A Grip on Sports: A couple odd decisions by the Angels help Seattle win and keep pace in the playoff chase

A GRIP ON SPORTS • We haven’t thought about the intentional walk much since Barry Bonds rode into retirement. But we had to yesterday, thanks to Angels’ manager Phil Nevin.

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• The intentional walk, like many things in baseball, has undergone a metamorphosis over the years. There are apocryphal stories of Babe Ruth being intentionally walked with the bases loaded but those stories aren’t supported by the historical record. However, when pitchers used to hit – ancient times, we know – a free pass was used often. Get a real hitter out of the way for an easy out and all that.

Even that philosophy faded, however, as did the actual delivery of four balls to the hitter. Nowadays, if a manager wants to walk someone, they just hold up four fingers and it’s done. Gone is the chance to fake an intentional walk, as Rollie Fingers and the A’s did to an embarrassed Johnny Bench in the 1972 World Series.

And yet here we were Wednesday, watching as Julio Rodriguez strode to the plate in the fifth inning with the M’s losing to Los Angeles 2-1. Ty France was on first, there were two outs. With Cal Raleigh on deck, Nevin has lefthander Jose Suarez walk Rodriguez.

Now, that’s respect. Maybe not at Bonds’ level (he was one of the handful of players intentionally actually walked with the bases loaded) but pretty darn impressive. Then Nevin, who attended our arch-rival college, Cal State Fullerton, did something silly. He pulled Suarez and brought in a righthander, Jimmy Herget.

That switched Raleigh from hitting righthanded – his weaker side – to the left. And he immediately banged a single into right, scoring France and tying the game.

Teoscar Hernandez followed with an RBI infield single, scoring the freebie baserunner, Rodriguez, from third. The Mariners would go on to a 3-2 win.

No wonder the intentional walk’s allure has faded.

• Failed strategy aside, the game’s outcome kept Seattle in shouting distance of the American League West lead. And in the third wild-card spot. With a day off, no outcome today in Toronto, where Texas will try to sweep the Jays, hurts the M’s. A Texas win solidifies Seattle’s spot in the wild card. A Blue Jay win opens a bigger gap.

All that matters in the final 16 games is Seattle keeps winning. Go 12-4 and the playoffs are assured. Go 4-12 and walk off into the offseason.

• In the first half of the Seahawks’ 30-13 loss to the Rams, Abe Lucas was nearly flawless. The second-year right tackle from Washington State yielded no pressures on quarterback Geno Smith. He opened holes for running backs. But he didn’t return after halftime. Jake Curhan was in the spot, and he struggled.

Lucas was out due to a sore knee, one that Pete Carroll tried to whitewash a bit afterward, telling reporters, “He doesn’t have a knee injury. Just the same knee we rested him on during camp just got really sore during the game and couldn’t fire the way he needed to, so we had to get him out of there. I don’t know what to tell you about that one.”

We can tell you there must be some sort of injury – by definition – because the Hawks placed Lucas on injured reserve Wednesday. He will have to miss at least four games.

Was Carroll misinformed? Or did the extent of the issue not show up until some imaging was done? We may never know. What we do know, however, is Lucas’ absence will be a blow to the Seattle offense. Especially considering left tackle Charles Cross is dealing with a bad toe.

The Seahawks signed 41-year-old former Pro Bowler Jason Peters. That added others to the practice squad. Somehow, they’ll piece together the front against Detroit on Sunday. Now the question becomes how it will stand up.

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WSU: The Cougars’ starting edge rushers have earned the national spotlight in the first two games. Ron Stone Jr. and Brennan Jackson have earned every accolade. But what about the depth? As Greg Woods tells us in this notebook, it’s about to be tested. Injuries will do that to a team. … Greg also has a story today on high school senior Kenny Worthy III, a defensive back from Arizona, saying he’ll attend Washington State next season. … A freshman is leading Northern Colorado’s offensive line. … The 11th-ranked Cougar volleyball team traveled to 18th-ranked Baylor last night, lost the first set but won the match 3-1. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and the nation, the schedule this weekend isn’t stellar but Jon Wilner found some intrigue in his picks. … Speaking of picks, three Pac-12 games pop up in these national picks. … Wilner also reports in the Mercury News the conference CEOs agreed unanimously to an employee retention plan, following the instructions put forth by judge Gary Libey on Monday. We’re actually a bit surprised one of the outgoing schools didn’t vote no to put pressure on the court as it decides who actually runs the conference. … The Michigan State coaching staff might be in disarray, after what happened to coach Mel Tucker this week, but Washington and former MSU player Germie Bernard are ready for a battle against the Spartans in East Lansing. … Yes, Oregon State is a defense-first team in many regards. But players are given an opportunity to find what position they can excel at. … As Oregon prepares for Hawaii’s visit, one offensive lineman has gotten more time by getting smaller. … First-year Stanford coach Troy Taylor hosts his old team, Sacramento State, this week. He is also playing with their expectations, not saying which quarterback will start. … Former WSU receiver Brett Bartolone got his start in the coaching ranks under now-Colorado State coach Jay Norvell at Nevada. Bartolone’s current employer is Colorado. The two schools meet this week. … Utah learned a lot from its successes and failures against Baylor. … Is USC as good as its ranking indicates? The Trojans have a bye this week. … There is a big reason why UCLA is hosting North Carolina Central on Saturday. … Basketball is a good way for offensive linemen to develop their footwork. It happened for one Arizona State player. … Arizona is having to live with Jayden de Laura and his turnovers. … A California booster just promised up to $10 million for the Bears men’s rowing program.

EWU: Southeastern Louisiana, 19th in the latest FCS poll, is the only 0-2 team in the rankings. The Lions head to Cheney a bit road-weary after losses to two FBS squads away from home. Eastern is also 0-2, and are happy to be getting back to Roos Field. Dan Thompson has a preview of the contest. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, Montana plays a Division II school. But Ferris State isn’t just any Division II school. … For all the bad press the transfer portal earns, there are good reasons for it. Cal Poly has at least one example.  

Preps: The best cross country squad in the area is actually from across the border in Idaho. Greg Lee takes a look at the nationally ranked Coeur d’Alene boys in this notebook. … Dave Nichols offers a roundup of Wednesday’s action around the local high schools.

Idaho: The fifth-ranked Vandals head to Berkeley this week feeling no pressure whatsoever. That’s all on California, a Pac-12 school seemingly ripe for an upset. Colton Clark has this preview. … The basketball season may still be a bit down the road but first-year head coach Alex Pribble and his young squad are getting ready. Peter Harriman has this story.

Mariners: Luis Castillo was nearly perfect in the daytime 3-2 victory. Now the M’s have a day off after 13 consecutive games. … Castillo and Rodriguez are the engines pulling Seattle toward the playoffs. … Raleigh has been a target for foul balls lately but he just keeps on chugging.

Seahawks: For some reason DK Metcalf didn’t prepare properly for the Rams. Huh. … Bobby Wagner always prepares correctly. And makes sure his teammates know what’s expected.

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• There are two times a year the sun flows into our office at just the perfect angle. One is in the early spring and with it comes all the optimism of a free-and-easy summer ahead. The other time is now. It may still be summer but winter? It’s  coming. If this were a text, we would add one of those shake-our-head emojis. Until later …