Grip on Sports: Will the last Mariner standing please turn out the clubhouse lights?
A GRIP ON SPORTS • The few, the proud, the healthy Mariners. Read on.
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• The M’s current team picture might remind one of Archibald Willard’s famous painting about the Revolutionary War. You know, the one guy limping, the other guy with a bandage around his head, all the while marching and playing.
The list of Mariners who are missing grew longer yesterday morning with Dee Gordon placed on the 10-day disabled list. He has a broken toe.
Not good for a guy who relies on speed. Heck, the word broken, followed by a bone, isn’t good for anyone. Neither is an 80-game suspension but we’ve raked Robinson Cano over the coals enough.
Mitch Haniger might be joining Gordon on the disabled list after being hit with a pitch last night. At the least, he had to leave Tuesday night’s game. Nelson Cruz, the team dartboard, wasn’t in the lineup either after being hit a few times recently. And Jean Segura seemed to hurt himself last night scoring the winning run. His status will be determined today.
The M’s status? Well, they keep losing players and keep winning games. Last night’s 3-2 win in 10 innings snapped a four-game winning streak for Oakland and extended the Mariners’ to that number.
They are winning nearly six of every 10 times they play and, seemingly, losing players at the same rate.
It’s not sustainable. But it also doesn’t seem to be changing.
• Sorry this is really short today but I’m fighting something and the something is winning.
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Gonzaga: “Being Rui Hachimura.” Yes, it could be a television show. Or a movie, with John Malkovich in the title role. But in reality, being Rui Hachimura means being in the public eye. John Blanchette was with Hachimura yesterday as Gonzaga’s Japanese basketball standout starred in a media event. The cameras then turned toward coach Mark Few and assistant Tommy Lloyd. … Larry Weir’s Press Box pod looks at the WCC basketball race next season. … The Zag baseball team had two players make the WCC first team. … The BYU men’s golf team will play for the national title but its final round will occur before every one else has played an official hole.
WSU: Around the Pac-12, the idea of conference expansion is being kicked around again. … Utah may add a really good linebacker in the fall.
CCS: Micaela Kostecka won another NWAC distance race yesterday.
Preps: The State golf tournaments are halfway through and Jim Meehan catches us up with what happened Tuesday. … Greg Lee has a feature on a Central Valley thrower, Samara Nelson, before she competes in her last State track meet.
Mariners: The 3-2 win was a bit improbable considering how many players are injured. The M’s replaced Gordon on the roster with Daniel Vogelbach. If Haniger has to hit the DL, will aging Jayson Werth be the call-up?
Seahawks: As always, there are questions. And answers.
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• Did not sleep last night. In a bed anyway. Had to spend the night in a chair, sitting up. Every time I tried to lie down, I was hit by a coughing fit. My throat feels like a Spokane alley right now. There is only one cure I know of: doughnuts. Lots and lots of doughnuts. It may not stop the coughing or make my nose dry up, but it will make my stomach happy. That’s the most important thing. Until later …