Positive Numbers: Gopher men's outdoor track and field (FIRST TIME EVER!!!) I only put the outdoor T&F team in (I don't follow this sport beyond the Olympics, but most people don't) because of one student-athlete: Obsa Ali, who won the NCAA 3000-meter Steeplechase Friday at the University of Oregon, becoming the first runner in the program to win an NCAA event since Luca Wieland took the Indoor Heptathlon three years ago (why didn't I do a write-up about him?) and the 14th national champion in T&F in U. history. Also, he's one of us; he hails from Richfield High School. Congratulations, Obsa Ali!
#-1: Twins (Last Week: -1). OK, now I'm worried. When the media is talking up how their homestand was a success when they only went 6-5, we have a problem. (With sports media as well as the team, but that's another story.) Moreover, since the Twinks suffered through a 3-4 screening week, where they split four games vs. an awful White Sox team and dropped two-of-three with the Shohei Ohtani-less Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Angels of Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Angels of …, I am now having big reservations that this team is able to turn it around. The problem, at least right now, is the lineup, supposedly the strength of this team going into this season. With the exception of Eddie Rosario, no one is hitting well and consistently. And with Byron Buxton regressing at the plate, Miguel Sano still not back on track and Joe Mauer out due to yet another concussion, the cavalry might not be coming.
They now have to hit the road this week against the two best teams in their division. Three against Detroit mid-week, then three versus Cleveland for the weekend.
(ETA an aside: Last week I speculated whether that was the first time I skipped over #0 to put in teams in Positive Numbers and -1. And this week I'm doing it for the second week in a row. Ha-ha, I guess.)
#-Infinity: Gopher baseball (Last Week: Positive Numbers). Well, that sucked. I was hopping into my car, trying to escape early from the Big Head Todd and the Monsters concert at the surreal, sublime Red Rock Amphitheatre. (It was around 11 when I got to my car, I had to return my car by 4 a.m. and I knew if I stayed till the end [and I think I left with three or four songs left] I would be stuck trying to get out of the area for at least an hour, if not two, and I'd be aggravated so much my heart would explode.) The rental I got automatically (at least I think; we'll see if I get a bill for it) satellite radio, and I had been listening to college baseball's Super Regionals on ESPNU all day.
I turned on the channel to the Golden Gophers' Game 2 game against Oregon St. at the top of the Ninth Inning with the score tied at 3. There were two Outs, but the bases were loaded for the Beavers (since it's Game 2, the team hosting the Supe is the visiting team). Lockdown Closer Max Meyer, who came in to pitch starting in the Sixth Inning, was on the mound … and he allowed a hit that scored two. Game over, I knew it, and I flipped the channel to Sirius XM Chill. Or Real Jazz. One of the two.
They Beavs tacked on another one, so the Gophers got doubled-up in their last game of the year, 6-3. And they got blown out in Friday's Game 1, 8-1, where Minnesota starter Reggie Meyer got shaken down for six Runs over six Innings (striking out only three) while Oregon St. #1 (and convicted sex offender) Luke Heimlich was lifted with one Out left in that game, striking out nine in the process. (Oh, and he wasn't drafted last week.)
Yes, it is a buzzkill, getting swept, especially in such heartbreaking fashion in a close game that could have extended its season. But hey, Oregon St. is a damn good squad. And besides, I have never seen the Golden Gopher baseball program win a Regional or advance this far in the NCAA Tournament. Hell, I didn't think this club could make it to the NCAA Tournament. This is, simply put, the best team this program has had probably in the last four decades. That ain't nothing. Maybe they'll be this good again next year, maybe not; six very important players graduate. But SS (and First-Team All-American) Terrin Vavra is a Junior (although he was drafted in the third round of the MLB Draft by the Colorado Rockies -- ironically, a team I saw lose in person while I was in Denver this weekend), and Meyer and starter Patrick Fredrickson (who was named Big Ten Pitcher Of The Year, and started [and struggled through] Game 2 before being replaced by Meyer) are both Freshmen. Maybe things are looking up. Good season, Gophs.
No comments:
Post a Comment