what we have done over the last 18 months, we always seem to get underdogged, he says. But we pull something out of the bag, win and it seems a surprise to people. We are heading in the right direction in all forms o

SEATTLE -- Manager Scott Servais was not prepared to give the season-ending speech to his team. He expected the Seattle Mariners season to matter for at least a few more days -- and possibly well into October.After 10 wild innings that personified their season, the Mariners playoff hopes ended on Saturday night, extending baseballs longest postseason drought to 15 years with a 9-8 loss to the Oakland Athletics.Were not breathing anymore, Servais said.Weeks of living on the edge of playoff contention finally caught up with Seattle in game No. 161. Edwin Diaz gave up a one-out RBI double to Joey Wendle in the 10th and the Mariners were unable to mount one last rally after coming from behind four times earlier in the game.Ben Gamel was standing at second base with no outs in the 10th after a single and wild pitch. He advanced to third when Nelson Cruzs comebacker deflected off pitcher Ryan Madson (6-7) almost directly to first base, but the fortunate ricochet for Oakland prevented Gamel from possibly scoring.Kyle Seager flew out to center field for the final out and final gasp in Seattles quest to get back to the playoffs.Ive only been a Mariner for a year, but I have to believe that will go down as one of the most memorable games in Mariners history, Servais said. Unfortunately, it didnt go our way. You know, cant say enough about our team. The competitive spirit.The Mariners last reached the postseason in 2001 when they tied the major league record with 116 wins in the regular season but were eliminated in the AL Championship Series by the New York Yankees.They were hoping to take their playoff chances to the final day of the regular season for the second time in three years. After rallying for three runs in the seventh and one in the eighth to tie it 8-8, the Mariners couldnt make game No. 162 count.Bruce Maxwell opened the 10th with a double off Diaz (0-4), and Wendles fourth hit of the night put Oakland in front.To get as many contributions from so many guys on the roster today in particular some of the younger guys. ... This is really going to serve them well in the future knowing they can play in this type of atmosphere, Oakland manager Bob Melvin said.Seattle was well aware it needed a victory to stay alive in the wild-card race as highlights and updates of the other games were shown in the stadium throughout the early innings. New York, New York played during batting practice after the Yankees knocked off Baltimore, and cheers erupted when Atlanta beat Detroit.But there were groans abound after Toronto scored in the ninth to beat Boston and turn Seattles task into a must-win.Everybody had a taste of what it (is) to be in a playoff atmosphere, Cruz said. It was like that for like a week. It was a great run. Ive played a lot of games and it was an incredible run.The Mariners rallied from 5-2 and 7-4 deficits to pull even at 7-all in the seventh inning after a two-run home run from Cruz, his 43rd of the season. Oakland took an 8-7 lead in the eighth but Gamels two-out single scored Mike Freeman to tie the game again. It was Gamels first hit since Sept. 18 after going hitless in his previous 11 at-bats.But Seattle will lament missed opportunities in the eighth and ninth innings. Each time Seattle had the bases loaded with two outs and couldnt push across another run. Jesus Sucre was hit by a pitch to load the bases with two outs in the ninth and Nori Aokis lined one-hopper was snagged at second base by Wendle to end the threat.Im walking back to the dugout, I really liked our matchup with Nori facing Madson and he hits a one-hopper right at the second basemen. Last inning, (Cruz) hits a ball off Madsons leg. You know, its a game of inches and we were playing on the slightest of margins and we just didnt quite get over the hump, Servais said. A little bit like our season, I guess.SHAKY STARTLost in the drama of all the late action was a shaky final performance by Seattle starter Hisashi Iwakuma. After carrying the Mariners for stretches of the season, Iwakuma lasted just 3 2/3 innings and gave up five runs in his last start of the year. He finished 16-12 on the season.I was just missing a lot of my pitches to the fat part of the plate. It cost me a lot, Iwakuma said through an interpreter.UP NEXTAthletics: Left-hander Sean Manaea (6-9) closes out his rookie season on Sunday. Since coming off the disabled list in mid-September, Manaea is 1-0 with a 0.50 ERA in three starts.Mariners: Felix Hernandez (11-7) makes his final start of the year. Hernandez lost his last start against Houston.Cheap Off White Air Max 90 .com) - Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Roger Federer were easy first-round winners Tuesday at the Australian Open. Fake Air Max 90 Mens . -- When the Florida Panthers fell behind by two goals in the first period to the top team in the NHL, it appeared they were on their way to yet another loss. http://www.outletairmax90cheap.com/outlet-air-max-90-black-gold-cheap.html . Deulofeu injured a muscle in his right leg in Evertons 4-1 win over Fulham in the English Premier League on Saturday. Barcelona says that its team doctors will "co-ordinate" with Evertons medical staff as Deulofeu recovers. Air Max 90 Ultra SE Black White . - Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco is not a fan of his teams use of the wildcat formation, saying "it makes you look like a high school offence. Air Max 90 Ultra Outlet .com) - Richie Incognito has reportedly been admitted to a psychiatric care unit in Arizona.There was a moment on the final afternoon of the Rajkot Test when Ben Stokes swapped his position at slip with Ben Duckett and moved to extra cover.With Adil Rashid bowling, the ball was being driven in that direction often and he wanted to be in the game more.A little while later, with the batsmen stealing runs to Alastair Cook at mid-on, Stokes moved the England captain out of the way and took the position.He had already been promoted to No. 4 in the batting line-up, as England searched for quick runs before the declaration, and he had proved himself Englands premier bowler of reverse swing in Bangladesh. Hell, he even bowled a few overs of off-spin in the UAE last year.Increasingly, the answer to every question that England pose is Ben Stokes. Increasingly, he resembles that super-talented bloke in the school team who opens the batting and the bowling and then keeps wicket for a bit.Now, sitting in the team hotel in Visakhapatnam (and looking so like a Van Gogh self-portrait that you fear for his ears), he laughs at the