A Grip on Sports: The M’s aren’t exactly smoking hot as we enter the final stretch of April but there is still hope

A GRIP ON SPORTS • If you’ve noticed something different outside, it’s simple. We call it “the sun.” It’s showed up for longer and longer stretches recently. And led to something else. The plants have little buds emerging. How odd. Could it be, three weeks into MLB’s schedule, spring is actually arriving?

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• Wait, what’s that? There is snow in Spokane’s forecast tonight? Nice fake out Mother Nature. Almost as deflating as the M’s start to what was supposed to be a season of hope. Of success. Of unfettered joy.

None of that has really carried into the last 10 days of April, has it?

OK, hope shouldn’t have fled. It’s too early for that and the Mariners have too much in the way of pitching and star power to abandon it just yet. Success? That’s hasn’t happened. Not with the way the lineup has scuffled. Not with Julio Rodriguez still trying to find his stroke, the issue with the designated hitters and the misbegotten start Kolten Wong has suffered through.

Not that all of that can’t change. Rodriguez is starting to heat up and his bat is enough to ignite others. Which will lead to that joy thing.

We hope.

Yesterday was all too familiar, sure. Marco Gonzales returned from becoming a dad once again, threw six shutout innings and, as has been his M.O. the past few years, struggled in the seventh. The Brewers put two on, there were no out and the M’s led just 2-0.

Scott Servais called on his best mid-game option these days, Matt Brash. A guy with a 97-mile-per-hour fastball and a slider that is unhittable at times. Wednesday it was uncontrollable. But that didn’t stop Brash and catcher Tom Murphy from going to it way too often. After striking out Christian Yelich for the second out, Brash hung a slider to the next hitter, Brice Turang, Wong’s replacement at second for Milwaukee. The left-handed hitter could not catch up with Brash’s heater but banged the slider into leftfield, scoring two.

Before Brash could get out of the inning, Milwaukee led 5-2. Game, series and, sadly, our TV watching, over.

This year’s Mariners haven’t proved they can bounce back from that. They had a chance in the bottom of the ninth but, once again, the bottom of the order could not come through.

Now the question is, will they bounce back at all?

Yes. The starting pitching is still really solid. There are four or five high-quality bats in the lineup. The bullpen will get healthy, a minor leaguer pitcher will come up and shine – it seems to happen every year – and the back end will be OK.

Is that enough to feel the joy everyone felt last October? We will find out, won’t we?

• There have been 255 games played in baseball thus far, according to the statistical site Baseball Reference. The average time? Two hours, 37 minutes. Last year, with, we admit, a much-larger sample size, the average game ran 3:03. So, yes, the speed-up rules are working.

And there is an even greater benefit. Thirty-four percent of the games have finished in less than 2:30. Only .4 percent have gone past 3:30. As recently as 2021, nearly 19 percent of the games lasted longer than three-and-a-half hours. In other words, that season you had a one-in-five chance of getting out of the ballpark closer to 11 than 10 for a game that started at 7:05.

Now, there is a one-in-three probability of getting done near 9:30.

And think about this. If the games this season continue to be 26 minutes faster, on average, the players will save more than 70 hours of their summer. That’s 70 hours of time to spend with their family. Or working on their craft. Or, god forbid, talking with the media.

Less time working, same amount of money. Hey, it’s a pay raise. Good for them.

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WSU: We could have spent some time this morning discussing Cougar football. Going on and on about this position or that position. Today, we leave that to the professional, Colton Clark. No before you start to wonder, yes, we will wax poetic about the Cougs still. But we didn’t want to step on Colton’s toes as he delves into the nickel back spot this morning. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and the nation in football, Washington continues with spring practice. … So does Oregon, which isn’t making huge changes offensively despite having a new coordinator. … One Oregon State player is switching sides of the ball while another decides to retire. … Depth could still be a problem for Colorado. … A Utah linebacker has grown in his leadership role. … In basketball news, Adam Bona entered the draft but the UCLA center is expected to return. … Yes, there are changes needed with the portal.

Gonzaga: We are in the midst of transfer portal season, the newest wave in college basketball. Which means everyone is wondering which players out of the 1,500 or so in the portal, will end up at GU. Theo Lawson has five more names to throw into the discussion for the men. … Speaking of the portal, for the second consecutive year, a transfer from the University of Utah will be joining the women’s team. Jim Allen has all that information.

EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, Matt Logie’s hiring by Montana State just lengthened the conference’s basketball connections to the Inland Northwest. Dan Thompson takes a look at that. … Logie was formally introduced in Bozeman yesterday. … MJ Bruno, who played at Central Valley, is transferring from Portland to Montana. … The Montana men also picked up a transfer. … A few Northern Colorado players are working toward an NFL opportunity.

Preps: We can pass along Dave Nichols’ roundup of Wednesday’s games and meets.

Indians: Spokane fell 4-2 at Tri-City last night.   

Kraken: Thanks to winning the first playoff game in franchise history, Seattle was able to enjoy itself a bit more the past couple games. Game two is tonight in Denver. … Philipp Grubauer made more saves than Jack Bauer – how’s that for a 20-year-old reference? – and flipped his narrative a bit.

Mariners: Wong is confident he can turn the season around. Sounds a bit like Jesse Winker, doesn’t he? … This isn’t a surprise, is it?

Seahawks: The draft is a week away. Seven more days of dealing with “Will they take so-and-so or so-and-so?” Then day after day dissecting who the Hawks took. It’s what this time of year is about, right? … With such a good top pick comes pressure. … We don’t think a couple of injured defensive stars will be back at the beginning of the season but Pete Carroll opened that door yesterday. … Don’t expect the franchise to be sold until late next year at the earliest. There is a tax issue.

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• The sun is peeking over the horizon earlier and earlier. You know who can’t read a clock? Dogs. “Sun up? Time for me to be up.” “Uh, no buddy. Dad needs another half-hour or so.” You all know what their answer to that is. Until later …