THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: On Mariners, Cougs and an active NCAA portal

So, there’s this NFL draft thing starting tonight.

It eats up the sports world until Saturday evening, and you have to say it’s a truly bizarre carnival.

The draft captures fan and media conversation like — I don’t know — the election of a new Pope, or something like that.

The most fascinating part of this hoopla is that there’s no actual sports tied to the event, unless you count Mel Kiper showing us the video of a 400-pound nose guard thundering through the 3-cone drill at the NFL combine.

Just for fun, I’ll leave you with this: There are actually four cones in the 3-cone drill.

Right.

Now let’s wait for white smoke from the chimney.

The rest of the world, meanwhile, is moving along.

ITEM: Mariner fans can exhale now.

Julio Rodriguez finally hit a home run on Tuesday night, going deep against Texas’ Dane Dunning.

It came in his 23rd game, 87th at-bat, launched 435 feet to the second deck in left-center, 110.5 miles per hour off the barrel.

Given Julio’s strength and the fact that he’s definitely hacking away up there (30 strikeouts in 90 ABs through Tuesday, exactly 33 percent whiffs), you’d think it’s almost impossible that he’d get to April 23 without a home run.

This is a man-child who hit 28 long balls as a rookie two years ago, and backed it up with 32 last season.  

At least his first home run of 2024 was no cheapie, a bomb off a Dunning sinker that, um, didn’t sink.

Julio’s first homer leaves Ty France as the only Mariner regular position player without a big fly as we head toward May.

J-Rod hadn’t lost his sense of humor during the home run drought, at least.

He said: “It was, ‘Long time, no see,’ to my good friend,” per Daniel Kramer, Mariners beat reporter for MLB.

ITEM: The transfer portal never sleeps.

Gonzaga made some hard-to-hide news official with a statement this week, announcing that former Pepperdine guard Michael Ajayi, the WCC’s leading scorer at 17.1 points per game, has signed his aid agreement.

The 6-7 Ajayi adds something the Zags really need, shooting 47% from 3-point range during the 2023-24 season.

Ajayi is also a bull in the paint and snatched 9.9 rebounds, which will come in handy with Anton Watson departing via graduation.

Meanwhile, Washington State coach David Riley continues to lure his former players from Eastern Washington, announcing the transfer of center Dane Erikstrup to Wazzu.

Remember, the Cougs are now temporary members of the WCC in men’s and women’s basketball, so Mark Few and Lisa Fortier will be coaches paying close attention to WSU’s acquisitions.

Personally, I’m just glad to see natural rivalry games resume between WSU and Gonzaga.

They should have been playing each other all along.

New Coug Erikstrup is the third EWU starter to land in Pullman through the portal – joining wing LeJuan Watts and post man Ethan Price.

Riley may not be done strip-mining his old program, either.

Wazzu has an offer out to Eastern wing Cedric Coward.

Anyone left in Cheney?

ITEM: The Mariners have taken a lot of heat for failing to sign any non-pitcher to a big-money contract.

OK, there’s Julio, but his contract is for life – more or less.

Before you rip the Mariners too hard, however, consider the Angels’ investment in third baseman Anthony Rendon.

After Rendon hit .319 with 34 homers and 126 RBI for the World Series champion Nationals in 2019, Anaheim locked him down for seven years at the hefty sum of $245 million.

So far, Rendon has produced nothing but anger among Angels fans.

He’s had an entire Mayo Clinic catalog of injuries and ailments — he hasn’t managed to play more than 58 games in Southern California — and he’s downright rude to media members who ask him about a current problem.

At first, it was funny.

When he was out with a wrist problem and a reporter one day quizzed him about it, Rendon said, “Wrist? I have two.”

Now, the stakes seem to be raised.
Prior to this season, Rendon was asked about the work he was putting in to contribute (finally) to the Angels’ resurgence from eight straight years below .500.

The reply was shocking, especially from a player who has given the Angels 22 homers in four-plus seasons.

“Baseball has never been a top priority for me,” Rendon said, per Sam Blum. 

“This is a job. I do this to make a living.”

Reminder: The Angels are paying him roughly $23,000 per game, whether he shows up or not.

That’s $11,500 per shin.

You think they get paid separately?

Email: scameron@cdapress.com

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press four times each week, normally Tuesday through Friday unless, you know, stuff happens.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”