A Grip on Sports: Baseball is the thing dreams are made of, which sparks our thoughts on a dream World Series matchup for the Mariners

A GRIP ON SPORTS • How many of you have read “Ball Four?” A show of hands please. One, two, three … OK, just about everyone. Why is that important today? Simple. Seattle Pilots. Lou Piniella. Milwaukee Brewers. Mariners. World Series. The connections are so obvious. Let’s start getting ready for October.

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• Jim Bouton’s book about his 1969 season in Seattle with the expansion Pilots is something special. Groundbreaking. Illuminating. Funny. The only book about a one-year professional sports franchise that moved across the nation ever worth reading. Probably the only one too.

The Pilots’ crash came quickly, due to, all things, money. Not enough of it. And off to Milwaukee the franchise went, where it has been ever since. The first 27 years in the American League, the last 27 in the National – the league it is about to represent in the World Series for the first time.

Where, in a perfect world, their opponent would be the Seattle Mariners. Well, perfect in the Pacific Northwest. And for those of us who love a perfectly symmetrical story.

Nothing is sure, of course. But the hottest team in baseball? The team with the best record? The team without any hype? That would be Milwaukee. The Brewers knocked around Pittsburgh star Paul Skenes Tuesday night – six hits, four runs in four innings, tying Skenes’ season-low outing June 25 in Milwaukee – and have won 11 consecutive games. For the second time this season.

Since starting off the season with four consecutive losses, the team formerly known as the Pilots are 75-40. That’s sort-of close to 2001 Mariner territory.

If you remember that season, please forget what happened to the M’s at the end of it. It ruins our two-teams-with-Seattle-roots-in-the-World Series narrative.

Of course the Mariners have never been. The 116-win 2001 regular season was the high point, one of three times the franchise appeared in the American League Championship Series.

That’s two more than Milwaukee. But the Brewers actually won the A.L. in 1982, then lost the World Series to St. Louis in seven games. Since owner (and baseball commissioner) Bud Selig volunteered to switch leagues in 1998, the Brewers have reached the N.L. Championship twice, losing in 2011 to the Cardinals and in 2018 to the Dodgers.

Reaching the Series this year seems ordained, even though the National League is loaded. The Dodgers, Padres, Cubs, Phillies, Mets, even the Reds and Milwaukee’s personal nemesis, the Cardinals, all seem to be threats.

The American League feels more open, mainly because the Yankees aren’t the Yankees right now. And neither is Houston.

The hottest team outside of George Webb’s hometown? That would be the team that plays six miles south of the first Dick’s Drive-In.

The M’s have won eight consecutive times. They’ve won 10 of 11 since the trade deadline additions. The latest? A 1-0 gem Tuesday in Baltimore, with George Kirby spinning seven dominant innings and Andrés Muñoz overcoming the Orioles (and heat-induced dizziness) in the ninth. The winning run? It came in the first, thanks to a Randy Arozarena first-pitch single, his steal of second and Josh Naylor’s two-out single.

The win lifted the Mariners into a tie for the A.L. West lead with the aforementioned Astros. They have erased a seven-game deficit in 27 games. They are 19-8 in that span. That’s as good as anyone in the A.L.

Sure, World Series talk is a bit premature. A lot premature, actually. But dreams are one of baseball’s best parts. And if a Mariner follower is going to dream of the franchise’s first Series, why not make it against the city’s first MLB franchise?

The symmetry would be so perfect.

And the Piniella reference? More symmetry. The future Mariners’ manager – still the best the franchise ever had – was mentioned in “Ball Four.” He was one of Seattle’s 1969 expansion picks but never wore its scrambled egg hat. In spring training, he was sent to the other expansion club, the Kansas City Royals, where he played five seasons before moving on to fame in New York with the Yankees.  

And he just happened to manage the Mariners in 2001.

Hopefully, Piniella, who will be 82 when the Series rolls around, will be fit enough to toss the first pitch in the M’s first Series home game against the Brewers. Considering the history, he’s the right choice.  

