Terry Mosher 3

TERRY MOSHER

 

Washington running back Myles Gaskin takes it upfield for a 72 yard touchdown run agaisnt the Oregon defense in the third quarter at Husky Stadium on Saturday, October 17, 2015, in Seattle, Wash.  NCAA FOOTBALL - WASHINGTON HUSKIES VS. OREGON DUCKS - HUSKY STADIUM - SEATTLE, WASH. - 150727 - 101715  (John Lok / The Seattle Times)

MYLES GASKIN ON THE LOOSE AGAINST OREGON

Whoops!

We thought the Seattle Mariners a little over a week ago could with a little hot streak move into position to capture at least the second wild card from the American League.

Well, that’s what thinking does for you.

The Mariners (68-65) have tried various methods to lose with a lot success in the past 10 games, including giving up leads in the ninth inning. Today (Wednesday, Aug. 31) they tried a different tack – they tried losing by being smothered – and it worked. Texas finished a four-game sweep of the visiting Mariners with a 14-1 whacking.

The M’s have now lost five in a row and eight of their last 10 while slip sliding out of the wild card race. They have now slipped to 4.5 games behind in that race pending games later today.

There are five teams in front of them in that race – Baltimore, Detroit, Houston, Kansas City and the New York Yankees. Unless a minor miracle occurs, it appears that the M’s are dead in the water as far as the post-season.  There are just too many teams to jump over to make it back.

The Mariners backward movement has not stopped first-year general manager Jerry Dipoto from trying to improve the club. He pulled another trigger on a trade today, sending two pitchers from the club’s rookie league team in the Arizona League to the New York Yankees in exchange for 24-year-old outfielder Ben Gamel, who is rated the 24th best prospect in the Yankee organization by Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis of MLB.com…

The left-handed hitting Gamel spent most of the season at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He hit .308 with six home run, 51 RBI and 19 stolen bases in 533 plate appearances.  He was named the International League MVP. He did appear in the big leagues with the Yankees briefly in May, getting 10 at- bats and one hit and one walk. He is projected as a fourth outfielder.

Gamel, who was selected in the 10th round of the Major League Draft in 2010 by the Yankees, was named rookie of the year in the IL in 2015 while hitting .300 with 69 RBI and stealing 13 bases. He was added to the Mariners’ 40-man roster and will be with the club Friday when they host the Los Angeles Angels at Safeco Field.

The M’s sent right-handed pitchers Jio Grozco and Juan De Paula to the Yankees in the deal. Orozco had a 3.73 EDRA and De Paula a 3.07 ERA. Grozco is 19 and De Paula is 18. Orozco is rated the better of the two.

On another front, we will soon find out just how good the Washington Huskies are. They open their season Saturday in an 11 a.m. game at Husky Stadium against Rutgers, one of the bottom feeders in the Big 10. Rutgers finished fifth with a 4-8 record in the East Division of the conference a year ago, but have started over with a new coach (Chris Ash) and remolded facilities, including a new $1.25 million new weight training room, and there is no telling what Rutgers will look like once they start play. They will run a power spread offense that features a combo of halfbacks in the run game.

The Huskies, meanwhile, will feature a defense that may be among the best in the country and a quarterback – Jake Browning – who whiles only a sophomore will be starting for the second straight year.

Washington also features a running game sparked by another sophomore, 5-9, 193-pound Myles Gaskin who came out of nowhere last season to rush for 1302 yards, eighth in school history, and was named freshman All-American by the Football Writers of America.

So while one of the region’s major sports team seems to be swooning, another is about to take flight in what many are predicting to be a top-10 fly over this season.

So don’t be too down about the Mariners. The Huskies – and the Seahawks, who finish up the exhibition season Thursday at Oakland – are about set to shine some light on the sports’ scene.

Be well pal.

Be careful out there.

Have a great day.

You are loved.