A Grip on Sports: Ya, sure, football games are just down the road a spell, but it is still summer and baseball still has a hold on our thoughts

A GRIP ON SPORTS • With college football’s Week Zero (or is it Zero Week?) on tap for Saturday, it seems as if summer is just about over, doesn’t it? Then why the heck is baseball still dominating our thoughts?

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• An alarm was going off in the back of my head last week at this time. And I shared my trepidation with everyone. The Mariners, fresh off a 10-game homestand that had everyone giddy – yes, myself included – were about to embark on a nine-game trip through the wilds of the East. Wild as in weather. And wild as in facing two playoff-bound teams.

Everything began so well a week ago. George Kirby was almost unhittable, the M’s defeated woeful (as in no chance for the playoffs) Baltimore 1-0 and moved into first place in the American League West. OK, in a tie for first with the Astros, but in first nonetheless.

Those were the days, huh? The day, actually. Since then it’s been a hot, humid mess, with only a Friday night 11-9 slugfest win in New York on the correct side of the ledger.

Monday night’s loss might be the nadir, though. Rock bottom. Or whatever it was Logan Gilbert was throwing to the plate in the bottom of the second. Dung, maybe. Rocks, dung or hanging sliders, the Phillies roped it, scoring six runs and handed Seattle its third consecutive loss. And allowed us to text our buddies to point out the M’s are 68-58. Yep, they have won 54% of their games this year, the same as the Yankees and Red Sox, and are tied with them for the three wild-card spots.

There are two games left in Philadelphia. And then the M’s jet home. Whether they will still be playing .540 baseball is up in the air.

• When baseball’s commissioner talks, people listen. Especially if that commissioner is as heck-bent on changing the game as Rob Manfred is.

Manfred has made some much-needed changes, sure, with the pitch clock atop that list. He’s also signed on for other, not-so-needed experiments, including the extra-inning designated-runner farce. And he’s dragged his feet on instituting robo-umps calling balls and strikes, though maybe that’s less his fault and more due to the players’ power to throw up roadblocks when they want.

Next up in Manfred’s march to modernize the most-traditional game – after next season’s ball/strike challenge system? Expansion and realignment.

The two will go hand in hand, as baseball will grow. Bet on that. It’s a given, considering how much money will be made by the current owners. And when baseball grows to 32 teams, the franchises will be put into more of geographic groups. The importance of the National and American leagues, already neutered to a great degree, will fade even further into the background.

Oh, the World Series will still pit the champions of the N.L. and A.L. That won’t change. But teams that make up the leagues will.

Why? Money, of course. Travel costs will drop. Attendance, it is hoped, will rise.

Ever since Manfred broached the realignment subject – again – during the Mariners’ Sunday night loss to the Mets in Williamsport, Pa., there have been proposals rolling all around the Interweb. Just as there were in 2018, when Manfred expressed similar thoughts.

How will it work? What will the eight four-team divisions look like? No one knows for sure, but just about everyone has thoughts on the matter. But there are some non-negotiables of which we can be sure:

– The Mariners will no longer be in the same division, and maybe not the same league, as their nemesis, Houston;

– One expansion team will go into the A.L., one into the N.L.;

– The Yankees won’t be changing leagues – and neither will the Red Sox;

– St. Louis and the Cubs will stay tied to the hip, as will the Dodgers and Giants. But everyone else is probably fodder for change.

• By the way, if there is going to be two expansion teams, its seems obvious one will be in the West, the other … well, most are looking to the South. That just seems silly. Other than there is enough money in North Carolina and Tennessee for something dumb to happen.

Why is another southern-based team a bad idea? Any list of the three or four shakiest franchises in baseball has to include Miami and Tampa, even though both have won in the past and the Rays were just sold. Still, neither area supports baseball well. And, after an expansion bump, the new franchise in Nashville or Raleigh or Charlotte or wherever, will fade into irrelevance as well.

