T

TERRY MOSHER

 

TOP OF THE TOWN –I was as surprised as you were that the St. Louis Cardinals made short work of Atlanta in the deciding game of their five-game National League Division Series. Scoring 10 runs in the first inning wasn’t good for the business of baseball, but it sure as heck took all the suspense out of the fifth game. I thought the Braves were on a roll and would get to the World Series. My bad.  The Cardinals were 58-55 on Aug. 7 and looked like an average team content to be average. Then, boom, they took off like the 1995 Seattle Mariners. The Redbirds flew the coop, going 32-13 over their next 45 games and on Sept. 24 were 90-69 (they finished 91-71). They are led by first baseman Paul Goldschmidt who hit 34 home runs and drove in 97.What I find a little amusing is that when I watch the Cardinals, the Yankees and the Dodgers I see how much further the Seattle Mariners need to come to be relevant. It’s like the difference between a Maserati and a Ford Focus. The Mariners finished 68-94 and while they didn’t have the worst record in baseball (Detroit lost 114 games), they have a long way to go to be a postseason contender. It won’t get done next year, either. But maybe in 2021 they’ll have a chance. Maybe. … Speaking of mediocrity, take a look at the NFL standings. The Washington Redskins are 0-5 in the NFC East and in the AFC the Dolphins and Jets are 0-4 and the Bengals are 0-5. The Seahawks are 4-1, but look at who they have beaten. They have beaten the 0-5 Bengals and the 1-4 Steelers and the 1-3-1 Cardinals and the Rams, who are 3-2. That’s a combined 5-14-4. This Sunday they face the 2-3 Browns. The Seahawks were getting blown out by a Drew Brees-less New Orleans at home until Russell Wilson rallied his team late for two scores to make it look like a respectable defeat, 33-27.  So should you be worried about the Browns. Yes and no. I thought Browns’ quarterback Baker Mayfield looked awful last weekend against the 49ers. I don’t expect him to be that bad against the Seahawks, but I think the Hawks escape with a 30-28 victory. … North Mason plays at La Salle, a Catholic college prep school at Union Gap, Wa Friday night.  Union Gap is in Yakima County east of the mountains. This is a small school, but it will be no pushover for the Bulldogs. La Salle beat Granger 46-0, Highland 75-6 (La Salle scored 49 points in the first quarter, and you figure out how a team does that in 12 minutes), Goldendale 58-0, Selah 49-0 and last week at East Valley Yakima won 28-19. So if you are counting that is 246-25 the Lightning is outscoring their opponents. So I figure North Mason (2-3) is going to lose to La Salle, 35-14.  In other local football games, Bremerton (3-2) will rush pass home-standing Port Angeles (0-5), Sequim (4-1) will stop the four-game winning streak of Olympic (4-10), Klahowya (0-4) loses to Vashon (0-5),  Bainbridge (3-2) loses at Ingraham (5-0), South Kitsap (1-4) loses at home to Graham-Kapowsin (5-0) and Central Kitsap (3-1) falls to Peninsula (3-2). That’s it for today.

Be well pal.

Be careful out there.

Have a great day.

You are loved.