#-1: Lynx (Last Week: -1). I may have said this before, but I'll say it again. Don't be fooled -- there is something rotten in the state of Minnesota sports. The Jynx have earned their fifth consecutive playoff spot, but this team is leaking oil, big-time. First, they got blown out in the fourth quarter in Phoenix Friday and lost to the hard-charging Mercury, 73-66. Combined with the 83-61 ass-kicking they received from the L.A. Sparks Tuesday, it was their first losing streak of the year. Phoenix now stands two games behind the Lynx for the top spot in the Western Conference. After the flurry of trades they made it appeared as though they were going to win the conference by fiat. But, in fact, it may be better for the Jynx to lose the lead to the Mercury; that way they avoid the four-seed, which is a suddenly 100% Los Angeles (now that Candace Parker is back on the team), and draw for the first round of the WNBA playoffs instead the Tulsa Shock, which are sliding down the standings because they are finally suffering from the absence of Skylar Diggins, lost for the year due to a torn ACL.
If you look closely, you can see some troubling signs in the two wins, too. Minnesota started off Sunday's game against the Sparks by outscoring them in the first quarter 20-8. But the Sparks responded by outscoring the Jynx 24-17 in the second. Then they went into halftime of Tuesday's game vs. San Antonio (at home, as was the game against L.A.) down 46-35. They dug down deep and outscored the Silver Stars in the third quarter 30-13, but while that shows a lot of resilience, this is not the play of a dominating team we were led to believe Minnesota was becoming with the additions of Anna Cruz, Renee Montgomery, Ashja Jones and Sylvia Fowles. And right now they are technically one game ahead of the current leader in a very interesting Eastern Conference race, another hard-charging team, the New York Liberty.
I remember a t-shirt a long time ago with a tagline that I have always remembered: "The dog with the bone is always in trouble."
This week: At Atlanta (currently last place in the East) Friday, then a really long home-and-home against the Mystics: They visit Washington Sunday, then play at Target Center Wednesday.
#-2: Twins (Last Week: -2). That abortion of a road trip disguises the fact that they finished their screening week 3-3. They finished getting swept -- and in fact being largely non-competitive -- at Toronto Thursday, losing 9-3 (and getting bypassed by the Blue Jays for ALWC2, probably for good), then dropped two-of-three at Cleveland over the weekend. And the only victory was a 10-9 slugfest. Yet, home cookin' has done them good; Tuesday they came back in the bottom of the ninth to score two and beat Texas 3-2 (helping Major League Baseball to its first 15-for-15 day for home teams in history). Then last (Wednesday) night Miguel Sano launched two Home Runs (the second into the upper deck in Left Field) and scored six RBI and Aaron Hicks went 4-for-4 as they trounced The Bastard Washington Senators v.2.0 11-1.
I have little else to say besides highlighting Joe Mauer. Over the weekend I heard on the radio that he essentially has a WAR of 0. Now, I still question both the calculation and the concept of WAR (I still don't know what the fuck it means), but basically it means that you can get any chump off the street and, when it comes to producing good results at the plate and on the field, he would be just as good (or bad) as Mauer. What a fall from grace for a guy who has won three batting titles and has been American League Most Valuable Player twice. Now, it might look as if he doesn't have the length of good numbers to make it to the Hall of Fame.
That brings up a question that some people have quickly said yes to: Should the Twinks just trade or even dump Mauer? He is virtually doing nothing at First Base. Never mind the fact he is being paid $20 million at a position where you shouldn't pay anyone $20 million; he can't give you value wherever he plays. (Just like with what the Boston Red Sox should keep doing with David Ortiz, Sano should be at 1B.) That same contract renders him untradeable. This is the second straight year of non-Mauer-like productivity; what ailed him in 2014 now seems to be The New Normal for him. And fans (including yours truly) have turned on him. It would make sense to cashier Mauer immediately; I think sabermatricians would agree.
It would make sense -- if sense is the only criterion you should use to make baseball roster decisions. Like it or not, Joe Mauer was The Face Of This Franchise for a long time. Those same people who boo him now (including yours truly) were cheering for him when he was young and healthy. He probably got all those cheers because he is One Of Us, and Minnesotans, do not deny that we can be a very provincial people. Finally, for good and for ill, Joe Mauer got the Pohlads Target Field. He may not have been the sole reason for the Twins staying, and any riches that came with the new stadium funnel into the Pohlads's pockets, but I don't see too many people complaining about Target Field now, and it came about at a time when we needed The Hometown Boy to stay in his hometown, and that's why we didn't run to the streets in pitchforks to stop the city and state from giving the organization $360 million in taxpayer to build a brand new (albeit beautiful) ballpark. And that's partly because of Mauer.
To jettison him now, or at least to find extraordinary to rid this franchise of his huge contract, is, in a way, being hypocrites. The Twins used him for their purposes. In a sense the fans did, too. The least you can do is honor his contract. I think Mauer even knows the writing's on the wall. So make him the Designated Hitter, or even move him to the bench. Sano is the future, and it looks as though the only thing he needs is regular reps in the lineup, so let him replace Mauer. But whatever you do, find a way to make Mauer's exit dignified. Because all he has done is try to be the most valuable Catcher in the big leagues (and for a few years he was that), stay out of trouble and be an honorable representative for the club. His class has not fallen off the way his productivity has, and I don't think advanced metrics can measure class, at least not yet.
After finishing the series against Texas this (Thursday) afternoon they host Cleveland for three, then they go to the Bronx and play the New York Yankees for three starting Monday.
#-3: Timberwolves (Re-Entry!). Thoughts go out to Head Coach Flip Saunders as he battles Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Luckily it's one of the most treatable forms of cancer: Hodgkin's Lymphoma has a survival rate of just over 87%. Nevertheless, I have to note that a squad that has been through a lot of bad times (nearly all of them by their own doing) does not need bad luck like this, and that's why they appear at the bottom of this week's survey. The Twins have shown this year (well, before the All-Star Game) that the worst can finally be behind you. Hopefully this will be that year for the T-Wolves ... ?
No comments:
Post a Comment