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WSU: Around the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, who is going to win the national title? It won’t be Washington State. Nor will it be, more than likely, anyone from west of the Rockies. The Athletic staff believes it will be Texas. I’m leaning toward Alabama. It has been seemingly forever since its last one. … Or will it be a Big Ten team again? How about Clemson or someone else from the ACC? … Jon Wilner has his Big Ten quarterback ratings in the Mercury News today. … John Canzano has his usual Monday mailbag. … Oregon State is finished with preseason camp. … What may Washington’s depth chart look like? … Oregon is expecting some big things from a now-healthy linebacker. He may be one of the Ducks pivotal players. … Colorado has battles going on for starting offensive spots. … Stanford and California are in the ACC. Both named their starting quarterbacks, with the Bears going with a true freshman. … There is more NIL money available at Utah this season. Maybe newly named No. 2 quarterback Isaac Wilson will get some of it. … Both USC and UCLA had players waiting on a court ruling to see if they could play this season. The duo, who were trying to get a JC year back like others have done, were turned down. … Arizona State is trying to improve its pass rush. And overcome history. … Down the road, Arizona is trying to improve its cornerback play. … The Mountain West schools will have to release an injury report this season. … A now-healthy Boise State running back would have been on it often the past couple years. … Utah State has a safety that won’t be playing for a while though he’s not injured. … Fresno State kicks off its season Saturday at Kansas. … We can pass along a mailbag covering Colorado State football. … In basketball news, Colorado State’s women have released their nonconference schedule.

EWU and Idaho: We’ve been writing off and on about how the FCS level has begun to morph into Triple-A for the FBS schools. Though that isn’t all that accurate. Maybe Double-A would be better, with the non-Power 4 schools making up the highest division of the minor leagues. However you want to label it, though, the change is clear. It’s a new world for schools in the Big Sky. Dan Thompson delves into those transfer-portal and NIL-fueled changes in today’s S-R. … Elsewhere in the (current and future) Big Sky, how will Montana’s cornerbacks going to fare this season? … Both the Griz and Montana State will be playing games in Las Vegas in the future. … The Bobcats’ linebackers are prepped for the season. … Speaking of games, Portland State’s battle with Tarleton State on Saturday is the school’s earliest ever. … Why is Sacramento State thinking about building an off-campus football stadium? One reason is it will open space on campus for other buildings.

Preps: One of the first national high school competitions happened in cross country years ago. In 1979, in fact. Now there are more than one, with Nike sponsoring its own national race starting in 2004. The company holds regionals to determine the national competitors and one of those is coming to Spokane this fall and in 2026. The latter will be held at a new facility under construction in the Valley. Emily White has an update on the work and the events it will host.

Indians: In the past month Spokane has slid out of Northwest League contention, in large part due to the ascension through the Rockies’ system of many of the Indians’ stars. Dave Nichols’ weekly notebook delves into that and more.

Seahawks: We linked a couple stories on the Times’ website yesterday. If you couldn’t read them, you are in luck as both, one on the battle for the right guard spot and another predicting the Hawks’ 53-man roster, are on the S-R site today. … One of the reserve receivers seems to be growing in confidence.

Mariners: There is good news, even after last night’s 12-7 loss to the Phillies. Bryce Miller is ready to go. … Hey, Victor Robles apologized for throwing his bat at a pitcher who has plunked him three times since last season.

Storm: We also linked Matt Calkins’ column on Sue Bird’s statue. It is also available on the S-R site today. … The Storm traded a player two weeks ago. They brought her back Monday.

Reign: Seattle should have picked up three points yesterday. Instead the Reign had to settle for a sloppy tie with Chicago.

Tennis: The men’s final in Cincinnati yesterday was all about the two best players in the world. Until, suddenly, it wasn’t. Jannik Sinner (the top-ranked player in the world) was sick and, after losing the first five games to Carlos Alcaraz (No. 2), he retired. On the women’s side, Iga Świątek swept Jasmine Paolini, but at least both players were healthy.

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• No tacos for us on this Tuesday. But a reunion is in the office, which makes us happy. And the dinner to celebrate probably will do the same – as long as I don’t indulge in my usual tendency of over-eating. That is one reason why I shied away from a taco place. Until later …