#-1: Lynx (Last Week: -1). Well, they're not going through the season undefeated. They got blitzed at defending WNBA champion Phoenix Sunday, 81-66. Looking at the box score, they routed the Jynx not only without Diana Taurasi, but also without Brittney Griner, who either is injured or ... well, she can't be a DNP-CD because she's Brittney Griner, so she's probably hurt. And the Mercury beat the living hell out of them. Oh, well.
To the good, however, their other two games were routs going for the good guys. On Thursday they curb-stomped Seattle, 94-70, then after losing at Phoenix they destroyed Los Angeles on Tuesday at L.A., 67-52. So maybe all my talk about this being the most topsy-turvy season in Lynx history won't be; maybe it'll be Minnesota vs. Phoenix for the title again, after all.
Seems as if they can fit in another game, but the Lynx only play two games this screening week: At San Antonio Friday, home to Tulsa Sunday evening.
#-2: Twins (Last Week: -2). Yeah, they are who we thought they were. They went .333 this week (2-4), and if I recall correctly I think the Twinks spent the majority of last year winning the last game of a three-game series in order to avoid a sweep. It's happening again.
The big news this week, of course, is the call-up of Outfielder and The Next Great Hope for the Twins, Centerfielder Byron Buxton. I'm not sure if they did it because they were totally desperate they were running out of outfielders (Aaron Hicks is on the Disabled List and Torii Hunter was suspended for two games for going off on an umpire for calling the strike zone wrong back on Wednesday) or because the Pohlads were finally ready for them to start the clock on his calendar, but The Rise Of Buxton came just as the club's hot start was fading from the rear view mirror. You shouldn't ever do anything because of PR, but his emergence is good PR.
Too bad Buxton has been absolute shit so far. His first game, Sunday at Texas, he went 0-for-4, including two strikeouts and a fucked-up bunt that went straight to the Pitcher at the mound, allowing the Rangers hurler to pick off the runner at third. (At least they won.) The only thing good he's been flashing is his speed; he already has two triples in his stint in The Show.
At least Buxton still has potential. On the downside is Joe Mauer, whose stardom is also dimming, with his local popularity following close behind. Late in Wednesday's game at Target Center against St. Louis (a game the squad also won), Mauer struck out with the bases loaded, failing to extend the Twins' 2-1 lead. The next half-inning a grounder scorched past him at First Base. I don't know if Mauer should have handled it, but after swinging and missing in his at-bat, I think he lost many fans, for good. Assuming the organization is on the rise but not ready to contend for a few years, would it be possible for him, his diminished production and his injuries, to be traded, if only to erase any bad mojo that The Hometown Boy has accrued being the face of a team that lost 90 games over four seasons?
I think this is the first time the St. Louis Cardinals have visited Target Field. I'm sure Redbird Nation travels very well, and that it's officially summer will only help swell the number of visitors coming to town. I for one love the Cards -- hacking scandal notwithstanding -- so I plan on going to this afternoon's contest -- the last of what can be called a home-home-and-home-home series -- to see two of the three baseball squads I love the most. The rest of the week comprises the end of their homestand, where the entire city of Chicago will follow the city of St. Louis to the Mill City; the Cubs (with similarly touted prospect Kris Bryant) comes to town this weekend for three games, then the White Sox come for a three-game series starting on Monday.
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