A Grip on Sports: Small ball, small players and small complaints are a great way to start a Monday

A GRIP ON SPORTS • We used to have a hot tub on our back deck. No longer. We got in it one night and ended up in 1986. Talk about scary. We turned on the TV, watched a baseball game for a few minutes and were forced to view a sacrifice bunt. The horror. When we returned to 2010, we destroyed the hot tub, hoping to never duplicate the experience. And we hadn’t. Until yesterday.  

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• Believe it or not, we didn’t do any more time travel. We observed two sacrifice bunts on a Sunday in 2024. Two. And both actually played a part in a win. What the heck?

Maybe this is what Mariner management was looking for when it decided to install Dan Wilson as manager. Old-time baseball. Throwback uniforms replaced by throwback strategy. Leo Rivas, star of the show.

It was the diminutive shortstop who won Wilson’s first game Friday, delivering a choked-up, two-out single to center in the 10th inning. And it was the rookie fill-in’s fifth-inning sac bunt that allowed the M’s to draw even with the Giants yesterday, en route to a 4-3, series-deciding win. Yes, Rivas, all of 5-foot-8 and 150 pounds, actually squared around and bunted a pitch. Moved Josh Rojas up 90 feet. Led to the M’s second run.

Can someone tell us why Wilson would think it is a good thing to take the bat from Rivas’ hands? To forfeit an out for a measly 90 feet? To not allow the best hitter in your lineup, by average, to swing the bat?

And what the heck, risking giving away other outs by having your players steal five times? Wait, did you say Robbie Ray, Mr. Roboto when throwing to the plate, was the Giants’ starter? OK, we get the running part. But it continued on even after Ray, surprise, left the game with a hamstring twinge.

We jest, of course. With all of it. Except the hot tub.

The new Mariners. Winners of two out of three against San Francisco. Aggressive on the mound, at the plate and on the bases. Still 4½ games back in the American League West, sure, but not waiting for the game to come to them. Trying to go grab it. Not sure it will make a difference but, you know, new is good.

• The other sacrifice bunt? In a much-more expected spot. Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Little League World Series.

No outs, top of the eighth, championship game tied at one. Taiwan in the field, the Florida team at the plate. Automatic runner on second. The No. 12 – yea, 12 – hitter in the Florida lineup, Hunter Alexander, squares. Puts a perfect sacrifice down the first-base line. Both pitcher and first baseman go for it, with Taiwan’s pitcher reaching it first. Turns and lobs the ball toward first. An empty base. The second baseman had moved to cover second. The ball trickles into right field. Lathan Norton scores. Bedlam. Tears. Joy. All because a ball traveled 15 feet and forced a play.

The best part of the finish? How the Lake Mary kids immediately recognized the sadness in their counterparts from Taiwan. And moved, almost en masse, to comfort them. To help them deal with the pain of losing in such an agonizing manner. Sportsmanship at its finest.

• One more thought for this late-August Monday. One of our favorite parts of summer has left us. The sun.

Oh, no, that big old gas ball is still out there. Warming the air, warming our dogs, warming everyone it touches. But it doesn’t greet us in the morning anymore.

Our office window faces north. A little northeast actually. And in the height of late-spring and early summer, the sun rises over the trees within our view. Throws sunlight into our room. Heats it up. Gives us a warm glow as we pound out this column every morning.

It is, quite frankly, the best part of our morning for a couple months.

But we have passed a threshold. No more sunsets after 8 p.m. No more sunrises before 6 a.m. And no more views of the red orb as we search for stories about Washington State football, Gonzaga tickets or Seahawk quarterbacks.

It’s gone. And it’s not coming back until next April.

We’ll miss all of it. For the 1,484,339th time, we regret destroying that darn hot tub. A quick trip back to April 25th would have been great this morning.

