A Grip on Sports: Every loss means the same in the standings but the ‘how’ they happen adds a bit of weight to their blow
A GRIP ON SPORTS • Some losses hurt a little. Some a lot. But there is no way to judge the impact of the Mariner’s Monday night 7-6 loss in Kansas City until a little time passes. But we suspect it will be the latter, not the former.
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• It’s easy to focus on the ninth inning of Monday night’s defeat.
After all, the M’s completed a rally from a five-run deficit to take a one-run lead into the bottom of the inning – and had a golden opportunity to tack on even more when Cal Raleigh’s two-out, bases-loaded ground ball was ruled foul.
The Royals re-rallied (if there is such a thing) against Matt Brash, scoring the winning run on, of all the outdated things, a squeeze bunt.
If that was everything that happened, the consequences of the defeat would still resonate. But there are so many more layers to this one we can’t begin to cover them all in the space allowed. Let’s hit as many as we can, shall we?
– This might be the first game Paul Sewald’s departure actually meant something. The truth is, trading away your closer at the deadline is fine, but Jerry Dipoto forgot to follow it up by dealing Teoscar Hernandez for a replacement. Or couldn’t, whichever you want to believe.
Hernandez is one of about seven outfielders the M’s can call on to be average. Sewald was the one relief pitcher they had who could be counted on to be above. Hernandez is a free agent after the season. He should have been dealt for a Sewald replacement or, barring that, at least a veteran relief pitcher who has been through more than one pennant race.
– The biggest difference between the M’s and, say, the Dodgers or Yankees or such is not in the front-line players. It’s the back end of the roster. Especially the position players. Last night Seattle had to count on Dylan Moore, Jose Caballero and Sam Haggerty with the game on the line. And not for the first time. Fine young men, we’re sure. Guys that can consistently help you win? Not exactly. None are a true threat at the plate. None are defensive stalwarts. But they all can run. One-out-of-three is fine for a batting average but not for guys who may just have to make a play in the late innings.
– Logan Gilbert has been brilliant much of the season. Last night he wasn’t. Maybe it was the humidity, something that seemed to impact Brash and his slider as well. (How, you may ask? Sweat makes it harder to get the tight grip needed for sharp break.) But whatever the reason, Gilbert and his cohorts in the starting rotation are not just a part of the M’s postseason chances, they are the most-important part. They need to perform every night. No matter how well Julio Rodriguez or Ty France is raking, there are too many lineup holes to score six runs consistently. When Seattle does, it needs to win.
– Lineup holes? Brady Singer certainly exploited them, didn’t he? The Kansas City righthander has been pitching well the second half, but taking a no-hitter into the seventh with his stuff? That’s a bit on the M’s. Remember controlling the zone? Last-year’s mantra? Doesn’t ring a bell? We get it. It seems to have gone the way of the, say, squeeze. Flailing widely at 87-mile-an-hour sliders and even slower splitters, seem to be the new refrain. The shotgun approach. Swing often enough and hard enough and sooner or later contact just might be made. Singer made more than one Mariner hitter look silly. Thank goodness, KC has one of the worst bullpens in baseball. And it pitched like it last night.
– Were they any mitigating factors to the horror of losing on a bottom of the ninth bunt? Sure. The rally for one. When the Royal bullpen began serving up meat, the M’s dined. And, if Raleigh’s hard ground ball into the right-field corner had been ruled fair, they would have broken their losing streak. But first base umpire D.J. Reyburn saw it the other way, there is no replay review when that happens – like a fumble in football it’s smart to call it fair, let it play out and let New York get involved – and the M’s were out of luck.
Something that seemed to be in play all night.
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WSU: The sound of silence isn’t something that is heard during college football games. Or practices, for that matter, if the coaching staff is smart. Jake Dickert’s is, and added crowd noise to the 10th practice of the preseason, giving the Cougars something else to learn. Greg Woods has this practice notebook and a story on the Washington State schedule based on the A.P. preseason poll. … The Times has a story on the Cougars’ basketball recruiting. … A WSU basketball assistant, John Andrzejek, has left, joining Florida’s staff. If you are looking for a connection, Todd Golden, Florida’s head coach, used to work for Kyle Smith. … The soccer team was picked, once again, in the middle of the Pac-12 pack. History tells us that is low. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and the nation, speaking of the football poll, defending champion Georgia is No. 1. And the Pac-12 has five teams in the top 25, which is just one less than the SEC. Good enough to be sold as parts, just not good enough to stay together. … Jon Wilner has more answers about WSU’s future in his latest Mercury News mailbag. … John Canzano has some thoughts in that regard as well. … It’s time for the farewell tour for many of the schools. And almost time for the super league to form. … Washington, ranked 10th, will be leaving. How does the Huskies’ depth chart look for the last Pac-12 season? … Oregon, with a strong defensive line, was slotted 15th in the preseason poll. … Oregon State, with a strong tight end contingent, is 18th. … Colorado is not ranked. … Utah is, at 14, as they face a tough September. Funny, the Utes, who signed up just a week ago, will make more in the Big 12 next season than BYU, who agreed to enter a year ago. … USC checks in at sixth, tops among conference schools, and has a defensive back who is on strike in his second job. … Arizona State is having to figure out who is healthy enough to start at quarterback. … In basketball news, Arizona’s tour of Israel actually included a basketball game, not just selling the nation to the Southwest. And the Wildcats won handily. … Colorado has added Miami to the nonconference schedule. … Where do California and Stanford’s women’s basketball programs fit?
Gonzaga: Dave Boling offers a book review this morning. A book that most Zag fans may not have been aware of but probably don’t want to miss. … There was a reunion in Las Vegas last week. Mark Few, working as an assistant with the USA Basketball team headed to the FIBA World Cup, coached against Chet Holmgren, playing for the scrimmage squad of NBA players chosen to test the United States team.
EWU: It’s foreign tour time for basketball teams. And Eastern’s men are taking one. Dan Thompson has a preview of the swing through England and Spain, explaining why those two countries were selected. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, UC Davis is following the lead of a trio of offensive linemen.
Idaho: The UI soccer team was ranked second in the Big Sky’s preseason poll. Eastern was slotted in the fifth spot. That news leads off the latest S-R local briefs column.
Mariners: We ran down the 7-6 loss above. We also mentioned Julio’s hot bat. … The rest of August is a time for the M’s to make a run. … We didn’t mention Wander Franco’s troubles yesterday or above. But we do here, as they may have an impact on the American League pennant race.
Seahawks: We linked this Boye Mafe story yesterday in the Times. … Alex Collins, the former Seahawk draft pick, was killed in a motorcycle accident Sunday night. He was 28. … The Hawks could use more defensive line help.
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• We have a busy week ahead. Our car needs its regularly scheduled checkup. For that matter, so do we. We also have a meeting to attend downtown one afternoon. And one of the dogs needs a bath. The tomatoes are finally getting ripe. The weeds need clearing. Thank goodness it’s going to be too hot for some of the aforementioned chores. Any more than one to-do thing a day on our list anymore and we just shutdown. Until later …