A Grip on Sports: Of all the spring traditions, the M’s failing to change the narrative may just be the most disheartening

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Ah, spring traditions. Cleaning. The M’s fade and the ensuing latest saviors recalled from the minors. Hay fever. An unfair NFL schedule for the Seahawks. Running. An NCAA screwup. Wait, that last one isn’t just a spring thing.

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• In just a bit, we will ask you to define “championship quality.” Before then, though, we have to address today’s big news. Jarred Kelenic. Logan Gilbert. The future of the M’s arrives tonight against the Indians.

Kelenic will take over left field. Gilbert will start on the mound. From here, all things are possible, right? Even the postseason?

Don’t, I repeat, don’t, fall for such malarkey. The M’s are, and maybe always will be, a year away. There is little to no evidence Kelenic, even if he’s the second coming of Junior, is enough to lift the Mariner offense out of the doldrums it is in – see, loss, Wednesday, vs. Dodgers, for more evidence.

And Gilbert? If he’s really good, and he could be, then the M’s starting rotation improves. But it still isn’t all that great and, besides, it takes a special group of starters, the Nationals in 2019, the Dodgers last season, for that position to make a huge difference. Bullpens are more important, especially during the regular season.

You know, the time of year when the Mariners tease us before descending into the annual tradition of mediocrity.

• The NFL decided to stack the Seahawks’ schedule. Five early season wins. Wait, that was last year, when the Hawks played four franchises in dire straits in their first five weeks (as Art Thiel points out in this column).

This year, that doesn’t seem to be the case. And, to be fair, it didn’t seem to be the case last year either. It just turned out that way, giving more credence to the rise-and-fall nature of the league.

But opening at Indianapolis, hosting the Titans, playing the Vikings and 49ers on the road and then finishing the first five with a home game against the Rams, seems a bit over the top. With the next two a road game in Pittsburgh and home against New Orleans, the beginning of the year could sap whatever reserves of goodwill with Russell Wilson the Hawks have built this offseason.

Then again, as has been said often in the past century, defense travels. And Seattle has spent the past few months trying to rebuild its defense to a Super Bowl-caliber level. The beginning of the 2021 season should show us if the Hawks have accomplished that task.

• Finally, we asked the first question today for a reason. One of the NCAA golf regionals for women was to be held in Baton Rouge this week. Except there was a lot of rain early in the week. And, according to the NCAA officials on site, it never really drained.

Forget that Monday and Tuesday it hardly rained at all and the sun came out each afternoon. Those in charge decided the course wasn’t of “championship caliber,” a term they didn’t define for anyone, and canceled the regional. Which means the top six seeds – the number of open spots that were to be earned through competition – move on to the championships.

The seventh seed? That would be Oregon State. A school that knows something about playing golf in the rain. In wet conditions. With standing water. You adjust the makeup of the course, you loosen the rules by allowing lift, clean and place, and you play on. The course is the same for everyone. The competition, while maybe not what was imagined when the tournament started, is still viable.

But, no.

Instead you send a bunch of teams home without the chance to earn a spot. If dumb mistakes needed a logo, they could just borrow the NCAA’s. After all, it already seems to symbolize such things.

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WSU: Late last night news broke the Pac-12 is expected to name its new commissioner this morning. Before that leaked, however, Jon Wilner put together his latest conference-wide stock report, which includes a lot of thoughts about the new leader and their role. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and college sports, athletes hit by Stanford’s decision to drop 11 sports have banded together to sue the school. … Washington needs an inside linebacker to step up. … Same with Colorado but at quarterback. … Oregon has lots of receivers available. … The newest member of UCLA’s staff is ready for the challenge. … In basketball news, the change in the intra-conference transfer rule is having a big impact already. … Colorado is headed to Puerto Rico for its “overseas” trip. … Could Remy Martin end up at Arizona? TyTy Washington, the point guard pursued by the Wildcats, is headed to Kentucky.

Gonzaga: Larry Weir zeroes in on the Zags in his latest Press Box podcast, talking with Tom Hudson on a variety of subjects. … The Athletic is looking at next year at most every big-time school. Today is GU’s day. … Around the WCC, BYU needs a point guard from the portal.

EWU: Eric Barriere is a first-team AP All-American. FCS first team, not Division III All-America team. That is for down the road. Maybe.

CCS: Pitcher McKabe Cottrell has followed a long, winding path to collegiate success, all without leaving the 509 area code. Connor Gilbert has his story.

Preps: It’s Thursday, which means there is a lot of high school news (and a Dave Nichols’ roundup). … Dave has a notebook as well, as Rogers has hired a new football coach. … Shadle Park won the GSL 2A softball title. … Keenan Gray offers a preview of this week’s track championships. … Idaho doesn’t use a shot clock for basketball. It should. Now it can and still keep its voice intact with the National Federation of High School’s basketball board.

Indians: The bats were nowhere to be found Wednesday night against Vancouver in Oregon, as Spokane fell 2-0. … Maybe former Indian Drew Robinson’s story will have the happiest of endings.

Chiefs: The season is over. Kevin Dudley delves into what Spokane’s players and coaches learned during the pandemic-shortened schedule.

Mariners: Julio Urias is really good. So it’s little wonder he pitched Los Angeles to a 7-1 victory. And it’s little wonder all the attention is not on the M’s dropping below .500 again but on the newest members of their roster.

Seahawks: The schedule dominates the news, as it should. Now we have to start planning what meals we will prepare based on the opponent. First up, something with an Indianapolis leaning. … The Hawks are playing in prime time often.

Sounders: Three points are three points, but last night’s 1-0 victory over host San Jose might have been expensive for Seattle. Keeper Stefan Frei left late with an apparent knee injury.

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• You know what is also a spring tradition in Spokane? Mowing the lawn twice a week. We spend lots of money on fertilizer and water to make the grass grow and lots of money (and time) dealing with that growth. Sometimes we wonder if it makes sense. Until later …