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WSU: We’re pretty sure Jon Wilner won’t be doing a weekly Pac-12 power ranking this football season. He’ll stick to this one: A weekly Best in the West ranking. He has his first of the year today in the S-R. Oregon is No. 1. Washington State? The Cougars are No. 8. Which, we guess, makes them the top ranked team in the Pac-12, what with Wilner slotting Oregon State at 11th. … We probably could have linked these stories about Giants reliever Ryan Walker in the Mariners’ section but being as he’s a Cougar, we do it here. … The Times has a story on receiver Kyle Williams. … Elsewhere in the (new and old) Pac-12, the Mountain West and the nation, John Canzano took a look back at the Week Zero games. … Oregon State begins its season this weekend by hosting Idaho State. The Beavers are huge favorites. … With opening weekend looming, the Oregonian’s numbers stories are almost finished. We pass along No. 6 for Oregon State and two for the Oregon Ducks. … We linked thoughts about Washington’s offensive depth chart recently. Now we can give you the defensive ones, courtesy of the Times. … Oregon’s roster is unique in some ways as it enters the Big Ten. … The Colorado offensive line actually features a Roc in the middle. … The travel for USC and UCLA (and other former Pac-12 schools) will be taxing. It calls for special measures to keep the athletes healthy. … Adding a little scrap to the defensive backfield has been a good thing for Arizona State. … Arizona, ranked in the preseason top 25, are big favorites over New Mexico. … In the Mountain West, the Lobos are coming off an inexplicable loss at home to Montana State. … No one expects a lot from Utah State this season, considering all the turmoil. … Want to watch Boise State’s opener? Here is how. … Hawaii’s special teams were special in its opener. … San Diego State picked its captains. … Don’t forget, the next great USC quarterback played at UNLV last season.

EWU: A football schedule isn’t as complicated as, say, the quadratic equation. But it’s close. Especially these days. Dan Thompson takes us all for a peek behind the curtain at Eastern, talking with athletic director Tim Collins about the formula the school uses to put it together. This season, there are more home games, which is a good thing. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, a late rally lifted Montana State to a win its opener, but the Bobcats question why it was necessary.

Indians: Spokane held a late lead. Had a chance to win its series at Hillsboro outright. Instead, the Hops scored late and earned a split in the six games. Dave Nichols has more in this story. … Elsewhere in the Northwest League, Vancouver moved into a tie for the second-half lead with a 6-1 win over visiting Everett. … Host Tri-City topped Eugene once more, earning a 3-1 victory.

Mariners: We had fun with the sacrifice bunt today but we don’t want to gloss over Bryan Woo’s outing. The righthander once again went seven innings. Gave up just one earned run and gave the M’s the opportunity to win. Again. … Man, we’re more than tired hearing (or reading) about 1995. The darn comeback year has become something of a curse wrapped around Mariner fans’ necks. And the team’s too, maybe. But it’s that magic Wilson (and hitting coach Edgar Martinez) hopes to duplicate in the season’s final month. … The Rays are coming to Seattle. Randy Arozarena is ready for his first series against his old team.

Seahawks: The Hawks seem more forward-looking. New coach, new era. Will we be longing for the guy in the white shoes on the sidelines in a couple months? … John Schneider has made another move, trading with the Jaguars for a linebacker. … The roster cutdowns are coming. How will the guys on the bubble, including a free agent defensive lineman, fare this week? … Geno Smith is still considered a middle-of-the-pack quarterback.

Reign: First, Seattle retired Megan Rapinoe’s jersey. Then the Reign went out an honored her career in the best way possible. They found a way to win.

Storm: For Seattle to make a playoff run, it has to shoot better from beyond the arc. Some games have been just abysmal.

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• We actually wish we still had a hot tub. Not because of some fantasy about time travel but because we could use the darn thing to get our back muscles (and other ones) moving when needed. We’re certain a quick dip before sitting down to write would improve the quality of this feature at least 17.3%. Think we could deduct the cost as a business expense? Until later …