A Grip on Sports: The M’s are alone in first place in August, which makes the next couple months about as fun as possible
A GRIP ON SPORTS • We have been writing about the Mariners a lot lately. And why the heck not? They are as hot as, well, that location and have been since the first of July. There were more fireworks Sunday and, when it was over, the M’s were alone atop the American League West.
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• One word. Wow.
Wow that the M’s have won 24 of their last 30 games, 36 of their last 50 and have left their win-one, lose-one approach of the season’s first 100 games well behind. With it sits the Astros and Rangers, two teams left behind in the fiery wake as well.
If you want to really delve into it, the M’s 36-14 record since July 1 has left everyone in the wake. It is the best record in baseball over that span. Wow.
It doesn’t hurt, sure, the once-red-hot Rangers have assumed the 50/50 mantle in the same time frame, splitting their last 48 games – including a meltdown in 13 innings Sunday – and going from well in front in the division to basically tied with Houston for second, a game back. A bad-for-them wow.
But today’s discourse is about the Mariners. And their summer – thus far – of lovely hitting.
Chicken or egg question: Did Julio Rodriguez’s hot streak – since August 1, he’s hitting better than .400 – ignite the offense or did the offense heating up give Rodriguez an opportunity to get going?
We’re in the former camp. As goes Julio, so go the M’s. Or something like that.
The guy who to which the M’s have tied their future is still chasing way too many pitches out of the strike zone. But not as many as earlier this season. And when mistakes are made, as happened Sunday with a sixth-inning slider, he’s not missing them as often. Add in a bit of reverting-to-the-mean good luck and he’s hitting like Ted Williams the past month. With Ichiro’s speed.
The hot streak shouldn’t cool this week, either. Not with the woeful – is there any other term to use? – Oakland A’s visiting Seattle for three games starting tonight.
Will it last all the way to October? Who knows. We’ve stopped trying to figure out this team. Except to say we expect a few more “wows” between now and then.
• We don’t believe in the announcer’s jinx. Or any other jinx for that matter. But that doesn’t mean, when ESPN’s Karl Ravech mentioned a salient fact about Curaçao during the bottom of the sixth (and last) inning of Sunday’s Little League championship game, we weren’t sure Louis Lappe would hit a home run.
It had nothing to do with Ravech saying “Curaçao has not allowed a home run at the World Series.” It had everything to do with watching the El Segundo player hit over the course of the week.
The 12-year-old’s short, compact-to-the-ball swing had resulted in a handful of home runs already in the tournament. One more would break a 5-5 tie – Curaçao had rallied from a 5-1 deficit with a Nasir El-Ossais grand slam in the top of the fifth – and give California another title.
A fastball up, a quick swing, a long drive and the game was over. The celebration began even before Lappe hit first base and continued, more than likely, for much of the evening.
Today? It’s back home to California and back to school. Such is the summer experience of 12-year-olds. Though Lappe and El Segundo had a bit different one than most.
• This is a tough week in the NFL. Cutdown week. Time to get the roster to 53, add in 16 practice squad players and get ready for next week’s openers.
We have one overriding question. Will former Washington State receiver Easop Winston Jr. make the Seahawks’ roster?
We’re leaning toward yes for two reasons. Winston, with hands the size of Cal Raleigh’s catcher’s mitt, is a steady and sure-handed punt returner with the ability to break one occasionally. That’s something Pete Carroll prizes. And the Hawks will be without Dee Eskridge for the first six weeks, due to a suspension. That opens the door a bit wider for Winston, who has some NFL experience.
We will know by Tuesday afternoon at 1 p.m. That’s the deadline.
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WSU: Greg Woods is not only trying to keep up with the Cougars’ preparations for the opener at Colorado State on Saturday, he’s also trying to stay on top of all their possible conference realignment options. … Our friend Tim Booth has this Associated Press preview of the Cougar football season. … We have been keeping track, peripherally, of the FIBA World Cup, mainly due to the U.S. team. But we also noticed former Washington State big man Josh Hawkinson is playing for his adopted country, Japan. And had a great game – 28 points, 19 rebounds – in Sunday’s win over Finland. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and the nation, Jon Wilner’s mailbag appears in the S-R today. … Can Oregon State win the conference title? A few things have to break the Beavers’ way. … Oregon rebuilt its secondary after a tough end to 2022. The Ducks have to be better there. … All the change at Colorado means opportunity for new players. … USC won its opener Saturday against San Jose State but questions about the efficiency of the defense haven’t disappeared. … Arizona State surprised everyone, including, we’re pretty sure, the seniors on the roster, by announcing a one-year voluntary bowl ban. The school hopes to get off easier as the NCAA reaches a conclusion on COVID-19-era recruiting violations. Funny thing. The transfer portal has closed and the NCAA doesn’t seem inclined to impose bowl bans anymore. Oh, and the Sun Devils probably won’t win six games anyhow. … Arizona has plans for stadium expansion that includes the area around it. … In basketball news, remember David Blatt? LeBron James’ former NBA head coach may be joining Tommy Lloyd’s Arizona coaching staff soon.
Gonzaga: A day after Jim Meehan introduced us to a new player from Croatia, Theo Lawson shares the news Marcus Adams Jr. is leaving after not even attending a class. Adams, from California, enrolled at Kansas, left, signed a grant agreement with GU, started working out with the team a few weeks ago and is now out looking for another place to spend his freshman year.
EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, UC Davis, which will play at Oregon State this season, will rely heavily on its running backs.
Indians: Vancouver has been the Northwest League’s best team pretty much all season. But not this past week. Spokane finished off a series win with an 8-5 victory Sunday in Canada. Dave Nichols has all the details.
Seahawks: Winston is one of the big decisions the Hawks will have to make by Tuesday.
Mariners: Andres Munoz closed the door on the Royals in the ninth, as the M’s finished off the 3-2 victory and the series sweep.
Sounders: Yeimar scored for Seattle early. And he also scored Minnesota’s only goal in the 1-1 draw Sunday at Lumen Field. The Sounders’ weird season continues.
Storm: Playoffs? (Be honest, you heard Jim Mora’s voice when you read that, right?) Well, no such luck for Seattle this season. Sunday’s home loss to the Chicago Sky ended that dream and put the Storm into the WNBA lottery.
Golf: It doesn’t matter how long you are in first place in a golf tournament. All that matters is who is in that spot when it ends. Maybe even after, as was the case at the Circling Raven Championship. Though Chanettee Wannasaen led the entire tournament, Yue Ren caught her as the 54-hole Epson event ended. And then won in the playoff. Jim Meehan has the coverage. … Golf is also a recreational sport, as this group of women who play together at Indian Canyon each week illustrate. Cindy Hval has the Canyonettes’ story.
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• Anyone else experience this? We were looking over a map of Florida this morning – we have friends who just relocated there over the weekend – to study the latest hurricane path. And every time we recognized a city name, from Sarasota to Lakeland to Port San Lucie, it was because of reading spring training news as a youngster. Oh, the Cardinals train there, we thought. Or, the Tigers used to. We always knew being a sports fan is a great way to learn math skills. Now we realize it helps with geography as well. Until later …