- Commissioner’s statement on Ventura, Marte
- Ronnie O’Sullivan: Masters champion ‘felt so vulnerable’ in final
- Arron Fletcher Wins 2017 WSOP International Circuit Marrakech Main Event ($140,224)
- Smith challenges Warner to go big in India
- Moncada No. 1 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- Braves land 2 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- Kingery makes MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- New Zealand wrap up 2-0 after Bangladesh implosion
- Mathews, Pradeep, Gunathilaka to return to Sri Lanka
- Elliott hopes for rain for Poli
After heartbreaker, Seattle sees bright future
- Updated: October 2, 2016
SEATTLE — Scott Servais has seemingly been prepared for every moment, every step of his first season as Mariners manager. But not this. Not the abrupt ending to what he’d hoped would be a magical run to a playoff berth.
“I was really not prepared to make the end-of-the-season speech,” Servais said after meeting with his team in the clubhouse following Saturday’s 9-8, 10-inning loss to the A’s that mathematically eliminated the Mariners from the postseason. “I just had never even thought we weren’t going to make it. I really felt worst-case scenario, we would get to the one-game play-in.
“I thought that’s where we were headed. So it’s hard to swallow and kind of digest it all, but we’ll look back on this whole experience, and a lot of players have gained a lot from it. Whether it’s guys that haven’t been through it before here with the Mariners, young players coming up, it’ll really help us in the future.”
Saturday’s loss seemed a microcosm of Seattle’s season. Seemingly dead in the water with an early, 5-2 deficit, the Mariners rallied behind two-run blasts by Robinson Cano and Nelson Cruz to eventually tie the game at 7, only to see the A’s re-take the lead in the eighth, before the Mariners tied it back up in the bottom of that …
