A Grip on Sports: The Mariners make a needed move that harkens back to past ones that seemed only about changing a narrative

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Give this to the Mariners’ brain trust. Their playbook for 2026 is consistent with the one the organization followed for most of the first two decades of this century. With one huge caveat.

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• Colt Emerson, who was given an eight-year, $95-million contract extension – what, the Mariners spent a bunch of money? – in April, was promoted to the big club Sunday. And, indirectly, asked to save their season. Or, more likely, asked to distract the fans and media from the rest of the offseason failures.

The latter would be more in line with what Seattle did in the stretch between winning American League West titles. For 20-plus years the franchise rolled around in mediocrity and smelled like it. But there was always something shiny – Felix, Robinson Cano’s contract, Jarred Kelenic’s addition – made not, it seemed, to build a winner but to jingle in front of the fanbase, like a set of colorful Fisher-Price keys in front of a baby.

Ooooh, would you look at that?

Not too long ago it seemed as if the M’s had turned a corner. Not just last season but for the last five or so. Jerry Dipoto took his time, built an actual contender from the bottom up, including one of the biggest bottoms in baseball, the power-producer possessed by Cal Raleigh.

The plan produced a breakthrough season. The 2025 American League West title, the first since 2001. A postseason series win. That it ended a few outs short of the World Series was greeted, in some quarters, with less disappointment than anticipation. The prevailing thought? The future was bright.

Those of us with long enough memories – back to the 116-win season of 2001 – knew better. That 2001 team was one or two pieces away. An ace, a true ace, not the type the Mariners had, topped that list. But the hole was never filled. A slow, painful decline followed.

This offseason? The M’s needed one or two pieces to take the next step. A couple more bats. You know what happened. Brendan Donovan was a typical move, incremental improvement done on the cheap.

As the offseason ended in disappointment – again – Emerson was handed the keys to the vault. The narrative changed from what didn’t happen to what just did. And another narrative was guaranteed when the season began. When would Emerson join the big club?

But even that wasn’t enough to overcome the litany of bad news the awful start engendered. The M’s are 22-26 after being swept at home by the Padres. Raleigh is on the injured list for the first time. Donovan too, though not the first time. Heck, the entire bullpen seems to be there as well. The lineup’s holes are even more apparent.

Enter Sunday’s news. With Donovan again injured, Emerson is brought up from Triple-A. Thrown into the lineup. Made T-Mobile buzz – at least for a little while. And the Mariners lost once more.

The gap between 2001 and 2026 is an eternity. The Mariner franchise has been, to quote the second-greatest baseball-movie speech ever. “erased like a blackboard, rebuilt, and erased again.” But one thing has marked the time. Disappointment.

• You all know I love watching golf, right? Love watching major golf, with its pressure and precision, even more so. One aspect of that has been magnified in the game’s recent history. And major golf has become the playground of the best of the game, heroes and villains alike. The truism has elevated the sport, even as a J.J. Spaun could still emerge from a crowd and win a U.S. Open.

This weekend the PGA played its championship on a tough little course near Philly. Made it tougher with a U.S. Open-lite rough. Added to the test with U.S. Open-like pin placements. And identified a U.S. Open-type champion.

Aaron Rai, the first Englishman to win this title since the World War. No, not II. I. Since 1916. Before the world’s first flu pandemic, for goodness sakes.

For those of us who wanted to see Scottie Scheffler or Rory McIlroy or about eight other names actually win this thing, disappointment posted the lowest score. For those who cheer the underdog, who still love rags-to-riches stories, who think “if he can do it, anyone can” is true, then Sunday was their day.

They could live vicariously through a guy who spent 14 years climbing the pro golf ladder from England through developmental tours all over the world to the European Tour to, finally, the PGA.

And to what he earned Sunday. A Wannamaker Trophy and a PGA Championship.

OK, I’ll admit it. It’s a great story. Great TV? Not really. But to quote Fredo Corleone, “It’s not what I wanted.”

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WSU: Around the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, there is a reason why we try to never use the word “commit” as it relates to recruiting. What happened with Oregon and Miami on Sunday illustrates it. It is true, though, recruiting never stops. … It took a former USC football player a long time to get his degree but he did it. … In basketball news, the blue bloods and blue-bloods adjacent are recruiting differently these days. The mid-majors have too as well. … There are some rumblings connected to the Stanford women’s team. … In the NCAA softball regionals, UCLA and Arizona State moved on to the Super Regionals. Arizona lost twice to Duke and did not. … The Bruins have just one ace these days but the best power hitter in the game. … Colorado State will enter the Pac-12 as the defending Mountain West men’s track champions. … Oregon won the Big Ten title in both men’s and women’s. 

Gonzaga: Alek Jacob’s latest big league stint was a short one. The GU pitcher was in San Diego’s bullpen for the first two games of the series with the M’s. He was sent back to Triple-A on Sunday.

Whitworth: The Pirates won their first NCAA Division III baseball regional matchup against ninth-ranked Endicott College 19-8 on Sunday. But they needed to win twice to move on. The second game? The Gulls won 19-12 to eliminate Whitworth.

EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, the Montana State women won the conference’s outdoor track title. Northern Arizona won the men’s crown. … Idaho State’s NCAA softball experience ended with a whimper, not the bang the Bengals hoped.

Indians: Dave returns, as he does nearly every day, with his coverage of the latest Spokane Northwest League game. Sunday the Indians’ lost on the road at Hillsboro, falling 4-2.

Preps: The WIAA’s State playoffs will dominate the next couple weekends. Sunday a bunch of fields were seeded and announced, from baseball to softball to boys’ soccer. Dave Nichols has this roundup covering all of the decisions. … There are a few things high school sports can still supply. Joy. Controversy. Lessons.

Velocity: It’s been more than a year since Spokane has won a USL Cup match. The Velocity turned the trick Sunday, topping Las Vegas Lights FC 1-0 at ONE Spokane Stadium.

Mariners: “A tough day, tough series,” Dan Wilson told Ryan Divish and the media after the series sweep by the Padres, the second time San Diego has done that to the M’s this season. “We’re gonna have to turn the page quickly on this one.” You think? One thing about Wilson. He is consistent. … The Emerson bauble added a couple more stories but his debut didn’t include a hit. Then again, there was only one, a single from Luke Raley.

Storm: Caitlan Clark is one of the biggest stars of the WNBA. If not the biggest. And that’s not changing. Not when she continues to play at a level unseen in the league. The Storm couldn’t contain her, as Clark almost had a triple-double in the Fever’s 89-78 win in Indianapolis.

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• The greatest baseball-movie speech ever? One that actually was delivered in real life, though edited by the movie makers for dramatic effect. Lou Gehrig. Yankee Stadium. July 4, 1939. “People all say that I’ve had a bad break. But today – today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.” Until later …