A Grip on Sports: Baseball’s season is long and full of losses, some that you can blame on the players, others the manager must own and some where the responsibility is split
A GRIP ON SPORTS • The plan was simple. Not work today. Go on a hike. Revel in the revelations the outdoors provides. On Independence Day. The plan changed. Give an assist to Alaska Airlines. And a managerial decision.
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• Actually a couple of managerial decisions.
The first one came from the mind of the Mariners’ Dan Wilson. In his 121st game running the team. It was a ninth-inning decision I first-guessed before Cole Young faced his first pitch from the Royals’ Carlos Estevez.
If you were watching, I’m guessing you didn’t give the Mariners much of a chance as they entered the ninth trailing 3-1, with the bottom third of the lineup due up against one of the American League’s best closers.
But Dom Canzone led off with a solo home run. And pinch-hitter Miles Mastrobuoni singled. Suddenly the inning looked promising, with the left-hand-hitting Young, hitless on the night, coming to the plate.
The next three hitters? J.P. Crawford, Julio Rodriguez and the American League’s Player of the Month for June, Cal Raleigh.
Now, I am well aware the sacrifice bunt has lost its luster in this era. Fine. But like the hook shot and fullback dive, there still is a time for a throwback play in professional sports.
The best time? When your No. 9 hitter is at the plate, a second baseman lauded for his bat control while in the minors, and the tying run at first. With no one out.
Time for an old-school call? Certainly. Move Mastrobuoni into a position to score with one hit, not two. You’re at home. Play for a tie, especially – and this cannot be emphasized enough – with a guy at the plate who should be good at it and is not much of a threat to keep the line moving, as the guys in the TV booth kept saying.
It seemed obvious. To everyone except Wilson, who calls for a sacrifice about 1.8% of the time it’s available, a top 1/3 rate among MLB managers.
Young looked overmatched. Struck out. For those who say you never want to give up an out, it happened anyway. And Mastrobuoni stayed at first. Only advanced as far as second when Crawford flared a single down the left-field line. I know, there is no assurance Crawford singles if Mastrobuoni had been moved along.
But, with the trajectory of the ball and the speed of the runner, I can assure you the game would have been tied if Mastrobuoni had been moved along and the same hit happened. And the Royals would have entered extra innings without their closer.
Then again, a wild pitch moved both runners up with Rodriguez at the plate. A fly ball would have tied the game too. With the infield in, a hard-hit ground ball in the right spot might have won it.
Rodriguez struck out looking. Raleigh grounded out weakly. The M’s lost 3-2. They are 45-42 and seven games behind the Astros.
• The other managerial decision that needs to be examined? That comes courtesy of Washington State athletic director Anne McCoy.
McCoy finally spoke with the media Thursday, her first conference call since excising part of the track and – now gone – field program.
Turns out, according to the second-year AD, axing the field events and cutting back on sprinters wasn’t about saving money. It was more about, “competitive success and the ability to provide a high-level experience.”
Not sure how that’s the case, but we’ll take her word on it. Though something she said later makes more sense.
“As we looked at the landscape going forward,” she said, “it looked like we were spreading ourselves too thin.”
Substitute “financial demands” for “landscape going forward” and you have Washington State’s future in one sentence. The school and department are strapped. Cuts are being made. More will follow. Money may not have been the target but it certainly is a collateral focus. It has to be. There are fewer dollars available and more demands on each one.
“This was about the ability to be successful moving forward,” she said, before added another telling admission, “and quite frankly not being able to continue being all things to as many student-athletes in our department.”
Welcome to the post-House world in Pullman.
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WSU: John Blanchette was part of McCoy’s media call and covers the track and field aspect of it. All of the quotes I used above came from his story. … Greg Woods focuses on an overview of what McCoy had to say. … Greg also has a more day-to-day story, at least if you believe, as I do, recruiting never stops. The Cougar men’s basketball team added a veteran player, a guard from Spain. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, there’s a decent amount for a holiday. Let’s start with Jon Wilner’s mailbag in the Mercury News. And also pass along the weekly football recruiting notebook he shares. … Speaking of football recruiting, Oregon is on a roll and Utah State is using its Pac-12 membership wisely. … You know that new agreement the ACC came up with that ended the Clemson and Florida State litigation? It allows any school to leave at any time for a super league. Huh. … Maybe the Pac-12 will qualify as a super league. It’s super to us anyway. And it is still trying to become more super according to John Canzano. … Who might it also target? … Christian Caple looks at the marketing of quarterbacks these days. … Kyle Whittingham looked at a lot of things in a recent interview. … Utah State’s AD is as excited as anyone about her school’s future. … In basketball news, Ali Farokhmanesh is running the Colorado State summer workouts for the first time as a head coach. … Alex Jensen is confident he has Utah’s men on the right track. … Arizona has participated in the last-gasp of mega-NIL deals – maybe – as much as many schools.
Gonzaga: Greg Lee would have one heck of an essay to write if he were still in school. “How I Spent My Summer Vacation” would include a series of stories about the GU women’s basketball program. And, we’re guessing, more than a few birdies at local golf courses. Anyhow, the former gets underway today with an overview of what the program faces. … The Zags’ NBA summer league contingent is usually pretty robust. Last summer, Anton Watson and Killian Tille teamed up on the Boston squad. Theo Lawson tells us this year Dallas will feature a pair of alums, Ryan Nembhard and Nolan Hickman.
EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, why did Montana opt into the House settlement, even though it did not have to? … Montana State has another player ready to join its football hall of fame.
Indians: Though we couldn’t find the story of Spokane’s 1-0 victory in Pasco on the S-R sports website, we can send you to this e-edition post. The Indians return to Avista to face Tri-City tonight and we guess the game will be followed by fireworks.
Mariners: We linked Tim Booth’s game story above. And do it again here. … The trade deadline can not be the be-all and end-all for the M’s. More, much more, is needed. … Harry Ford is someone most MLB decision makers think will be traded before the deadline. … Before the deadline comes the MLB draft. Seattle has the third pick. … Pete Rose. Shoeless Joe. Luis Ortiz? MLB has suspended the Cleveland pitcher as it investigates a couple of odd pitches. It’s a modern-day gambling scandal.
Kraken: Another local WHL player is on the Kraken’s radar. Local to Seattle.
Storm: A sick Skylar Diggins still had enough in the tank to lift Seattle to an improbable win yesterday. … The WNBA has a lot of problems even in the midst of its most-successful season. There is another troublesome lawsuit. There are new CBA negotiations that are not going well. And, as always, there are money issues.
Sounders: Why does new coach Mauricio Pochettino need his U.S. men to win the Gold Cup? Ted Lasso can tell you.
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• I am a creature of habit. As is Donut. After he habitually woke me at 5, even though, thanks to Kim’s late flight we didn’t hit the sack until around 2, my habit of getting out of bed and pounding a keyboard kicked in. There was no going back. So here it is. Sorry. Or congrats, whichever fits. Until later …