Grip on Sports: Hard to count on streaky Mariners
Tuesday: It’s hard to admit when you are wrong. But it’s also good for the soul. Cathartic is the term, I believe. But I could be wrong. Again.
Looking at the Mariners’ schedule down the stretch last week, I noticed something simple. They had James Paxton pitching Friday night against the A’s in the opener of a key three-game series. After that was: Felix Hernandez, one of the top three pitchers in baseball; Chris Young, at Safeco, where he’s really tough; and, on Monday night in Anaheim, Hisashi Iwakuma, though struggling, still lights out in his career against the Angels.
It seemed to line up perfectly for a short, quick winning streak that would propel them to a playoff spot. With all that in mind, I wrote this: “So let’s just make this wildly out-there prediction: If the M’s win tonight, they’ll end up in the playoffs; if they lose, they won’t. I don’t care about the other 16 games. So, if I’m right, then tonight is the definition of must-win game.”
Talk about being wrong. So, so wrong. The M’s did win Friday night as Paxton struggled a bit but pitched well enough for the victory. Since then, nothing.
No offense against the A’s as Felix and Young both pitched well. Then it was no offense and, figuratively, no Iwakuma, as last night the right-hander seemed to collapse in the third inning, issuing a two-out, bases-empty, four-ball walk to the No. 9 hitter Efren Navarro and then losing a battle to Albert Pujols, who stroked a three-run double. It was all part of an awful 8-1 loss to the Angels.
The three consecutive losses mean the M’s are two games back of the Royals for the second wild card spot with just 13 games left. Can they make them up? Sure. Will they? Maybe. But even if they do make the playoffs, it won’t be because they won last Friday as some idiot believed – or prove that statement correct.
It will be because they are a lot more resilient and tough than that same dumb-ass thought. Wow. That did feel good.
Monday: Offense is always the best defense. We are speaking, of course, of the Seattle Seahawks, who displayed only a semblance of third-down defense yesterday and whose offense, while mostly exceptional when it was on the field, rarely got a chance.
The only saving grace yesterday, for Hawks fans anyway, was a self-destructive stadium-dedicating loss by the hated 49ers, who let the Bears – the Bears – rally for a 28-20 victory. Small solace that is, though, when the best defense in the NFL was made to look somewhat pedestrian by Philip Rivers and a guy I’ve heard people say was over the hill, tight end Antonio Gates.
The Chargers have played two NFC West teams thus far and are just 1-1. The team leading the division, the Arizona Cardinals, defeated them in week one, then turned around and won yesterday 25-14 over the Giants on the road. And they did it without their starting quarterback. Which means the long slog that is the NFL season is getting started in unexpected ways.
Look, the Hawks just have to hold home court all season, win half their road games and viola, the division is theirs. Of course, this Sunday they have one of their toughest home games of the season, Peyton Manning and the Broncos, so they better get their act together quickly.
Wednesday: The Pac-12 revealed the 2015 football schedules and there were some fireworks. Around here, at least. Why?
Once again the Apple Cup, the bitterest rivalry north of Interstate 84, will be held on Friday, Nov. 27. Black Friday. You know, the day when competitive shopping rivals competitive football.
Wait, weren’t we told just last season the Cougars and Huskies had done their time, that the Apple Cup had been played enough on that Friday, it was someone else’s turn to sacrifice for TV? Yes, we were. That lasted one season. One freakin’ season.
At least it should be held during the day. A 7:30 start on a Friday night doesn’t seem smart. But whoever thought football programming was smart?
But there is a silver lining to that game, and you can interpret that literally if you wish. Instead of getting up at 4 a.m. and heading to Nieman-Marcus for its 3-percent-off sale, you can get up at 4 a.m. and head to Seattle. Instead of charging Christmas gifts at Macy’s, you can charge gas in Ellensburg. And instead of buying a discounted sweater at Nordys, you can pick up a cheap WSU sweatshirt from a vendor called Chubby outside the stadium. Just consider it the family’s Christmas vacation and call it good.