Ignoring that the Lynx are 2-5 Ignoring that the Lynx are 2-5 Ignoring that the Lynx are 2-5 ...
Positive Numbers: Gopher baseball (Last Week: Positive Numbers). When was the last time I put the same team in Positive Numbers in back-to-back weeks? Ever? No, it has to be the University of Minnesota women's hockey team, right?
Anyway, congratulations go to the University of Minnesota baseball team, and program, for having, if I may say, little trouble sweeping through the Regional they hosted over the weekend and advancing past the Regional round for the first time since 1977 -- which included, I have just learned from Eric Sorenson of D1Baseball.com, current Head Coach John Anderson, who pitched on that team.
They had no problem dispatching Canisius Friday. Then, battling through a few rain delays (there goes that "inclement weather" crap that's infected us all spring) and a marathon match against UCLA, they outlasted the Bruins in a game that went to the Tenth Inning and past midnight, 3-2. I was able to get tickets to both games Sunday. (I believe I got the very last ticket for Game 6, which pitted the Golden Gophers against the Bruins again, after they eliminated Gonzaga in Sunday afternoon's contest. After I bought my ticket and went back to buy Game 5, it said that Game 6 is sold out. Phew!) The Bruins looked really good in beating the Zags, but I have to believe that going through four Pitchers in the afternoon meant that they were gassed for the evening.
I didn't know the the Gophers were going to be gassed as well. Jack Stevenson lasted only 2+ Innings, getting lifted in the Third without getting anybody out in that Inning. Stevenson finally got tagged for five Runs. No worries, though; Bruins starter Jack Ralston got the hook after 1 1/3 and allowing four Runs. And the weirdest thing about this game is that neither Ralston nor Stevenson got hung for the loss.
Minnesota won 13-8. It was 7-5 Gophers after three. The crowd gave a rousing, and possibly ironic, cheer after the Bruins went 1-2-3 in the top of the Fourth Inning. And then the wave came crashing on UCLA with the Golden Gophers plating six in the bottom half. Given the war of attrition that the game started out as (something in retrospect I should have foreseen), I didn't think 13-5 lead was safe, and the Bruins scored one in the Fifth and two in the Ninth. But Fred Manke got Jake Hirabayashi looking to end the game and send the U. to its first-ever Super Regional (the Super Regional stage began in 1999).
The Gophers, the #14 overall seed, take on the Oregon St. Beavers, the #3 overall seed, in Corvallis, Ore., this weekend (thus sparing me guilt from being out of town for any potential to work the Supe at Siebert Field). They are a damn good team, led by Shortstop Nick Madrigal, who was just picked fourth in tonight's (Monday night's) Major League Baseball Draft by the Chicago White Sox, and Right Fielder Trevor Larnach, who was just picked in the first round of the MLB Draft by ... the Minnesota Twins. Awkward! Regardless, even if they lose this weekend, this has been a smashing success for the team and the program.
#-1: Twins (Last Week: -1). Nor do I remember if I have ever skipped 0 whenever I put a team in Positive Numbers. I could push up both of the other teams to 0 and -1. But, well, United FC you can read below, and the Twins, although having a not-bad 4-3 week, remain in third place in the American League Central Division, 3 1/2 games behind Cleveland and a 1/2 game behind, of all teams, old Detroit and ex-Twins Manager Ron Gardenhire. Not saying Gardy is bad, but let's face it; he's there to shepherd the organization through the end of the controlled fire, to be fired himself once all the dead weight, expensive contracts and old players are finally shipped out. That he's got the remnants of a once-proud Tigers squad in second in June is sort-of remarkable.
That being said, this is still a winnable division, and I like the fight of winning three-of-four from Cleveland at Target after dropping the series in Kansas City. Pitching has been uneven -- Fernando Romero seems to have been solved, at least for now -- but this past series finally saw the bats awaken, capped by Eddie Rosario smacking three Home Runs in Sunday's come-from-behind win, the last ending the game in a 7-5 victory. Rosario now stands as the team's rep for the All-Star Game.
Squads are beginning to think about whether they're going to be buyers or sellers at the Trade Deadline. The Twins have a week at home to get on the good end of their so-far choppy schedule. They face the Pale Hose for four beginning tomorrow/Tuesday with a Doubleheader (the second game is the make-up for the snowed-out April 13 matchup). Then the Angels come for a trio for the weekend.
#-2: United FC (Last Week: 0). OK, so I'm glad I was totally out of the loop for the predictable 4-1 thrashing at Sporting Kansas City last/Sunday night because I was at Siebert. Tyrone Mears's long-range howitzer was the only bright spot in that match. And yep ... that's all I've got. Maybe the less said, the better. Well, except for that the Loons and the whole of Major League Soccer are taking the next 20 or so days off for the World Cup. The club returns to action on the 23rd.
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