A Grip on Sports: Not all decisions are good ones, as the M’s season and horse racing decline show – though the PGA made an exceptional one
A GRIP ON SPORTS • Where were we? Oh, yes. Thinking about the Mariners’ season. A major horse race that was anything but. And a major golf tournament that is, despite being played on a postage stamp.
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• Nostalgia comes in many forms. It can range back decades, back to childhood, when getting ready for sixth grade included, for many of my generation, opening up the morning paper and digesting the baseball standings along with the Capt. Crunch. Or it can range back just a few months, when looking up the game’s standings on Google last September, brought a smile to our face.
Maybe there’s a chance nostalgia will reappear later this season concerning the American League standings on this May 17th, but Mariner fans hope not.
Today their team sits at 22-25, two games back in the A.L. West behind the surprising Oakl, er, Las V, er, Sacramento – at last that’s where they are playing their home games again – A’s.
If you add up the M’s record, you’ll notice one thing. They are more than a-quarter of the way through the season. And are, as the Friends’ theme still blares on TBS, stuck in second gear. We know it’s not their day, week, month but will it be their year? As it seemed just a few weeks ago.
The big storylines isn’t a home run chase or dominant starting pitching or even Julio Rodriguez’s better-than-usual start. They are: Injuries, including the biggest blow, to Cal Raleigh; bullpen issues, which are somewhat related to the previous one; and Dan Wilson’s odd in-game decisions, which also might have some slight correlation to the injuries.
The biggest question, though, is simple. If the injuries were not so prevalent, would the Mariners already be asserting their dominance in the West?
Looking at Raleigh’s slash line (.161/.243/.317) probably not. The MVP runner-up from last season, with his A.L.-leading 60 home runs and 125 RBIs, is such an important part of the offense, there is little doubt the struggles would continue, albeit to a lesser degree.
And, being that the A.L. is the lesser league this season, our worry quotient would be lower.
Then again, it might be the same. Just focused more on Wilson’s deficiencies. And the manager, in his second full season, has them – though it’s hard to tell whether they are rooted in his decision-making process or that of the front office.
To wit, his penchant for going to his bench early in games, replacing right-handed hitters with lefties and vice-versa, may not be his first choice. But it could be Jerry Dipoto’s, as handed down through the bible the guys upstairs produce every day.
Either way, they have come under fire from a variety of spots – including here. Heck, there was even a story in the Seattle Times recently.
Add it all up and it comes out to .468. And that winning percentage is not good enough.
• Speaking of nostalgia, one of my favorite shows as a kid was the James Bond-ripoff, “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” David Mccallum as Ilya Kuryakin, some old guy with a British accent as Mr. Waverly and, most importantly, Robert Vaughn as Napoleon Solo.
Why does that come up? Well, when the show was airing on NBC in the mid-1960s, horse racing was still a big deal in the U.S. When Napoleon Solo roared down the Laurel backstretch to win the 2026 Preakness on NBC yesterday, not so much.
The past 60 years haven’t been kind to the sport. From declining thoroughbred foal rates, ubiquitous gambling encroaching on what was once the sole legal turf of the tracks, criticism over injuries and deaths. That and more have caused the sport to disappear from the national consciousness. Saturday’s race at a broken down track, with Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo resting at home, might have been the tipping point.
Once again the sport needs major changes. Is there a will to move the Triple Crown race dates, inject more rest and move the Derby, Preakness and Belmont, always the sport’s top attractions, back up the sports ladder a bit?
If it doesn’t happen in 2027, it may not. The Belmont track renovations will be finished. Same with Pimlico, which usually hosts the Preakness.
It’s time to move the Preakness to Memorial Day or, at least, the first weekend in June. And hold the Belmont on July 4. If it doesn’t happen now, then it may never happen.
• The Aronimink Golf Club outside of Philadelphia is showing us something this weekend. An old-school course can still hold off the best in the world, even as technology has seemingly moved them into nostalgia status.
Aronimink is not all that long. By modern standards. It doesn’t have a lot of water, an over-abundance of traps or 10-inch high rough. What it does have is large, undulating, hard-to-read greens. And enough challenges to keep the PGA Championship scores down and keep a large number of golfers in the hunt.
Today’s final round, with Alex Smalley starting atop the leaderboard, promises to hold excitement of an unknown winner – unlikely – or a charge from one of the major names just behind. Either way, it should be fun.