description. But he doesnt deny it.Its come from the coaches, he says. Im always getting told, when the spinner is on and the ball is looking like it is going to a certain position all the time, go there. It was the same when Pujara was hitting the ball to Cooky at mid-on, I went over there.But I think I get given the responsibility to move myself and I have more confidence to do that. Rather than before, when I thought Id look a bit arrogant if I just said swap, and its come from the coaches as well which is good. The players dont take any offence.The desire to be in the thick of the action is nothing new for Stokes. But the confidence to ask players - including the England captain - to swap positions is new and reflects Stokes new-found self-confidence and status within the side. At times this winter, he has looked Englands best batsman, best bowler and best fielder. At times this winter - and yes, these are relatively early days - its looked as if Stokes has graduated from promising to the real thing. Notwithstanding Andrew Flintoff in his pomp, England havent had a better allrounder since Ian Botham.Stokes agrees that he owes his improvement, to some extent at least, to the faith shown in him by the England management. In particular, he credits his promotion to No. 6 in the batting order as crucial.I started off decent in Australia, but after that it was pretty shit, to be honest, he says. I didnt score a run against India in three innings. But they kept on picking me and picking me and, once Paul Farbrace got me back up the order to six, it carried on from there. The more Ive played, the more confidence Ive got. The last 18 months has been the turnaround period for me.Playing on low, slow, turning wickets was, in Cooks words, probably the last challenge facing Stokes. But, after an innings of 85 in Chittagong and 128 in Rajkot, it seems he has made substantial progress. Working with Graham Thorpe and Mark Ramprakash, he learned a method to defend against spin bowling so that he is able to soak up periods of pressure and capitalise if the bowlers tire or stray.Ive always known I can hit the big shots, he says now. But I tightened up the other things which dont come as easy: the defensive side of it and rotating the strike. I was doing sessions of not getting out, playing defensively, going forward or back no matter what the ball was. As nets progressed, I started getting into a few more attacking shots.My feet have got better. I do not get stuck on the crease as much as I used to. It still happens now and again, but Im generally getting right forward and right back. My technique against spinners has gone up a level and its good to be able to look back from a year ago and understand why I am being more successful.The century in Rajkot was, he believes, the first time he has batted for more than 200 balls in a single innings (he faced 198 for his epic 258 in Cape Town in January). Whilee he accepts he had some luck - there were times I was laughing at myself and the amount of times the ball seemed to land in between fielders - he also hopes he has proved himself against what he calls the best team in the world and the best bowler in the world.ddddddddddddRavi Ashwin knows exactly where he is going to bowl every ball, Stokes says. He changes his pace and almost seems to read you. Its almost like you are telling him that youre going to run down the wicket and he bowls the ball where you dont want it to be. And Ravi Jadeja doesnt miss the area where he wants to bowl. To perform against them is a good feeling. Its the best feeling Ill have. All the work Ive done is paying off. We take confidence from it that we got 530 or whatever it was and lost only two wickets on a fourth- and fifth-day pitch. So from that point of view I think were pretty confident in the way we managed to hold off those two.The demands of batting for so long in hot conditions took their toll on Stokes. Cramp forced him off the field and, for the first portion of the India reply, he was unable to play a meaningful role with the ball. He accepts this is partially due to his difficulty in eating while he is batting - he explains that it makes him uncomfortable - and left the England support staff, in his words, trying to force-feed him.Our physio, strength-and-conditioning coach and doctor were trying to force-feed me pretty much, he says. I cant eat when Im not out, I dont know why. I literally cant eat, not even a protein shake or anything. Ive never been able to. I eat on a bowling day, definitely, just when Im not out I cant seem to eat anything.That was the reason for the cramp. Ill have to put up with a bit of cramp here and there, I think. Everyone gets it, except Cooky because he never sweats so he doesnt lose any fluid.I think this is the first time Ive realised it is tough to bat and bowl and try to back one of the skills up with the other. It doesnt really affect you in England because it is always freezing.For all the talk of giving Stokes responsibility - he was vice-captain to Jos Buttler when the ODI side played Bangladesh recently - he dismisses any suggestion that he might one day want to be captain.No, he says when asked if the responsibility appeals. You have to be boring like Cooky if you want to be captain. Im just enjoying being where I am at the moment which is having opinions valued by captains, coaches and other guys.I enjoyed being Joss right hand man. It didnt feel like I was doing anything different. The difference was Jos would have a few discussions whereas you normally see Cook and Rooty doing that or Eoin and Jos.He is frustrated, though, at Englands status as underdogs for this series, despite their improvement over the last 18 months or so - their Ashes win, their series victory in South Africa, their performance in the World T20 and an ODI series victory in Bangladesh that had proved beyond so many others of late.No matter what we have done over the last 18 months, we always seem to get underdogged, he says. But we pull something out of the bag, win and it seems a surprise to people. We are heading in the right direction in all forms of the game.Trevor Bayliss is a man of few words but one thing he complimented us on after every session in Rajkot was our attitude towards fielding. We were never switching off. We were always on it.We were not going into series thinking we were going to lose. We have taken a lot of confidence from knowing we were ahead of India pretty much the whole Test match. We have taken confidence from knowing how well we have done with bat and ball. Weve four games left and we are going to try and win all four.Investec is the title sponsor of Test match cricket in England. For more on Investec private banking, visit investec.co.uk/banking ' ' '