#-1: Lynx (Last Week: 0). Um, OK, my bad. In last week's WMNSS I said that the Lynx were going to have three upcoming games past week. Checking back on the team's schedule page those games (at Chicago Friday, home to San Antonio Sunday, at Connecticut Tuesday) are actually this week. Don't know where my head's at.
They apparently have a huge hole in their schedule, for some reason -- Independence Weekend? Women's World Cup? The only game between Saturday, June 27 and Friday, July 10 was Friday's 82-57 she-lacking at Target Center of the Seattle Storm, the same team against which they registered the largest road comeback in franchise history on June 25. The quartet of Moore, Whalen, Augustus and Brunson remain the nucleus around which the club orbits to great success, but I'm still worried about the revolving door at the 5. Ashja Jones, signed to replace the Janel McCarville when she surprised the squad by taking a sabbatical this year, replaced Damiris Dantas at Center to start the game, but like Dantas in most games, she was frequently substituted. In the end, it looks Dantas and Devereaux Peters played more minutes than Jones. The team's winning, no problem there, but it would be nice if they found answer at the pivot.
The other big news is the belated arrival of Anna Cruz, who is expected to be Lindsay Whalen's back-up Point Guard. This should allow Monica Wright to dedicate her time solely to the wing guard/Small Forward spot. We'll see if it works for the team that, as of press time, has the best record in the WNBA.
#-2: Twins (Last Week: -2). Well, Miguel Sano's start in the big leagues is going a hell of a lot better than Byron Buxton, the prospect that was supposed to be better. In Thursday's 2-0 win over division-leading Kansas City he legged out an infield grounder for his first-ever professional hit. Soon after -- some time during the organization's 5-2 screening week -- he hit his first Home Run, which I think reached the upper deck in left-center field. It's very early, but he seems to be keeping up with the speed and power of the pitching in Major League Baseball. Consequently or coincidentally, Sano's call-up has suddenly sparked life in the moribund lineup. Torii Hunter continues to drink from The Fountain Of Youth, Joe Mauer is batting a hell of a lot better, and they once again are mashing the ball.
Two Twins of note, possibly with bright and long futures with the club. The first is Brian Dozier, who kicked off his campaign to be the last player voted onto the American League's All-Star team by walking off Monday's 4-2 win over Baltimore at Target Field with a two-run homer to left. Sabermatricians have been on his jock the past couple years, but his combination of steady defense and timely hitting for power is now getting the regular baseball fan's attention. It may be possible that he can be the future face of the Twins now that Mauer is facing the back half of his career. The other guy I'm noticing is Pitcher Kyle Gibson. He showed major brass ones in that Thursday victory at the Royals. In the eighth, with runners in scoring position (I think) and over the magical 100 pitches, he got his second Strikeout swinging and induced a weak grounder to get out of the inning. And he remained solid in Tuesday's 8-3 win over the Orioles. I don't know if he's get ace stuff, but he's looking more and more like a very good pitcher that belongs in the majors for a long time.
Oh, by the way, with Wednesday afternoon's 5-3 victory, the Twins just swept the O's. A split of the best team in the AL on the road followed by a sweep, remaining in line for a Wild Card and a spot in the American League Play-In Game? That ain't a bad week. They finish the first half of the regular season with four games at home vs. Detroit. Then it's the All-Star break for everybody on the team except, for now, Glen Perkins, who will make his third ASG appearance in Cincinnati.
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