‘K’ nearly half the time? Great season!
LAST week, after reporting that Rays catcher Mike Zunino had hit his 28th and 29th home runs at Boston, Suzyn Waldman piped, “What a great season he’s having!”
Given that this is the home run-or-strikeout era, perhaps she’s right. But as of Friday, Zunino’s 29 HRs were accompanied by a .208 batting average and 119 strikeouts in 288 atbats, a staggering K percentage of 41.
➤ Celebrated Gonzaga basketball coach Mark Few was busted and handcuffed for DUI on Monday. What makes his arrest different from, say, the recent DUI collar of Mets acting GM Zack Scott, now deactivated? Well, with 21 NCAA Tournament appearances under Few (aided by a steady reliance on foreign recruits), he would have had to commit a major felony, or receive only an NIT invite, to suffer serious consequences.
➤ NBC/Golf Channel’s LPGA coverage, on Oct. 1-3, will “make history,” according to NBC Sports. All its announcers and the telecasts’ producer will be women. History? Seems more like gimmickry, tokenism, an insult to women as it is conceived by concoction rather than conviction.
➤ Another ill-gotten record. Two Saturdays ago, Presbyterian College (S.C.) squeaked past NAIA foe St. Andrews (N.C.), 84-43, when QB Ren Hefley threw an FCS record 10 TD passes.
➤ NBC’s Cris Collinsworth, as heard on Thursday’s Cowboys-Buccaneers NFL opener, remains a post-play genius. He has the Mike Francesa-like clairvoyance to have seen what was going to happen -— right after it happened! Here’s an idea: occasionally tell us before it happens.
➤ Today: Jets-Panthers, CBS, 1 p.m. Andrew Catalon (improving) with James Lofton (concise, candid, underrated) and Tiki Barber (unnecessary). Broncos-Giants, Fox, 4:25. Two ex-ESPNers, Adam Amin (pedestrian) with Mark Schlereth (short stories long).
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