of bigger-market ones. Over time, it has evolved and been used in many different ways, not always consistent with its original intent. But while top players and agents find it odious, as it restricts earnings at the top of the market, 99 percent of NFL players will never have to worry about being tagged, which means its not an issue the NFLPA is interested in fighting in future negotiations. Players can all agree they dont like it, but theyre not about to draw any lines in the negotiating sand over it.So?imagine for a moment that there was no such thing as the franchise tag. Here are a few different ways Millers past year or two could have unfolded:1. Miller signs an extension during the 2015 offseason.Knowing 2015 was the final year of Millers contract and they had no way of keeping him off the market come March, the Broncos could have moved to extend him last summer, as the Panthers did with Luke Kuechly, or the Giants did with Eli Manning. At that time, Miller probably would have been looking at a deal a little bit north of the six-year, $101 million contract Justin Houston signed last summer with the Chiefs. (Of course, in this alternate reality, Houston would have signed his contract much sooner and likely for more money, since Kansas City couldnt have franchised him in the spring of 2015. But just roll with us here.)Ndamukong Suh had just blown out the market for defensive players with a six-year, $114.375 million deal from Miami. Since Suh got his deal as an open-market unrestricted free agent, Miller (who had a year to go on his deal) couldnt have expected to get that much. So hed probably have just beaten the Houston deal and come in around $17 million a year instead of the $19.083 million he got. Look at it that way, and the franchise tag may have helped him. The year he played in the interim saw him add Super Bowl MVP to his resume. That pays big, as did the 8.4 percent increase in the salary cap.2. Miller signs an extension after the Super Bowl but before hitting the open market.Not knowing Olivier Vernon was going to get $17 million a year from the Giants once he hit the market, Miller probably would still have been negotiating off the Houston deal, though with a little more help. Suhs down year and the cap increase (which in February was still only a projected cap increase), along with Millers brilliance in leading the Broncos to a championship, put Miller in a position to argue to be in the same neighborhood as Suh. Add 8.4 percent to Suhs average annual salary and you get $20.5875 million. Millers agent likely would have started by asking for that, knowwing he wouldnt get it.dddddddddddd Thats a lower starting point than Millers agent actually used in real life. He was asking for $22 million per year when negotiations began this summer.3. Miller waits it out, hits the open market and cashes in big.What happens if Miller hits the free-agent market in March coming off the year he just had? You saw how crazy teams went when the Dolphins took the transition tag off Vernon. Miller would have been even more coveted, and likely soared well into the $22 million range. The case for paying him quarterback money after what he did last year and in the postseason couldnt have been clearer, and free agency is a time when teams dont even need a great reason to open their wallets. This would have been the best possible situation for Miller, who would have left Suhs deal in the dust and probably set the bar for the Andrew Luck deal that came a few months later in Indianapolis. Its possible, too, that Miller being on the market would have helped others. Maybe Vernon would have done even better, riding Millers coattails to a deal with one of the teams that didnt win the Miller sweepstakes. Maybe hed have priced Muhammad Wilkerson out of the Jets budget, since Wilkerson wouldnt have been subject to the nonexistent franchise tag either.Of these possibilities, the first is the most likely, since few players like to assume the injury risk that comes with playing out the final year of their contract without an extension. Theres no way to know whether the Broncos would have approached Miller about an extension last summer if the franchise tag didnt exist. But if they did, history says they likely could have reached a deal. And it probably would have been a smaller one than the one he ended up getting.As for the other guys who got franchised this year:Kirk Cousins, Washington: Coming off a surprise season, Cousins likely would have fallen into the same free-agent category as Denvers Brock Osweiler?-- a quarterback who has shown promise but still isnt a known quantity. Since Houston seemed to be the only team willing to pay Osweiler $18 million a year, its likely the only way Cousins could have made that much is if Houston had preferred him to Osweiler. Its possible Cousins would have had to take a shorter-term deal in the $16 million-a-year range with Washington. Instead, he makes $19.9 million for one year and has to prove he can do it again.Alshon Jeffery, Chicago:?After missing seven games due to injury in 2015, Jefferys best hope may have been a deal like the ones Doug Baldwin and Keenan Allen just signed in Seattle and San Diego. And even that $11.5 million-a-year range may have been tough to convince someone to cough up for a guy who wasnt healthy all season. Instead, he makes $14.599 million for one year.Eric Berry, Kansas City:?Maybe emotion would have carried the day back in March, and Kansas City would have locked up Berry the way the Patriots did Devin McCourty ($9.5 million a year) one year before. But if Berry was looking to be the highest-paid safety in the league, he probably could have scored a $10-plus-million-a-year deal on the open market. Kansas City froze him at $10.806 million for one year, and knowing his tag next year will be almost $13 million set his expectations higher than made the Chiefs comfortable.Muhammad Wilkerson, New York Jets:?Everything written about Miller applies here, as Wilkerson was the only other franchise player whose franchise tag number was lower than his market value. He wouldnt have broken any records, but Wilkerson would have done well on the open market, likely securing greater guarantees than the Jets gave him in the extension done Friday.Trumaine Johnson, Los Angeles:?Former teammate Janoris Jenkins got $12.5 million a year from the Giants, so its fair to assume Johnson could have got the same from some other team. Corners are in demand.Justin Tucker, Baltimore:?Probably gets the same exact deal he just got, only sooner. ' ' '