Grip on Sports: It had to happen yesterday, but the anticipated meltdown came from an unexpected source
A GRIP ON SPORTS • As the afternoon wore on yesterday, I expected a meltdown. At some point, I was sure, it would happen. But I picked the wrong horse. It wasn’t Sergio Garcia that melted into a puddle. It was the Mariners’ bullpen. Read on.
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• As I watched the Masters’ final few holes yesterday, I was sure Garcia, Mr. Failure as it relates to major tournaments, would hit a ball into a pond. Or the woods. Or miss a 2-foot putt. And find a way to lose another major.
It was, seemingly, inevitable. Something Jim Nantz might describe as a tradition unlike any other.
But it never happened. Maybe it was because the guy Garcia was dueling over the last few holes at Augusta National, Justin Rose, has had his own problems in majors, though he did finally break through at the 2013 U.S. Open.
Or maybe the golf gods finally felt they had punished Garcia enough for being so exuberant at the 1999 PGA Championship. (Jumping on a golf course to view a shot? Well, I never.)
Or, as someone actually wrote yesterday, it was the influence of his fiancée. Whatever.
Thanks to Rose’s own foibles on 18 Sunday – twice – Garcia won the Masters in a playoff. It was the Spaniard’s first major title in 74 tries. And it came on what would have been the 60th birthday of his late idol, two-time Masters champion Seve Ballesteros.
As our country’s golf writer emeritus Dan Jenkins shared on Twitter, it was the best story on a weekend full of them.
And what is this golf tournament about, if it isn’t about great stories?
Which means there are a bunch of stories worth passing along. And none of them are about a Garcia meltdown.
• But there was a meltdown yesterday. It came in Anaheim. The Mariners took a six-run lead into the bottom of the ninth and coughed it all up. They lost, 10-9. They are 1-6 on the season.
And they head home.
You think the Safeco Field crowd today for the opener will be all forgiving and joyous?
Sure. Until something bad happens. And then it will take a left turn like that last putt Rose couldn’t get to fall on 18.
The M’s slow start has killed any enthusiasm the fan base had following last season’s playoff near miss. M’s fans have seen this movie too many times.
Seattle has a decent year. All that’s needed, we’re told, is a few tweaks and the promise land awaits.
So the tweaks are made. And? The next season swirls around the drain, disappearing into the sewer.
It’s too early to make a pronouncement on the season just yet. But it’s not too early to declare a moratorium on enthusiasm. And many of the M’s fans have done just that. This team is already on notice.
Start winning or they’re out.
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WSU: My favorite story of the day? It’s ESPN’s Ted Miller going all Dashiell Hammett on us and trying to unravel the mystery behind Cody O’Connell’s All-Pac-12 snub last year. Not even Sam Spade couldn’t reason this one out. … Arizona held off the Cougars and won the weekend baseball series in Pullman. … Around the conference, a former Colorado football player will donate his brain to research to learn more about CTE. … Oregon lost a lot at tight end. The guy that remains is ready. … Oregon State has picked up a basketball transfer.
Gonzaga: The men’s success isn’t lost on the GU women’s program. Whitney Ogden has a story on what the players felt about the Zags’ Final Four trip.
Mariners: Instead of Dave Nichols’ Mariners Log today, we have my column on the team. It’s an introduction of what we plan to do, though yesterday’s debacle in Anaheim didn’t help to get it off to an auspicious start. What is odd about the 10-9 loss is how off Edwin Diaz was coming out of the pen. Maybe, with a six-run lead, he didn’t think he would be needed and had already checked out, mentally. Or maybe he just didn’t have any life on his fastball. My guess? The former. … James Paxton is looking forward to starting at home, a place that hasn’t been a great advantage for the M’s recently.
Seahawks: So what position will the Hawks target with their first pick?
Sounders: There is one thing different about this year’s Portland Timbers: They can win on the road.
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• Are you going to take time off work this afternoon and watch the M’s game, which starts at 2:10? Would you have done it if they were 6-1? Until later …