So their two-game midweek series versus Saint Louis was cancelled even before they starting packing for the trip because of "inclement weather" (I've seen that phrase used a lot on the Gopher athletics website -- they mean it's too damn cold to play). Then on Wednesday, what I wasn't sure would happen in fact did not happen: They did not play a three-game set against Penn St. to open Siebert Field because "inclement weather."
But this is where it gets interesting. My first thought when they announced they wouldn't play the games at Siebert was that they would instead play them at Medlar Field, which is the stadium for Penn St. What was a Gopher home series would instead be a Nittany Lion home series and that's it. But, and I'm just guessing here, you cannot just flip a series from one team to the other. To be fair, conference rules I presume require that if the home team cannot host, they will find an alternate, neutral site. And they found one at Alexander Field, home stadium for Purdue. They decided on West Lafayette, Ind., because it's roughly equidistant from Dinkytown and Happy Valley and because the Boilermakers were visiting Indiana over the weekend, so the venue was free. (And by the way, this is not the first time the U. was involved in such an arrangement. On March 22-3, 2014, they played Northwestern in, of all places, St. Charles, Mo., a place that obviously isn't the home turf of any Big Ten club. I don't remember this on that particular WMNSS.)
And that damn move still didn't prevent the cold from fucking up their plans, because Friday's first game was suspended after the Fifth Inning because "inclement weather." But that turned out to be a good thing for the Golden Gophers. They were trailing PSU 6-4 when they resumed the game at noon Saturday, and at the bottom of the Sixth they plated three Runs to take the lead and eventually win, 7-6. It got even better for the second game that day because Minnesota Freshman Pitcher Patrick Frederickson had a No-Hitter through Seven Innings and struck out seven as the U. whacked around the Lions, 17-2. Finally, the weekend finished as well as it could have, as the Gopher completed a sweep yesterday/Sunday by beating Penn St. by a score of 8-2. So yes, the lineup can hit, and if Frederickson keeps this up, this squad might be able to make some noise.
Presuming winter is behind us (fingers crossed), the team will be able to get in all four games they plan on playing this week. They return home to play a one-off vs. North Dakota St. tomorrow/Tuesday. And then they ... have to travel back to Alexander Field?? So they would be an actual road team as they play the Boilermakers for three this upcoming weekend. Going to a spot you didn't plan on spending a weekend, then returning to that same spot for a weekend you did plan on spending there? They might as well cancel the game against the Bison and just stay in West Lafayette for the entire week. They can visit my hot Facebook friend who posed for Playboy.
#-2: Twins (Last Week: -3). Inclement weather, which postponed the Twins' series-capper against Seattle at Target Field yesterday (Sunday), combined with the traditional spacing out of the first series of the season (remember that this club had both Tuesday and Friday off, and both days were planned days off), makes it difficult to gauge how dialed in the team is. So I really have to look into the raw data, and seeing that these guys went 2-1 and split a pair with both the Pittsburgh Pirates (on the road) and the Mariners makes me think ... eh, nothing. Well, Jose Berrios was boom-and-bust in Saturday's 11-4 defeat to Seattle. He struck out seven, yet only lasted 4 2/3 Innings while allowing five Runs.
Did not notice this till now: They are currently in one of their longest homestands of the year. They play defending World Series champions
#-3: Wild (Last Week: -4). I said in last week's survey that the Wild could sew up a playoff spot last Monday with a win over Edmonton and some help. That's exactly what happened: The Wild shut out the Oilers, 3-0, and even though one of either Colorado or St. Louis was able to gain a Point while the Wild clinched a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, both The Bastard Quebec Nordiques and the Blues lost outright.
I'm don't remember at what point this club was locked into third in the Central Division, but at some point, the last three games of the regular season, all on the road in California, became meaningless. This was the time to rest your starters, play your role players, and pray to God no one gets hurt. (That prayer came too late for Luke Kunin, who is gone for a full calendar year for a torn ACL.) I'm not too bent out of shape that they lost to Anaheim and Los Angeles, but I am pleasantly surprised that they doubled up San Jose on Saturday, 6-3, in a game where, if the Sharks won, would take home-ice advantage over Anaheim. So they finished with the 11th-most Points in the NHL, and reached more the 100-Point plateau for the fourth time in franchise history.
And they will face The Bastard Atlanta Thrashers, a squad that has two powerful lines and isn't as banged up as Minnesota is. Let's face it: The Mild have been carried this year by two players, Eric Staal (who should get votes for the Hart Trophy) and Jason Zucker. They need to score this series. Other players need to score this series. And the young Defensemen who need to replace Ryan Suter and, potentially, Jared Spurgeon need to grow some pubes real quick.
Saying that, I predict the Mild get swept. Any takers?
#-4: Gopher softball (Last Week: -1). Seasons like this puts into stark relief why the best players in outdoor sports go south to play collegiate sports. The lady Nine were to play a trio at Michigan St. "Inclement weather" dictated on Friday that that day's game would not be played and instead the two teams would play a Doubleheader Sunday. And then Saturday's tilt was cancelled because it was too fucking cold. But it was warm enough to get two in yesterday (Sunday), where they lost to the Spartans 3-2 in the first game but tripled them up in the second, 6-2.
The team, which is now 4-3 in the B1G, travel to Iowa this weekend for a three-game series (fingers crossed).
#-5: Timberwolves (Last Week: -5). Welp, this squad is in a predicament of their own making. On Thursday they blew a lead in Denver to a Nuggets team that has become the final stalking horse preventing the Woofie Dogs from getting into the postseason for the first time since 2004. They somehow pulled out a victory the next night in Staples against The Bastard Minneapolis Lakers, an outfit that had been playing quite well.
With two games to go in the season, they are tied with Denver record-wise, but they appear to own all the tie-breakers; if it gets that far, the Wolves have a decisively better Conference record than the Nugz. In fact, like the Wild last Monday, the Timberwolves could clinch a playoff birth with a win this Monday/tonight at Target Center over The Bastard Vancouver Grizzlies and some help, namely Portland going into Denver and defeating the Nuggets and, weirdly enough, San Antonio beating The Bastard Cincinnati Royals/Kansas City-Omaha Kings in San Antone.
But you may remember that Memphis was here two Mondays ago and, even though they had nothing to play for, they controlled the Woofs all night and beat them, 101-93. Portland already clinched -- the Trail Blazers are currently third in the West, a spot Minnesota was in a month ago -- and have nothing to play for in the Mile High City. And the Spurs are in strange disarray over the continued absence (and obstinacy) of Kawhi Leonard. This could all come down to the last day of the NBA regular season, Wednesday, where the Timberwolves host ... the Denver Nuggets. That game could be for all the marbles. And I know there are some local fans here who would not mind at all if the local NBA club completes its collapse and misses out on the playoffs for a 14th consecutive year. We shall see if these guys have the intestinal fortitude to seal the deal.
No comments:
Post a Comment