Positive Numbers: United FC (Last Week: -2). This week is a tough one. We have two great teams that are doing very well right now. So, which team gets the top spot? In the end, I relied on two factors. One, the record during the screening week -- which, to be fair, is not fair, but I have relied on it as the predetermining factor for ranking teams in the WMNSS since its inception. But two, I am looking at expectations compared to where I thought the Loons and the Twins would be. This is also unfair, because I and everybody else, I'm sure, had no idea the Twins would be leading the American League Central Division and have a lineup on pace to not just set but shatter the record for most Home Runs in a season in The History Of Major League Baseball.
But I grade based on recency, and recent form suggests that things were better for the Twins earlier in the season than now. Compare that to MNUFC -- which, again to be fair, had reason expectations that they would be competing for a playoff spot. They are doing that and then some, albeit courtesy of one Game. But what a Game it was: A 1-0 victory at The Nest over the Portland Timbers when it was the visiting side that had the better chances. But it was a handball in Added Time in the box from Timbers Center Back Larrys Mabiala -- checked after VAR -- that gave Ethan Finlay (seemingly the fourth choice on the squad) the Penalty Kick Goal in the 92nd Minute (even though Portland Goalie Steve Clark guessed right; he flung himself to his right and got a piece of the ball, but it went in anyway). United FC Head Coach Adrian Heath thought of it as cheap, but no matter; because of the win Sunday afternoon, as of press time, MNUFC are in, get this, second place in the Western Conference. I and many others probably didn't think they would be this far up the table this deep into the season. So for that, not only am I putting them up top, I'm giving them Positive Numbers, too. (That allows me to give the Twins a 0, which is not a bad consolation gift. That's my way of giving them dap.)
Now, Inchy have some spinning plates. Wednesday they face Portland again, at home again, this time in the Semifinals of the U.S. Open Cup. It appears as though both teams played 10 of their usual starting XI; they inserted Jeremy Ebobisse in as a sub over the weekend, while Darwin Quintero had to take the Match off for yellow card accumulation. Do both teams just roll out the same lineup again? And both teams play yet again (in Major League Soccer play) over the weekend; Minnesota heads to Dallas to play Saturday night. Would Gaffer just rely on his eleven horses to get through three Games in the span of seven days? Regardless, how will the Loons, who are now unbeaten in their last 11 matches that count, fare this time next week?
#0: Twins (Last Week: -1). One day, maybe I can look back on this and appreciate the rest between the Twins and Cleveland during the 2019 season. But not now. Nevertheless, the lead, which was at two Games this time last Survey, has doubled to four. The Tribe in their meatier part of their schedule and are still doing pretty well. Meanwhile, the home Nine just completed a 6-1 screening week with a two-Run Game-ender last/Monday night versus the Atlanta Braves off the bat of Miguel Sano, who was Pinch-Hitting:
On seeing the highlight for the first time I thought that ball landed in Center Field. But then I realized that Braves Center Fielder Ronald Acuna, Jr. trotting to the dugout. When a fielder is coming in as the ball is going out, that ball's a Home Run.
I do need to talk about Sano. I, like many people, decided to write him off after he came back from injury earlier this year to a major slump. But, if reports are accurate, he decided to take the time to tear down the mechanics of his swing and built it back up to be an even better one. Statistics say he's doing a lot better. It'll be dramatics like last/Monday night that will convince the layman that Sano's a keeper.
Who may not be a keeper? Sam Dyson. The reliever was the only pickup the Twins made in the run-up to the Trade Deadline. After getting shipped from San Francisco, he was inserted into Thursday's game at Miami holding a 4-1 lead and promptly gave it all up; the Marlins won it, 5-4, in twelve Innings, the club's only loss this week. The next night, at home vs. Kansas City, he was put in in the Eighth Inning ... where he gave up four Hits and three Runs. The Twins hung on to beat the Royals, 11-9, but on Sunday Dyson was put on the 10-Day Injured List with "right biceps tendinitis." Maybe this trade, for which the Twins gave up three prospects, wasn't a good one.
This is a pivotal screening week. After finishing up against The Bastard Boston-By-Way-Of-Milwaukee Braves, they have four contests against ... Cleveland. At least the series will be at Target Field.
#-1: Lynx (Last Week: -3). OK, now the Lynx have become the Jynx. Because what happened Saturday ... man, not only is it not characteristic of their dynastic years (which I think it's safe to say we can refer to in the past tense now), but it's not something the franchise did when they blew chunks. At Indiana, they had a 20-Point lead in the Second Quarter and blew it. On top of that, they went on to lose to the Fever by 11 Points. It is the worst blown lead in Lynx history. And they have now lost four in a row, and have fallen to below .500. My, my, my -- what. A. Mess.
Busy screening week. At Atlanta tonight/Tuesday night, home to Connecticut Friday, at Washington Sunday afternoon. One bright spot, maybe: Seimone Augustus is listed as probably for the Dream tilt.
