The M’s are sinking in the West
A GRIP ON SPORTS
If you wondered when this M's follower's dream of winning the American League West passed away, wonder no longer. It occurred in the fourth inning last night, when Wilson Ramos drove a high changeup over the left-field wall, the fourth of four home runs Felix Hernandez would surrender. Read on.
• You might recall I went out on a limb earlier this month and proclaimed the M's would put it all together down the stretch and race past the Angels and the A's to a divisional crown. That proclamation looks awful silly right now. It was obvious many things could go wrong for the M's in the last two months of the season though one that didn't seem likely was Felix slowing down. But he has. His last three starts have been pedestrian, at best. Last night Felix wasn't even below average. His fastball topped out at about 91 miles per hour, though even that speed was reached only rarely. It usually was a mile an hour or so slower. His changeup, his out pitch all season, was its typical 88 miles per hour, but didn’t have the bite it's shown all season. And, with the fastball not in the 92-93 miles per hour range, the difference between the two pitches wasn't as noticeable as it's been. Then there was the problem of location. Felix wasn't putting the ball on the margins as he has been doing all season. He was either wild in the strike zone or wild out of it. Put all that together against a good hitting team like the Nationals and it's not going to be pretty. It wasn't. And the worst part of it is Felix hasn't been sharp for about two weeks. That's not good. He's the anchor, the guy who can open a series against a good team, shut them down and make them look bad. A slump-starter was the term that used to be used. All he did last night is rev up a Nationals offense that was recently dormant. Meanwhile, the Angels are rolling, doing the exact things I expected the M's to be doing. The A's are sinking and seem eminently beatable, if the Mariners can regain their footing. They better. The second wild card is still in play, though the Tigers are beginning to get back on track. The hope we had in so much abundance just a few weeks ago is flying away. Just like those home runs last night.
• By now you must have heard about the run-in Jesus Montero had a couple nights ago with a Mariner scout in Boise. The M's reacted quickly yesterday, with Montero called back to Seattle for a talking to and a stint in anger-management classes, his season over, while the scout was sent home to contemplate his mistakes. I'm sorry, but the reaction seems odd to me. No one seems to be arguing the facts here. The scout, Butch Baccala, was watching the game. He said something to Montero about his hustle while Montero was coaching first base. That's bad enough. But then he sent Montero an ice-cream sandwich in the dugout, basically trying to embarrass him by calling attention to how overweight Montero is. And folks are surprised and disappointed Montero got angry and went after the guy? Really? I'm sorry, but I'm in Montero's corner in this one. And I'm sure – positive – I would have reacted in a similar manner when I was his age. There's a guy in the stands who works for the same organization you do, is one of the higher-ups in the organization, heckling you and sending you a fat-joke in the dugout? And you're not supposed to get angry? It's too bad Montero wasn't able to shove the sandwich in the guy's face. He deserved it. It'd not like he was a typical fan, someone you ignore. This is someone with authority in the M's organization. Someone with the ability to make or break careers. Baccala shouldn't be calling a guy out in public, especially from the stands at a Class A game. I wonder how Dave Valle, the Everett manager, felt about it? You want to say something, go into the dugout, take Montero into the clubhouse and give him a piece of your mind. In private. And you certainly don't do the smart-ass, send-the-guy-ice-cream gesture unless you are trying to tick him off. Who is supposed to be the mentor here? Actually, I'm glad Montero stood up for himself. Should he have grabbed a bat as has been reported? No way. Could Montero have handled the situation better? Sure. He could have handled his entire career better. He is overweight and not in the best of shape. But he wasn't about to quietly take the crap Baccala sent his way. Good for him.
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• WSU: The day after a loss is always – always – reserved for mea culpas and retrospectives. Today is no different. Jacob Thorpe has his on the 41-38 loss to Rutgers as well as a blog post with links to Pac-12 football games. He also handed out grades after the game. ... Bud Withers has a day-after piece on the Times' website while Don Ruiz has a follow-up story for the News Tribune. ... It's Saturday so there is the mailbag on ESPN.com's Pac-12 blog. ... How the heck did USC's Josh Shaw fool so many people? He played off a trust built up over a long history.
• Gonzaga: The men's soccer team opened its season with a tough defeat against Washington.
• EWU: The Eagles are back at Roos Field this afternoon, hosting NAIA Montana Western. Jim Allen has an advance of the game and a quick fact-box.
• Idaho: The Vandals have the toughest challenge of any area team this weekend, traveling to Florida to face the Gators. John Blanchette has an advance.
• Indians: Sorry, my bad. I misread some stuff yesterday and prematurely ended the Indians' home regular season. They had one more game to go last night. And they took advantage, pounding Salem-Keizer 11-5. Chris Derrick has the game story and a blog post.
• Chiefs: Chris also an obituary of longtime local hockey player and trainer Carl Cirullo, who died yesterday. ... Spokane opened its preseason with a loss against Portland.
• Preps: High school football season began last night in Idaho, with the big game in Sandpoint. Post Falls traveled north and won a 42-39 shootout. Greg Lee was there and has this story. ... Lake City picked up a 39-37 win in Meridian over Rocky Mountain with a last-second field goal. ... Coeur d'Alene traveled to Idaho Falls and defeated Skyline, 26-13. ... We also can pass along a roundup of other opening-night games.
• Seahawks: The final cuts are coming and, contrary to the old song, it's the final cut which is the deepest. It looks as if Terrelle Pryor will be one of the Hawks' cuts as the quarterback's departure is being reported by many news outlets. The roster has to get down to 53 folks by the end of the day. ... Can the Hawks' repeat? Sure. Will they? That's a tougher question. No one has done it in years. And every season fans think their team is the one to break the curse. ... If the Hawks do repeat, Pete Carroll will be a big reason why.
• Mariners: Besides the 8-3 loss last night and the Montero fiasco, there is little to add with the M's. Wait. Michael Saunders is back with the club after a long illness. He's not ready to play, but he can sit in the dugout and watch.
• Sounders: CenturyLink will have more folks in it today for the Sounders game than gathered Thursday night to watch WSU vs. Rutgers. And the Sounders should make them quite a bit happier as they are facing rapidly sinking Colorado. ... Chad Barrett is happy to be having such a stellar season. ... Speaking of sinking, Real Salt Lake is coming off a tough loss and the team is not happy about it.
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• M's manager Lloyd McClendon is taking a rare in-season weekend off. He has a good excuse. His daughter is getting married. Pretty big deal. He gets a pass. Until later ...