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WSU: It’s been a decade-and-a-half since we lived in Pullman, covering the Cougars. And that long since the Washington State baseball team has appeared in the postseason. As Greg Woods tells us, the Cougs are back, albeit in a different manner. Their second-place finish in the Mountain West allowed them to qualify for the MWC winner-take-the-conference’s-lone-NCA-bid tournament, along with regular season winner San Diego State, Air Force, Nevada, New Mexico and UNLV. The tourney will be held in Mesa, Arizona, this weekend. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, Jon Wilner’s column in the S-R covers the conference’s most recent financial statements. And covers how much money was thrown away on George Kliavkoff and Larry Scott, the two commissioners who led it into a two-year oblivion. … That same subject is covered by John Canzano. … Wilner also has a mailbag in the Mercury News and passes along the weekly football recruiting roundup. … Speaking of recruiting, it hasn’t stopped for Washington as the Huskies are more than willing to use freshmen. … A Utah safety is healthy and hopes to stand out in the fall. … In basketball news, former Gonzaga guard Claire O’Connor hopes to get on the court for the Colorado women this season. She was injured all of the last one. … There is an opening on the Boise State men’s staff. … Arizona has added a former Idaho State player to its roster. … In the NCAA softball regionals, UCLA, after a huge comeback early in the regional, Stanford, Arizona and Arizona State are still alive. Washington and Oregon aren’t, in the Ducks case even though they were playing at home.
Gonzaga: Early last week it looked as if the Zags’ portal shopping was done and the roster set. Then long-time European commit Jack Kayil showed once again how silly that term is. He won’t be setting foot in Spokane. Theo Lawson is committed to giving us all the best Zag coverage, which today includes delving into how Mark Few and his staff will try to fill the hole Kayil’s decision blasted in the roster. … Theo also has a story telling us where former GU walk-on Cade Orness has decided to continue playing.
EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, Southern Utah has hired an alum as its new athletic director. … Idaho State’s NCAA softball experience once again was short lived. … Northern Colorado hopes to be able to use its newly lighted football field to raise money for the athletic department. … Northern Arizona’s men added three freshmen to its basketball roster.
Whitworth: The Pirates are within two wins of moving on the NCAA Division III baseball regionals. However, they have to come back-to-back today. And the feat has to be accomplished against ninth-ranked Endicott College. At least Endicott is not the host team.
CCS: As the track season winds down, John Blanchette has a story on high jumper Napela Naihe, who deals about wheels besides jumping to new heights.
Preps: Saturday’s action focused mainly on baseball, as Dave Nichols covered the 1A District 6 finals won by Colville and the 4A one, won by Gonzaga Prep, which upset No. 1 seed Richland. … Friday, Dave put together this roundup, led by the District 6 3A fastpitch championship, won by Mt. Spokane.
Indians: Dave also has coverage of Spokane’s 5-2 win at Hillsboro on Saturday night. That win snapped a losing streak that reached three games Friday in a 5-4 loss.
Zephyr: When does winning also include losing? When early season troubles derail any chance to make the postseason. That happened to Spokane on Saturday despite the Zephyr’s 4-0 home win over Brooklyn FC. Later in the evening, Dallas Trinity FC also won 4-0 and edged Spokane from the USL Super League playoffs. John Allison has more in this story.
Mariners: Maybe Wilson is feeling the heat of the M’s slow start. He blew up yesterday in the fourth inning and was ejected arguing a no-swing call. It preceded Logan Gilbert giving up a three-run home run that basically sunk the M’s in a 7-4 loss to the Padres. … Raleigh talked about his injury the other day. … Brennen Davis, a former can’t-miss prospect who has, is trying to get back to the bigs with Seattle. … Kade Anderson isn’t perfect.
Storm: Just what type of team will Seattle have this season?
Reign: Seattle’s scoring drought continued in a 2-0 loss to Gotham FC. It is at five matches. … Could the Women’s World Cup come to Seattle in 2031? Why not?
Sounders: A 2-0 loss at Lumen Field to the Galaxy snapped Seattle’s long unbeaten streak in home matches.
Seahawks: It doesn’t look as if the Hawks will enter the season as the Super Bowl favorite. … Rashaad Penny is out of the NFL. And on to another chapter. He’s become a high school head coach.
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• I was disappointed yesterday. Recorded the PGA coverage in hopes I would come home in the evening and watch Scottie Scheffler use Moving Day to make a big move. Nope. Maybe today’s recording will reveal a Grand Slam contender. Until later …