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WSU: Eleven practices in, the Cougars have yet to make a decision about their starting quarterback. That’s part of what I took today from Greg Woods’ report (accompanied by a couple Tyler Tjomsland photos). The other part? Receiver Devin Ellison is coming along. … John Mateer has been put under the look-what-we-found-on-the-Interweb microscope this week. The former Washington State quarterback, now set to start for Oklahoma, sent a couple Venmo transactions to buddies while in Pullman. Labeled them with two verboten words: sports betting. He dealt with it yesterday, saying it was an inside joke. Being you can put pretty much anything you want on a Venmo transfer, we get it. I’m sure if I could figure out how to use the app, I would label things in what I thought were funny ways too. Like a transaction “Sunday morning snack, six dozen doughnuts” or something. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, everyone in college athletics has an agenda. Everyone. That’s why it is so hard to pound out a new-look playoff system. Jon Wilner delves into the agendas in this Mercury News column. … John Canzano details the animosity that is only growing between the Mountain West and the Pac-12. It sounds really ugly and, in some case, personal. … We love Stewart Mandel’s mailbag. … Washington received some positive injury news Tuesday at practice. … Oregon State received the same even before preseason practice began. And continues to build upon it. … Oregon’s news isn’t positive, though. After a freshman safety broke his leg recently (though he could return this season), the Ducks have also suspended indefinitely one of their top receivers for violation of team rules. … Stanford has decided on its starting quarterback. It’s former Beaver Ben Gulbranson. … Colorado feels it will have a dynamic returner this season. … Isaac Wilson did not play well as Utah’s quarterback last season. He is hoping for another chance. … UCLA’s new quarterback is taking advantage of his chance. … Arizona State’s running game will be different this season. Not worse maybe, but different. … Arizona will rotate its wide receivers consistently. … San Diego State is using its FanFest scrimmage as a dress rehearsal. … Recruiting hasn’t slowed down for Colorado State. … In basketball news, these two UCLA players are doing it right. … Arizona freshman Bryce James, another son of LeBron, talked about his experience thus far. … I guess I could have put this in an Idaho section but being it’s an exhibition in Boise, I thought it was appropriate to mention the Vandals and Boise State meeting here.

Gonzaga: A game with Oregon in Portland? That sound like a good nonconference matchup. It seems it will happen Dec. 21, if Jon Rothstein’s report for CBS Sports is accurate and we figure it is. So does Theo Lawson, who has this coverage. … Theo also delves into the latest 2026 recruit who has scheduled a visit to Spokane, JRob Croy.

Indians: Spokane’s offense has disappeared. So have many wins. Dave Nichols was at Avista Stadium last night for the opener of a six-game series with Vancouver, an opener that ended in a 10-3 loss for the home team.

EWU and Idaho: Around the (current and future) Big Sky, Dan Thompson takes some time today to write about conference commissioner Tom Wistrcill, who has been in his job for seven years and will be around for at least five more. … The running back corps for Montana has an upside. … The Griz are still recruiting hard in-state. … Both Montana and Montana State have players on another preseason All-American team. … The Bobcats dropped an incoming player after an assault charge. … Northern Colorado is selling tickets to its game at Colorado State on Sept. 6. … The No. 3 jersey will be worn by Idaho State’s new punter. … UC Davis is happy with its latest poll ranking. … A Cal Poly alum is doing well in New England’s training camp.

Mariners: We linked the game story above. Do it again here. … Victor Robles and Luke Raley are both getting close to returning from the injury list. Raley probably will be first. … Putting on a TV show isn’t as easy as it might seem.

Seahawks: It was hot in Seattle too. The Hawks held their final open-to-the-public practice, made it fun for the fans at the start and then went out and worked up quite a sweat. The Hawks host Kansas City on Friday at 7 p.m. … The new offense Klint Kubiak has installed may give Kenneth Walker III a real chance to shine.

Storm: Brittney Sykes joined Seattle because she wanted to make a postseason run. The way the Storm have played recently, though, could ruin those plans.

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• Wednesdays are trash days at our house. Which means the neighborhood is alive with the noise of large trucks banging around. That’s not something our skittish dog enjoys. And his response to all the hubbub is not something I enjoy. Or helps me get this column done. Sorry about all the typos. I’m blaming his seven visits to my lap. Until later …