A Grip on Sports: There is no way Cal Raleigh can carry the M’s to the postseason by himself, is there? It would be a Superman-like feat

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Sore doesn’t begin to describe it. Oh, no. Not my back and hip from playing golf yesterday. Well, that too. But we’re referring to Cal Raleigh. His back has to be aching. It’s hard to carry a team. Impossible, maybe.

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• There was one member of our four-man scramble team yesterday who would understand Raleigh’s fate. I felt for Bob Castle every time I came over the top of a drive and duck-hooked it into the woods. Another hole he would have to do all the heavy lifting.

But Bob’s load was light compared to Cal’s. At least the two Daves (Nichols and Trimmer) and I were able to get our requisite three drives in. The rest of the Mariners?

Let’s check the numbers in Adam Jude’s game story from Thursday’s 4-3 loss to the Orioles at T-Mobile. A loss that dropped the M’s home mark to 16-17. Their sixth loss on a nine-game homestand.

Since May 20, these are the relevant stats:

Raleigh: .345 batting average, nine home runs, .424 on-base, .862 slugging (1.286 OPS).

Rest of the lineup: .214 average, nine home runs, .277 on-base, .304 slugging (.581 OPS).

Sorry, but one guy, not Aaron Judge or Shohei Ohtani or Babe Ruth can carry a roster of guys just above the Mendoza Line into the promised land.

Especially when the pitching, expected to be among baseball’s best, is just OK.

Raleigh is trying. But he needs help. During April, he was getting it. Jude cites more stats that show the M’s have walked less since May 1, are no longer running as often and have struggled to score.

It’s why they are 14-17 since their 18-12 start. Even with Raleigh doing his best Yogi Berra impression.

• If you don’t want to watch the M’s on TV this weekend – they are in Anaheim for three games against the Angels – then at least you have a few choices.

NBA finals. NHL finals. An NCAA trophy handed out in Oklahoma City. College baseball determining its eight World Series participants. French Open champions. The last Triple Crown race. And, if you are desperate to avoid the beginning of a rare Spokane heat wave, there is golf from north of the border.

The NBA series doesn’t return until Sunday night (5, ABC), which is sort of sad considering we have to wait that long to watch the Pacers’ next incredible rally.

Hockey returns tonight (5, TNT), as Edmonton, which rallied itself in the first game, tries to thrill the home crowd again.

The hockey does run up against the NCAA softball title game (5, ESPN) from Oklahoma City. Texas Tech tries to win its first championship after leveling the best-of-three series with Texas Thursday night 4-3.

There is only a couple Super Regionals I have much interest in. The first is in Corvallis, with eighth-seeded Oregon State, representing the Pac-12’s future, hosting ninth-seed Florida State. Friday’s opener of the best-of-three weekend starts at 3 p.m. on ESPN. The other super that has my eye? UCLA, representing the Pac-12’s soon-to-be-seen-again past, hosting the University of Texas-San Antonio. That Super doesn’t begin until Saturday, with the opening game on ESPNU (4 p.m.). The Beavers and Seminoles return for their second matchup at 6 on ESPN2.

The French Open men’s finalists are being decided Friday morning, but the women’s final between world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and American Coco Gauff (in her first Slam final since 2023) will start at 6 a.m. Saturday on TNT.

The Belmont, being run outside of New York City for the second of three consecutive years, is on FOX, with post time scheduled for 4:04 p.m. Though there is no chance for a Triple Crown winner, the matchup between Kentucky Derby champ Sovereignty and Preakness champ Journalism seems to be a battle with roots in the Middle Ages. And, yes, horse racing reaches back that long. Even longer, actually. I’m sure two dukes raced their steeds to Runnymede.

Finally, if you are stuck, the Canadian Open will wrap up Sunday (noon, CBS), the last tuneup before next week’s U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania. Or there is always the M’s. They are on Root all three days, starting at 7 p.m. Friday, 7:30 Saturday and 1:30 Sunday.

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WSU: Before we get to the sports-related links, we thought we better send you to Mitchell Roland’s S-R story on the Board of Regents’ decision Thursday to cut $17.1 million from Washington State’s next budget. It is a 4.1% reduction and will hit employees hard. As for cuts in athletic support, we were unable to discern if there were any plans in that regard. We will pass along any news on that front. However, the athletic department wasn’t mentioned among the six units that would not face any cuts. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, Jon Wilner spoke with conference commissioner Teresa Gould about proposed CFP changes. Her response is part of his Mercury News column. … Washington is shooting for the stars. One, specifically. From San Diego. … Speaking of the Dawgs, remember when they and Miami used to be rivals? … Is UNLV still on the Pac-12’s expansion radar? … An Oregon receiver could miss the entire upcoming season. … Utah has nonconference games lined up from here to 2033. … UCLA’s incoming chancellor seems to have an interest in sports. That’s a change in Westwood. … Is there a bias against the Big 12 and Arizona State? … Fresno State feels it needs $6.5 million in NIL money to compete in the Pac-12. … In baseball news, Arizona is at North Carolina this weekend. The Wildcats seem to be on an upward trajectory. … In basketball news, Colorado’s men have some summer plans. … After a bunch of change, Arizona ends up in a familiar spot.

Gonzaga: Amélie Tristant was a rower at GU. That was then. Now? Tristant is a marathoner. A good one. Ethan Myers has her story. … Yes, Tyrese Haliburton had the game winning shot in Indiana’s 111-110 comeback win last night. But Andrew Nembhard was a key element in the Pacers’ fourth-quarter rally against Chet Holmgren’s Thunder. …The Zags are 21st in the latest CBS Top-25-And-1 ranking.

EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, Montana State seems bent on proving my theorem that recruiting never stops. … There are changes planned at Idaho State. … Northern Arizona’s Mike Smith caps off his tenure as track coach with two more awards. … One of the few remaining survivors of Cal Poly’s football plane crash in 1960 has died. 

Preps: We shared the story a while ago of Clara Adams’ disqualification at the California state track meet. It’s still got legs, as her celebration penalty has drawn John Canzano’s ire and that of others.

UFC: Julianna Peña will defend her UFC women’s bantamweight belt a second time Saturday, face off against two-time Olympic judo champion Kayla Harrison. Charlotte McKinley has this preview.

Indians: Spokane led by four runs when starter Michael Prosecky left after five innings. The final score: Hillsboro 8, Spokane 4. Dave Nichols has more in this story.

Mariners: We shared our thoughts about Raleigh and the M’s to lead off this column. The Times’ Mike Vorel has his thoughts too. … Could Seattle go with a six-man starting rotation when Logan Gilbert returns?

Sounders: Vancouver played in Mexico recently. The entire roster came down with something. Why is that important? The Whitecaps are supposed to play Seattle on Sunday. It may not happen.

Storm: Center Li Yueru is asking for a trade. She has her reasons.

Seahawks: We’ve seemed to link a lot of Sam Darnold stories from the Hawks’ OTAs this week. We have this one we linked earlier when it was in the Times. It is on the S-R site today. … There are other things from the OTAs to cover as well. One? Ernest Jones IV’s leadership prospects. … Doug Baldwin is a convert. He’s all in with therapy as an aide for players.

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• Not sure why I am so sore this morning. I don’t walk the course. I don’t swing hard anymore. I don’t crouch down to read putts as I used to. And I had someone else grab my ball out of the cup when it (rarely) went in. Maybe it was the sun. That’s not it either. I’m worn out helping my team not finish last. Yep. We weren’t very good but there were others even worse than us. That’s something. I guess. … By the way, there is a reason I compared Raleigh to Berra today. Check the date. And then check what Yogi was doing on this date in 1944. Until later …