OUT and ABOUT with STEVE CAMERON: Zags, metrics and ... uh, crotches

Is next Tuesday circled on your calendars, Zag fans?

It certainly should be.

That’s the final date on which student-athletes can place their names in the transfer portal, and it headlines our “Out and About” column for this week.

So, what’s the big deal?

Gonzaga is out hunting for transfers who will add a boost to next year’s roster, and there’s no limit on when the 2,000-plus players currently in the portal can commit to a new school.

Or agree to stay in place, for that matter.

But Tuesday is critical for programs (like Gonzaga) who are hoping to keep stars who are being smothered with big-money offers from elsewhere.

Are they ready to jump in the portal?

Graham Ike, for instance.

The big man would likely be worth somewhere in the millions for his services as a senior transfer.

Mark Few and his staff might also be nervous about Braden Huff and improving guard Emmanuel Innocenti.

Gonzaga already has lost junior guard Dusty Stromer and forward Michael Ajayi, both of whom would have had major roles on next year’s team.

Hold your breath, Zag nation.

ITEM: A confession.

I’ve been one of the last MLB media members to live and die with the newest data and analytics.

Oh, I know that velocity — either throwing the ball or hitting it — clearly matters to any outcome.

I’m not THAT much of a dinosaur.

On the other hand, I’ve always believed that baseball, more than any other major sport, hinged on what sort of mentality accompanies a player’s natural skills.

And l don’t trust computers to sort that out.

However.

There truly are some underlying metrics that can explain why a hitter who’s scuffling along with an average under the Mendoza Line is actually going to catch fire.

Consider: Mariners outfielder Randy Arozarena was adding almost nothing to the offense for the first three weeks or so.

Yet, several baseball reporters I trust insisted that Arozarena actually was fine, if I’d only accept some of those mysterious metrics.

Sure enough, Randy has begun bashing.

Thursday afternoon in Cincinnati, he hit a game-tying home run in the ninth (on an inside pitch that looked impossible to handle), then whacked a bases-loaded double in the 10th to hand the M’s an 11-7 victory.

OK, I’m on board.

Our next project will examine the physics of those “torpedo bats.”

Cal Raleigh has hit five homers in six games since his torpedoes were delivered, and he went deep Thursday, just ahead of Arozarena.

Is it really the bat, or should we consider my theory that the Big Dumper simply can hit baseballs far out into the abyss?

Also, that he could do it using a Pepsi bottle.

ITEM: Maybe it’s just human nature to cheat.

That would be one defense of the Houston Astros and their infamous garbage can.

Everyone in MLB seems to admire Red Sox manager Alex Cora, who served a one-year suspension for his participation in Astros’ scheme.

Cora was immediately hired by the Sox when that suspension expired.

Like, nobody thinks of him as the architect of the Houston fiasco, just a wonderful guy who made (and admits) one grievous error.

I’ve got cheating on the menu today for a couple of reasons.

First, I’m currently watching the Netflix documentary which followed the Red Sox throughout the 2024 season.

Also.

This one almost boggles the mind, news that several Norwegian ski jumpers and team officials have been suspended for a form of cheating that sounds that sounds like the start of an off-color joke.

The charges are doubly stunning since ski jumper is basically Norway’s national treasure.

Anyhow, it turns out you can increase distance flying off a competition hill by adding size to the crotch of an official jumping suit.

It has to do with aerodynamic resistance, or something that I don’t really understand.

But.

Indeed, bigger crotches can promote more appearances on the podium.

Fill in your own follow-up line here.

I have manfully resisted.

An investigation by the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) involved video of tearing the seams on some Norwegian outfits to see if they had been artificially enlarged.

The reports I’ve seen didn’t mention this, but I’m assuming the jumpers were out of the suits before all the ripping and tearing began.

Bottom line, quite a few Norwegian jumpers and officials have been banned from the sport pending further investigation.

In an area of the world where they take snow sports seriously, this has shaken confidence in national honesty.

Now, finally.

I’ll bet you didn’t think I’d be writing about crotches today, did you?

LOL.

Email: scameron@cdapress.com

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press three times each week, normally Tuesday, Wednesday and 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.”