A Grip on Sports: Our Q&A today is something to sneeze at, rightfully so considering the awful questions
A GRIP ON SPORTS • There are questions out there. Floating around with the pollen that seems to be hitting everyone – and everything. At least with questions, a quick answer will get rid of them. This time of year it seems to take an entire pack of Zyrtec and a box of tissues to cleanse the pollen. Or maybe a firehose.
•••••••
• This is one of those days in which there are many subjects to cover, but none that rise to the level of devoting an hour or so to explain. Instead, it seems like a good day to open the phones and answer your questions. Or, at least, those of the fictional folks I imagine would call into such a old-man-shakes-his-fist-at-a-cloud-like column. Or podcast, if I had the energy to record one. Spent all of it cursing that darn cloud.
Q. When will Cal Raleigh get another hit? – Gil Hodges III.
A. That’s a tough one. Your grandpa’s famous World Series slump in 1952 survived the combined prayers of an entire borough. And still only lasted through 21 at-bats. Raleigh’s current hitless streak is approaching twice that.
In his last 40 times striding to the plate, the M’s MVP left the box without a hit. He hasn’t recorded one since April 26. Forget Hodges. That is, comparatively, a longer time between hits than Shawn Mendes.
Jay Buhner and Dave Valle spent much of Monday’s M’s broadcast talking about Raleigh’s slump. Dissecting it. Explaining strategies to combat it. But even that painful discussion was better than listening to whomever was speaking on the FS1 broadcast. Oh my goodness. Or better than watching Raleigh just miss another rope-able fastball.
Yes, he’s just missing. He is getting closer. So, to answer your question, let’s say, with the Astros starting righthander Tatsuya Imai and his 7.27 earned run average today, Raleigh snaps the streak. In the first inning. And drives in his 19th run. Jump starts his season. And he’s hitting .190 by the end of May.
Q: Are you ever going to tell the mud story you teased Monday? – Your favorite fan.
A: Yes.
Q: When? – No longer your favorite fan.
A: On a late spring or summer day when there is nothing else to write about. Next question.
Q: Who is the most powerful person in college sports? – C. Baker.
A: That’s an easy one. Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey.
If you love, hate or, like me, don’t really care about the NCAA’s recent basketball tournament expansion, then Sankey is the guy to blame. He was the driving force behind it.
And he, in his role as the leader of one of the two veto-holding CFP conferences, also holds the fate of football expansion in his hands as well.
What’s he thinking? He spoke Monday at an APSE regional convention and shared some of his thoughts on that subject. And others as well. Whenever Sankey speaks, it’s important to listen.
Q: Will Julio ever wear the flip flops he won off a Houston fan before Monday’s 3-1 win over the Trash Cans? – Dr. Scholl.
A: Hopefully, no. if you didn’t see the video, one of the Astros’ faithful was giving Julio a hard time, actually in a respectful manner, during batting practice. And Julio engaged with him. The bet? The fan challenged Julio to hit a Lexus sign. If Julio did, he could have the fan’s footwear. Julio took him up on it. Banged a long drive one off the sign. The fan paid up.
By the way, Julio gave the guy his flip flops back. He felt sorry for him. After all, he roots for the Astros.
Q: Is the NFL going to send the Bears to Seattle for the season opener? – M. Wilbon, North Scottsdale.
A: Yes. It will be the first of two trips Caleb Williams’ team will make to the Northwest. The other will come in the NFC title game. Chicago will come up empty both times.
Q: When Bryce Miller returns to the Mariners’ rotation, what should they do with the starters? Do they need another righthander? – Larry Bernandez.
A: The plan seems to be, in the short term, to use Luis Castillo and Miller at first, with the latter starting Wednesday in Houston and the former Thursday. Yes, that means a six-man rotation. Everyone gets a bit more rest. But that’s also not the long-term plan.
In today’s Times, Matt Calkins advocated for moving Castillo to the bullpen. Does the righthander even know where it is? Castillo has never relieved in his 10-year career. And may not want to. Neither would any of the other starters.
If the M’s trust the numbers – 3-0, 0.60 ERA, 47 strike outs and five walks in 30 innings – from Kade Anderson’s start in the minor leagues, he could be their injury insurance. Then they might be able to find a pitching-poor contender willing to trade for Castillo. Possibly even someone with a veteran shortstop with more range than the one in your kitchen. And can hit his weight.
If not, then they have to keep Castillo around as insurance. Or Emerson Hancock, who will start Friday in San Diego, has to be the odd-man out for a while. There aren’t many other choices. Though they should keep you in mind, Mr. Bernandez.
•••
WSU: Around the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, John Canzano’s Monday mailbag has quite a few Pac-12 nuggets. … Jon Wilner focused on the Big 12 football race in the Mercury News. … An arbitrator Monday threw a wrench in most colleges’ plans to add more NIL to their budget. Ruling in a case involving Nebraska and national multimedia company PlayFly Sports, the arbitrator ruled PlayFly is an associated entity with the school and, as such, has to get approval from the College Sports Commission for its deals. But other cases are still pending, including one in which the attorneys in the House case, which were behind the new rules, asking a Federal judge to exempt such national companies. … Not every Washington player was healthy enough to participate in spring football. … Not only does recruiting never stops for Oregon, it hardly even seems to slow down. … Craig Morton once starred at Cal. He also quarterbacked the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl. He died Saturday at age 83. … In basketball news, it looks as if Arizona’s men have attracted another big transfer. As in a big. … Finally, we have to report some sad news. Our beloved UC Irvine Anteaters lost to Hawaii in the Division I men’s volleyball final Monday. In four sets.
Gonzaga: Yes, we know the Zags are going to exit the West Coast Conference before next basketball season. But the news coming out of Moraga yesterday was so interesting we had to pass it along. The Gaels have attracted a four-star recruit. That hasn’t happened before.
Indians: It’s Tuesday, so Dave Nichols had the time yesterday to put together his weekly notebook. You know, no game.
Chiefs: Wait, there was also some off-the-ice news from the WHL club. Dave also covers the contract extension for head coach Brad Lauer and other changes among the coaching staff and front office.
Mariners: We linked the game story above. And here too. … The bullpen is going to be without another veteran for a while.
Seahawks: Why did Dante Fowler Jr. decide to sign with Seattle? All the connections he had with the team was a big reason.
Golf: The second of the sport’s four majors comes at us this weekend. It’s quite possible the PGA Championship will be the most exciting. Especially if the cream rises to the top for once.
•••
• It is supposed to rain in the Spokane area tomorrow. A 75% chance according to the weather app Apple makes me use. Which means the yard work has to be done today. Expect a bunch of grumbling tomorrow about the back and shoulders and knees and fingers. And, though unrelated, dumb questions why Raleigh does not catch every day. Until later …