A Grip on Sports: It’s refreshing to watch a baseball rivalry where both teams are trying to win instead of just watching the bottom line
A GRIP ON SPORTS • Taking a trip, no matter where, when or why, always adds perspective to life. A little or a lot, that’s probably up to you. And what you are want to absorb. Here’s what we’ve absorbed recently as we once again transverse the West Coast.
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• Pundits might profess professional sports rivalries don’t have the same emotional tug as collegiate ones. Except they do. In some cases. One such case played out on our mother-in-law’s TV last night.
Dodgers vs. Giants. Good guys vs. bad. Blue vs. that hideous orange/black combination. Money vs. … well, whatever the Giants are using finance their operation these days.
OK, we admit we’re not neutral here. Thank goodness, having lived and worked for 61% of our life in Spokane, allows us to have an opinion – and a side – on this rivalry, as it really doesn’t impact you folks. But, for some odd reason, it still tugs at our heart strings. And kindles our passion.
Maybe it goes back to elementary school, where Sister Patrice would wax poetic on how the Dodgers were doing God’s work whenever Sandy Koufax would shut out those devils from the north. Or something like that.
The one Giant fan in the room, who would later end up in San Quentin (or at least that’s what we imagine), would say something inappropriate and be sent off to visit Father Callahan to repent.
To Kenny’s credit, he never did.
Have to admire that about Giants fans. They are loyal. Through the short stints of thick and the inevitable long stretches of thin, they root on their team. That loyalty was rewarded with a magical five-season run from 2010 to 2014, when they somehow – thanks Madison Bumgarner and Bruce Bochy – won three World Series titles. Dodger fans call that stretch The Dark Ages.
Anyhow, those days are as dead as Julius Caesar. At least in the Dodgers’ point of view. The best team money can buy – though only with the seventh-highest payroll this season thanks to the Shohei Ohtani salary deferment – showed last night they have spent their, ahem, $229 million well.
That judgment is based on one game, sure, but it was one game watched with an almost 70-year Dodger fan. And she was as engaged at 90 as a 20-year-old Washington State undergrad is at the Apple Cup. Though her adult beverage of choice is white wine, not Fireball.
It did not matter one bit if the game went 10 innings. It could have gone 100 as far as she was concerned. She was going to sit there and watch until the Dodgers won. They did, thanks to their least-heralded star, catcher Will Smith.
No, not that Will Smith. The only thing this L.A. resident slaps is the baseball. Drives it too, as he did in the top of the 10th. To the centerfield wall with Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman on base.
Notice something? The Dodgers have more than one superstar signed for the long term. Yes, M’s fans, it is possible. Sure, their ownership group has the collective wealth of the British royal family, but that’s only part of the equation. That group wants to win. Is willing to spend money on the organizational structure and the players within it. Not as concerned with turning a huge profit today as building equity for the future. The antithesis of Seattle’s ownership group. At least it seems that way on the outside looking in. And is the perception of an entire fan base.
We all understand perception is reality these days, right? The Dodgers are all in, the M’s aren’t. That’s the perception. That’s reality.
Maybe if Seattle had a rival. A giant reason to build a winner. That might help. But rivalries take decades to develop. Due to the transient nature of the modern game, and Seattle’s lack of long-term success, the Mariners don’t have one.
It’s still possible the Astros will turn into such a foe. We doubt it. It takes a collegiate attitude for such things and the folks in Houston would never be accepted into any institute of higher learning.
Unless they offered a major in trash-can banging.
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WSU: The basketball roster rebuild for new coach David Riley continues, with the addition Monday of California transfer ND Okafor, a 6-foot-9 center. Greg Woods has the details. … Former Washington State linebacker Devin Richardson has signed a free agent deal with the Seahawks, allowing him to continue his career, at least this summer. Greg has more on that as well. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and the nation, when coach Danny Sprinkle moved from Utah State to Washington, he mentioned how the transfer scene had become the Wild West these days. Well, Sprinkle broke open the strong box this week to secure the services of one of his former Aggie players, Great Osobor. … Oregon State isn’t paying as much for its latest big man addition. … Utah’s roster is coming together. … Don’t look now but USC will be tough next season. … Caleb Love wasn’t invited to the NBA combine. Now the Arizona guard has to decide what to do about next season. … John Canzano answered a variety of questions yesterday, including some on Oregon State and Washington State. … If you care, Jon Wilner has his thoughts on over/under on Big Ten football wins next season. … Oregon State has added a legacy tight end. … The Colorado/Nebraska game will be on NBC. Talk about a throwback to the Big 8 days. … Arizona has added an offensive lineman that harkens back to those days too. … When we read Tess Heal was leaving Santa Clara weeks ago, our first thought was she would fit in with Stanford – if the Cardinal basketball actually took transfers. Turns out they do, at least now. … Finally, unintended consequences are real. And they will be real for the U.S. Olympic teams down the road as the Pac-12’s legacy fades due to realignment.
Gonzaga: The Zags will bring in Braeden Smith, the Colgate point guard who entered the transfer portal late this spring, for a visit. Jim Meehan has this story on the Seattle Prep product’s recruitment. A source of ours in the Seattle AAU scene told us last weekend Smith is leaning toward the Zags, even if he is asked to redshirt next season. … We learned something this week. The major professional leagues, forced by union contracts, usually have to wait for a drafted player to heal before sending them packing. There may be an injury designation or a financial settlement, but the erstwhile players in most league have some protection. That doesn’t seem to be the case in the WNBA. Greg Lee has the news both Brynna Maxwell and Kaylynne Truong were cut by their respective teams this week, even though neither were healthy (Maxwell is dealing with a knee injury and Truong an ankle). … Elsewhere in the WCC, we linked Jon Wilner’s thoughts on the conference’s expansion yesterday. His column is on the S-R website this morning. … Saint Mary’s is now accessing the portal. The Gaels will welcome Ashton Hardaway for next season. He’s Penny’s son.
EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, Montana’s special football number has changed hands, as it does each year. … The Griz are also in the market for a new softball coach.
Preps: The WIAA’s Rep Assembly met recently in Yakima and voted on a series of rule changes. Dave Nichols has this story on what passed and what didn’t. The biggest news? Girls’ flag football was not approved as a state-sanctioned sport. … Jim returns with coverage of Monday’s district golf tournaments.
Mariners: If the M’s had a Giant-like rival, then George Kirby would probably be the villain of the rivalry. He strikes us as someone who would not give a darn about it, either. Angry George showed up last night at T-Mobile, threw seven shutout innings and led the M’s to a 6-2 victory over the Royals. … Hot dogs on parachutes? Yep. The M’s marketing department has struck again. That group seems to be competing on a World Series-level. After all, more fans are coming to the ballpark.
Seahawks: Richardson is part of the Hawks’ undrafted rookie class.
Storm: Seattle has found a key piece for its roster as the WNBA season begins. … This may be the turning-point year for the league, for a variety of reasons.
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• Just because the Mariners don’t have a rival, it doesn’t mean they don’t have an incentive to win. Any lack of incentive comes from ownership’s misguided priority of financial gain over all else. Making money is fine. The No. 1 priority? Get into the mobile phone or software business if that’s your goal. Until later …