A group of Royals trumps one King
A GRIP ON SPORTS • Not much happened last night, other than an inept Mariners’ offensive showing. And what’s new about that? Read on.
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• Wasn’t the ascension of Edgar Martinez to hitting coach supposed to change all that? Weren’t the M’s immediately going to become the 1995 squad all over again and begin whacking doubles all over Safeco Field? How’s that working out for you? Veteran Joe Blanton, he of the slow curve and the pinpoint control, made the M’s look a bit silly last night, teaming with the overpowering Royals bullpen to limit Seattle to two hits. That one of them was a Robinson Cano home run opens the door to a little hope, but that’s easily slammed shut by another mediocre Felix Hernandez outing. The King didn’t look regal against the Royals – boy, that phrase worked nicely – as they put four runs on the board using their speed and timely hitting. Such is the way of the M’s this season. The two first games of the Astros’ series gave us a glimmer of what could be. The last two games have ground it into dust. There is still more than three months of games left, however, so the chance for redemption still exists. Even as it fades away each day.
• The U.S. Women would like to redeem themselves after a few empty World Cups. But unless their offense gets into a higher gear, the final three games of this year’s Cup – if they get to play that many – will be a grind. Last night’s round of 16 matchup with Colombia was just such a match, with a scoreless tie at halftime broken only after the Colombians were down a player – the goalkeeper was given a red card, necessitating the appearance of the backup. The 2-0 win was nothing if not business-like, though that’s not usually good enough to win the championship.
• Finally, Pete Rose is a liar. And a fraud. And a gambler. A bad gambler. He lost again yesterday when ESPN published a notebook containing information on bets he placed while playing for the Reds. See, a few years ago Rose “came clean” in an attempt to win back favor with baseball. He bet, sure, he said, but not against the Reds and only when he was the manager of the team. The unspoken part of the statement was he couldn’t have affected games to make sure he won his bets. But even as he was making the statement, he must have known the notebook ESPN uncovered yesterday existed. He was gambling it would never see the light of day. Once again he bet on a loser. And probably sealed his fate, if it weren’t sealed already. He’ll never find his way to the Hall of Fame, a place his play insists he should occupy. But breaking baseball’s most hallowed rule has made him a pariah. And it always will.
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• WSU: Washington quarterback Cyler Miles has retired from football, citing a bad hip that will keep him from playing. ... The run/pass ratios of Pac-12 teams from last season reveal some interesting tidbits. ... Finally, my favorite story of the day comes from UCLA, where a helicopter dad (who probably really owns a helicopter) dropped the hammer on a Bruin coach. And may pay the price.
• Indians: Spokane opened the season with a five-game home series against the Hillsboro Hops. Thanks to last night’s 8-3 victory, they came out ahead, 3-2. Chris Derrick has the game story and a blog post on the series-clinching win.
• Golf: Before we leave the U.S. Open behind for good, Dave Boling has some thoughts on Jordan Spieth while the New York Times rightfully eviscerates the Fox coverage. And we can pass along one important opinion about Chambers Bay.
• Preps: A handful of local players earned all-state honors in baseball.
• Seahawks: Want to watch the Hawks practice during training camp? You better have a computer handy Thursday.
• Mariners: Though Martinez may be getting more comfortable as the hitting coach, his mentoring hasn’t seemed to taken effect yet. And that makes sense since it’s only been a couple days. Still, the M’s offense was putrid last night in the 4-1 loss. ... Nelson Cruz, who is getting closer in the all-star balloting, was in the lineup last night but left with an injury midway through.
• Sounders: It’s rivalry week in the MLS, though the Sounders will play their game without the designated players. And they haven’t done well without them in the past.
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• The cat is clawing at me, hungry as always, so I’ll end this here. Remember, the heat will be on this weekend so begin to hydrate now. Please. Until later ...
