#-1: Lynx (Last Week: -3). Got back to their winning ways by drubbing the Mercury in Phoenix Friday, 88-71. You know, the Mercury was supposed to be the prime contender to the Lynx's domination of the WNBA ever since they got Brittney Griner to pair with Diana Taurasi. That 2014 Western Conference Finals, where the Merc crushed the Jynx in that Game 5, should have signaled a bellwether to the rivalry, if not a changing of the guard. But Taurasi elected to take the following season off, and they haven't been the same since. And the Los Angeles Sparks appear to have taken over the mantle of Prime Contender (if not Best Team In The WNBA) from Phoenix.
I say this because in the fourth quarter of the game, Griner left. And now she'll be out three-to-four weeks with knee and ankle injuries. Seems as if Phoenix won't be winning the title this year, either. And it looks as though Minnesota will still have L.A. to exorcise in order to win another championship. The Griner-less Mercury come to St. Paul this evening; the club also hosts The Bastard Detroit-By-Way-Of-Tulsa Shock Wednesday.
#-2: Twins (Last Week: -2). So nothing with the All-Star Break matters to the Twinks when it comes to the WMNSS unless it's bad. And there's plenty bad, so I want to hold it against them.
First, Miguel Sano. Great that his bloop single to right got the American League on the board with a 1-0 lead in the All-Star Game. But I would be willing to bet money that his Home Run totals are going to swandive since appearing in the Home Run Derby. Why? Because that is what usually happens, and I don't care about any stats that would say otherwise. Whenever a Twink appears in the HRD, he tires out his arms and he loses his swing and he's going to be impotent the second half of the season. If you're going to do that, at least win the Derby. But he didn't do that. Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees -- some down East Coast hacks thinks the rook should be the next face of the of Major League Baseball; where the fuck do people come up with that? -- won. Worst of all, Sano didn't save his swings when it really counts; he lost in the final to Judge, 11-10. So he pumped out all those homers and managed to advance two rounds, but then lost in the final, by a single Home Run, and so he loses the Home Run Derby. That's a long way to destroy your swing and your totals, sir.
Then, Ervin Santana. He came in the ASG after Closer Brandon Kintzler -- weird that the Ace of a team comes in after its Closer, but whatevs -- and Santana promptly gave up the lead teammate Sano got for the AL with a pitch Yadier Molina of the St. Louis Cardinals deposited into Marlins Park's Right-Center Field. That does not portend well for his second half, although he managed Saturday's game and helped get the squad a 4-2 victory over the dangerous Houston Astros.
Kintzler was clean in his outing, three up and three down. No worries with him, yet.
Now to the second half, which began with a 10-5 clubbing by The Bastard Houston Colt .45s. They're in a tussle now in the rubber game, and after that the road does not get that much easier, with three-game sets against the Yankees (starting tomorrow/Monday) and Detroit (beginning Friday). At least both series are at home.
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