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’Bows’ slump reaches
critical point

NOW there needs to be some kind of blessing. It's reached that point. I don't know what else to think, with the news yesterday that the Rainbows lost again, 7-5, at Nevada, on the road.

I don't know if this calls for a Hawaiian blessing, or if somebody should refill Jobu's rum. Maybe someone just needs to invoke the phrase "Lollygaggers!" Maybe their sleeves could use a lightning bolt patch.

But this UH baseball slump has reached a critical point. The 'Bows are 15-19 and deep in a hole in the Western Athletic Conference race, and time is flying away.

This calls for desperate measures. Call a hypnotist. Call a priest. Call Ghostbusters. Something's got to give.

What we have here is an old-fashioned baseball slump.

I've been thinking back recently on how many of these losing streak/slump columns I've written about UH baseball these past few years. And the answer is this: a lot of them.

Most, of course, came during Mike Trapasso's first year, 2002. Those were tough days.

But now Trap has "his" players, and they're good players. This team has talent. These guys can play. They're good.

That's the toughest part.

There's no explanation, with slumps. They are one of the great themes in this great game: slumps, and busting out of them.

Every movie has this story. Every legend has had tough times. It's part of baseball. It's great "lore."

This is not, however, very much fun in real life. We've seen that. Here we go again.

We've all seen Trapasso gather the guys in center field immediately after games and give them the business.

I once asked Trap if that ever works.

"It usually doesn't," he said.

But you try anything, everything, when you're on the wrong end of a trend.

Now, here Hawaii goes again. They were supposed to be past this. This was supposed to be the year.

All slumps end, of course. These guys are too good not to turn it around.

But they're approaching the "Wait 'till next year" mark now. Baseball is a game without a clock. But it does have a calendar, and time is slipping away. Time to do something. Anything.

I don't know what wild, superstitious, crazy thing the Rainbows might do to change their luck. But they should have done it last week.