Grip on Sports: The Mariners aren’t running away with anything, but they don’t have to

A GRIP ON SPORTS • What do we make of the Mariners, tied for the final playoff spot in the American League? We have some thoughts on the matter. Read on.

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• The M’s 10-inning win in Oakland yesterday has planted a seed in my mind. It, and the fact they may actually make the postseason, makes me think I’ve been missing the pertinent facts of major league life all season.

And it brings to mind an old joke.

You know it. Two guys are walking in the woods. A bear pops out from behind a tree. One guy immediately laces up his running shoes. His companion looks at him, puzzled, and says, “you can’t out run a bear.”

The other guys rises up, says, “I don’t have to outrun the bear, I only have to outrun you,” and takes off.

That’s the American League wild card race right now. The Mariners are a flawed team made even more flawed by injuries and roster mistakes. That’s what I’ve been focusing upon for four and a half months.

But the rest of the contenders for the wild card spots are equally flawed. Maybe even more so. Which brings us to our point: The M’s don’t have to outrun the bear. All they have to outrun are the rest of the contenders. Two games over .500 on Aug. 9 doesn’t matter. What matters is where they are in the standings.

And this Wednesday morning, they are tied for the last wild card spot. The bear may be nipping on their heels, but there are enough slow guys running with the M’s they may just escape. And write a happy ending to the 2017 season.

• A couple of personal notes: Today is Aug. 9, right? My wedding anniversary. Well, not really. See, to make sure I never missed the anniversary of our 1979 wedding, I trained myself to remember a date two days earlier than the real anniversary. That way, when I would wake up two days before the correct date, my mind would ache. And when I finally realized why – hey, it’s your anniversary stupid – I would still have two days left to get a gift and all the accouterments that go with the day.

It worked for me. And has worked for 38 years.

There has been only one problem. It worked too well a couple times. I insisted so adamantly Aug. 9 was our anniversary, I actually came this close to convincing Kim. Luckily, she had the date engraved on the inside of my wedding ring and that ends all discussion.

Though there are no statistics available to back me up, I do believe remembering the wrong date as your anniversary, and handing a card to your spouse on said wrong date, is as bad as forgetting all together.

Anyhow, the actual anniversary is Friday. And I have something special planned. Don’t tell Kim, OK? I want her to be surprised. It will, however, involve a late night (and by that, I mean we should be out after, god forbid, 11 p.m.). So there is a good chance I won’t be getting up early enough to do this feature on Saturday morning.

If I can, I will. But if it isn’t here, you know why.

One other thing. I’ve written about my college catching days here often. (For a guy who had about two dozen at-bats at that level, I’ve milked it for more than it’s worth.)

I mentioned it again yesterday in remembering an encounter with the late Don Baylor. And the name of former Angel pitcher Paul Hartzell came up again. This time was different, though.

Last night I received an email from Hartzell. It was a nice email, actually thanking me for remembering our workouts together.

As I told him in a response, catching guys who made it all the way to the big leagues was the pinnacle of my catching career, so why wouldn’t I remember? And crow about it a little?

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WSU: There are so many stories to get to about the Cougars and the Pac-12, I’m not sure where to start. No, that’s not true. As usual, we start with Theo Lawson’s coverage from Lewiston. Today he has a not-to-be-missed feature on Isaiah Johnson-Mack, the wide receiver who has donned Gabe Marks’ No. 9 this season. … In other stories from the preseason camp, Lewiston’s Dale Grummert has a story on Johnson-Mack and Tavares Martin Jr. … Stefanie Loh touches on a receiver’s ability as well, along with notes from camp. … Golfer Derek Bayley is in the lead at the Washington State amateur. … Around the Pac-12, big receivers and big linemen dominate the conversation from Washington’s practice. … Players know greatness when they see it. And they also know why rules were changed, even if they don’t agree with it. … Going for two won’t be automatic anymore at Oregon. Neither will being able to push around the defensive line. … A former Oregon State quarterback has already found a new home. … Some of Josh Rosen’s comments in a recent interview have struck Stanford’s David Shaw the wrong way. … Shaw knows who his quarterback will be. … Speaking of UCLA, the receivers need to hold on to Rosen’s passes. … California’s new field looks a bit shaky.  And there is a seismic shift on its defensive front. … USC’s Clay Helton is trying to install some more discipline. … There are big shoes to fill in Colorado. … The same is true with Utah and at multiple positions. At least there is time to get ready. … Arizona State is battling to improve. … The Arizona basketball team is headed to Spain, where it will prepared for what could be a special season.

Gonzaga: The WCC announced its conference schedule yesterday. Jim Meehan has the story of the men’s slate while Jim Allen covers the women’s. … The Zags will end the conference season at BYU.

EWU: The newest member of the Eastern coaching staff has pedigree but also carries the weight of the Eagles’ past success. Jim Allen has a story on Bodie Reeder (pictured). … Eastern is ranked fourth by the FCS coaches. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, Weber State is ranked 22nd, which is a huge jump for the Wildcats. … Montana began practice yesterday, though without one player. … Montana State is counting on a pair of freshmen cornerbacks. … North Dakota has a new man in the middle of the defense. … A new head coach means changes at Idaho State. … Northern Arizona features a blend of young and old on the offensive line.

Idaho: The Kibbie Dome is going to be remodeled soon. But for now, the venerable indoor facility gives the Vandals’ players a respite from the smoke in the air and the heat outside. Peter Harriman has the story.

Whitworth: The Pirates will have a new field to play on this season. The Pine Bowl isn’t changing, just the playing surface. Ryan Collingwood has the story and Jesse Tinsley the photo report.

Preps: Softball news is still dominating Chuck Stewart’s youth sports notebook.

Indians: Spokane had trouble fielding the ball last night – the Indians made three errors – in an 8-0 loss to Everett. Johnathan Curley has the game story. … I missed Jesse’s photo report about the Brett brothers yesterday, but thought I would link it today. … Around the Northwest League, Hillsboro routed Salem-Keizer and Eugene lost at Boise.

Mariners: The 8-7, 10-inning win not only moved the M’s into a tie in the wild-card race, it led to a Dave Nichols’ Mariner Log. We added the links there.

Seahawks: The Hawks made some roster moves yesterday and they left Seattle with just one fullback listed on the roster. … Who will make up the roster come the opener? … If you have questions, there are some answers here. … The newest cornerback is turning heads.

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• As I said above, no column this Saturday. Well, I’m not planning one now. Hopefully, our Friday night will preclude it. My idea is to take Kim somewhere we can put down a couple lawn chairs, hold hands and look up at a night sky full of stars. Boring, huh? Until later …