A Grip on Sports: No matter how well the Mariners play, unless the offense gets a tune-up the postseason soundtrack could be a dirge

A GRIP ON SPORTS • The weatherman has made us a promise. The Seattle-like rain we’ve received on this Monday will blow through, literally, and be followed by sunny days and warm temperatures. We’ve heard that song before. And not sure we’ve ever believed the lyrics.

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• We need the sun. It has played hide and seek with our hearts almost all spring. It’s June and we want to begin thinking of summer. And summer games.

The Indians played early enough Sunday to beat the rain, though, maybe, after falling to visiting Everett 9-5, they wished they hadn’t. After all, the Velocity, Spokane’s local pro soccer franchise, had to deal with the showers and Chivas de Guadalajara U23 in an international friendly, and found a way to overcome both. The fans who sat through the rain at ONE Spokane Stadium at least witnessed the home squad earn a 2-1 decision.

Across the state, the flagship baseball franchise just closed the roof to its stadium and the weather had no consequence.

Luis Castillo’s fastball? Now that had value. Especially with the slumping Angels on the receiving end. Think the Mariners’ offense has struggled? OK, it has. But the current lineup Anaheim or Southern California or Los Angeles or whatever geographic entity owner Arte Moreno hopes to placate these days puts on the field is worse. Much worse.

And the pitching staff isn’t any better. No one ever accused Jerry Dipoto of not being able to read a schedule – a room, sure – and when the man who runs things in Seattle decided to make a coaching change, seeing the now 21-38 Angels on it probably put a smile on his face. He axed offensive coordinator Brant Brown just before the series. And the M’s scored 19 runs in sweeping the three games.

Whispers of cause and effect on social media? They would be smile-inducing as well. And inaccurate. At least unproven. Let’s see how it plays out this week when the M’s are challenged by … the A’s? No. The three-game set that starts Tuesday in Oakland (24-37) isn’t a true test either. The weekend’s trio of games in Kansas City (36-25) will be a fairer one.

Though if the Mariners (34-27) aren’t successful on this road trip, maybe it will be time for Dipoto to fire the traveling secretary. After all, Seattle is just 13-16 away from the cozy confines (and marine layer) of T-Mobile. Someone has to be blamed. And it can’t be the guy who put together the roster. Ever.

• The M’s will have 100 games left after Tuesday night’s contest is played in front of four or five hundred folks in the Bay Area. No matter what the outcome, they will lead the American League West – by as many as five games. And they are still obviously searching for something.

We know what it is. ChatGPT knows what is. Heck, the 5-year-old down the block knows what it is. A bat – or two. Another bullpen arm – or two. Read any “what-does-each-team-need-at-the-deadline” story on the Interweb and they all list the same things.

It’s that obvious.

Which means addressing those needs is significantly more expensive in trade capital, the only capital the M’s ownership group is usually willing to spend. Will Dipoto be ready to buy, whatever the cost? And at what point does the expense outweigh the return?

Almost two months remain until the trade deadline. But games won by the right moves between now and then count the same as ones earned after July 31.

The problem is, those who want to buy – the M’s won’t be alone in that regard – have to be matched by those who are willing to sell. And many franchises won’t move into that latter camp until they see little hope, a neighborhood that should only grow over the next 50 or so games.

Which means we will probably be waiting until after the solstice. Hoping a coaching change and a reliever’s eventual clean bill of health will add up to improvement. And supply momentum through a long, hot summer.

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WSU: Steve Gleason celebrated Major League Baseball’s Lou Gehrig Day in the right place. The former Cougar outfielder was at T-Mobile for pregame ceremonies. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and the nation, just how did Dillon Gabriel end up at Oregon anyway? … It is 90 days until the start of one of the most transformed college football seasons in history. Where do Oregon State and Oregon stand at this point? … We knew there would be one Pac-12 team still alive in the NCAA’s softball World Series after Sunday. It turns out it is Stanford, as the Cardinal’s NiJaree Canady threw a three-hitter and ended UCLA’s season with a 3-1 victory. … We also knew there could be two Pac-12 schools moving on to the NCAA baseball Super Regionals. One did. Oregon, which topped host UC Santa Barbara 3-0 on a sun-drenched day at the beach. They will travel to Texas A&M this weekend. … The ball was drenched in Corvallis from the start, and it led to some wacky plays. And a couple dangerous ones. The game was finally postponed in the fourth inning and OSU leading UC Irvine 6-4. It starts again at 12:06 p.m. today. … Tommy Lloyd will bring the Arizona model to international play this summer. … The Oregon State women may have finalized their roster rebuild. … Former Utah athletic director Chis Hill sees the injection of professional DNA into the college system. And that could lead to deformities. … If you wonder how the ills of college athletics may just be cured, this Sally Jenkins’ column outlines a course of treatment.  

Preps: Former North Central High three-sport star Ryne Sandberg is 64. And dealing with prostate cancer. The baseball Hall of Famer recently made a visit to Cooperstown. And, as football coaches love to say about bye weeks, the trip came at just the right time.

Indians: We mentioned the loss, and linked Dave Nichols’ story, above. We do it again here because that’s our habit. … Elsewhere in the Northwest League, no one else could beat the rain, with Eugene’s game at Hillsboro and Tri-City’s at Vancouver postponed.

Velocity: We also linked Ethan Myers story on Spokane’s win above. Yes, we have the same link right here so you don’t have to scroll up.

Chiefs: Berkly Catton has a big month ahead. The Spokane forward starts it by being named to the Canadian Hockey League’s all-star second team for the 2023-24 season. As Dave’s story tells us, he will probably end it by being high NHL draft pick.

Mariners: Castillo has been on a roll. He threw seven shutout innings in the 5-1 win over the Angels. Didn’t even seem to be sweating.

Storm: The WNBA announced its punishments for Saturday’s incident concerning Caitlin Clark and the Chicago Sky.

Kraken: Edmonton is on its way to the Stanley Cup Finals after yesterday’s 2-1 win over Dallas. The dream of a Canadian NHL champion is still alive.

Golf: Clarkston’s Joel Dahmen struggled early once again, got his act together later and finished in the top 10 at the Canadian Open. Jim Meehan has the story.

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• We have to venture out into the rain this morning. When we scheduled a hair appointment … just kidding. What hair? Actually, we have to get our car in for service this morning. Didn’t check the weather forecast well enough we guess. Well, maybe it’s for the best. Sitting in a waiting room while it’s raining is better than when it’s sunny and 78, right? Until later …