#-Infinity: Wild (Re-Entry!). It was Tuesday afternoon, just as I was tuning into The Common Man on KFAN (his producer, Brandon Mileski, was filling him as host) about 15 Minutes in, when Tenna B broke the big news: Mild General Manager Paul Fenton was fired after only one season. The press conference by Owner Craig Leipold, and, apparently, a later hit piece (and I mean that in a good way) by Michael Russo of The Athletic fills in the reason why. Paul Fenton made trades that made no sense and after little to no consultation with the scouting department and people it would make sense to talk to; he promoted his son to an important position in scouting despite having little experience; he bullied and threatened people working for him after anonymous sources contributed to stories about the inner workings of the Wild front office; and he suspiciously took trips to vacation spots such as Cape Cod ... which, by the way, was where Fenton was when Leipold shitcanned him.
Again, I didn't read Russo's piece because I have no more money to give. But it appears as though one thing was made abundantly clear: Paul Fenton is a Grade A dick. And if Russo is the journalist I think he is, the facts borne out on his imperious, incompetent tenure should mean he never gets a job as a General Manager ever again -- and, by all rights, he shouldn't have a job in hockey, too. To me, the bullying and threatening is what pisses me off about him. He has shown he had little understanding of how to be a general manager, and instead he fills up his time learning about stories about the team and trying to figure out who the leaks are? You've got an old and flailing team to run -- and they became old and flailing partly because of you! What a colossal fucking dick he is. If Donald Trump were a GM, he would be Paul Fenton.
But for most others, it'll be the moves that will piss them off. Trades that were lightly questioned when they were made have become huge mistakes now that Fenton is gone. (That raises a journalism question. I feel as though Russo and other hockey writers have been holding back on Fenton's moves and behavior. The truth is coming out now, but do they have an obligation to tell the truth, the whole truth, about him while he was GM? This seems a tad back-biting to me, even if this needs to be known about him. And if they were holding back, was the reason they did so a fear of losing access? I get that, but that's another damning indictment on the importance of access in journalism.) Most of the pickups don't make sense. The trades shook up their core, but the jury's out on whether or not they'll be better for the squad in the long run. There is always the chance that Kevin Fiala and Ryan Donato will turn out to be great pickups for Minnesota. But it looks as though Paul Fenton hurt and pissed off too many people within the organization in just a season. And mean and stupid is a very, very bad way to go through life.
So it looks like The Fenton Year is a disaster, and it might have put this franchise in a worse-off position than before. However, many of those problems predate him. Hanging over everything are the contracts to Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, both of whom are still receiving large amounts of money for diminished production. The roster is just about capped (although Fenton signing Mats Zuccarello just about eliminated any flexibility they may have had), and besides the return of Mikko Koivu and Matt Dumba, the Mild are charging into next season with just about the same aged lineup as last season. Finally, there have been many people saying that Fenton is what they knew he would be. How did Leipold not know? And if he didn't, he didn't do his due diligence, either.
While I appreciate an Owner who wants to win, right now this is a sports organization in serious disarray. And there's no hope they can clean this up, from at least my perspective, in the near future.
But I grade based on recency, and recent form suggests that things were better for the Twins earlier in the season than now. Compare that to MNUFC -- which, again to be fair, had reason expectations that they would be competing for a playoff spot. They are doing that and then some, albeit courtesy of one Game. But what a Game it was: A 1-0 victory at The Nest over the Portland Timbers when it was the visiting side that had the better chances. But it was a handball in Added Time in the box from Timbers Center Back Larrys Mabiala -- checked after VAR -- that gave Ethan Finlay (seemingly the fourth choice on the squad) the Penalty Kick Goal in the 92nd Minute (even though Portland Goalie Steve Clark guessed right; he flung himself to his right and got a piece of the ball, but it went in anyway). United FC Head Coach Adrian Heath thought of it as cheap, but no matter; because of the win Sunday afternoon, as of press time, MNUFC are in, get this, second place in the Western Conference. I and many others probably didn't think they would be this far up the table this deep into the season. So for that, not only am I putting them up top, I'm giving them Positive Numbers, too. (That allows me to give the Twins a 0, which is not a bad consolation gift. That's my way of giving them dap.)
Now, Inchy have some spinning plates. Wednesday they face Portland again, at home again, this time in the Semifinals of the U.S. Open Cup. It appears as though both teams played 10 of their usual starting XI; they inserted Jeremy Ebobisse in as a sub over the weekend, while Darwin Quintero had to take the Match off for yellow card accumulation. Do both teams just roll out the same lineup again? And both teams play yet again (in Major League Soccer play) over the weekend; Minnesota heads to Dallas to play Saturday night. Would Gaffer just rely on his eleven horses to get through three Games in the span of seven days? Regardless, how will the Loons, who are now unbeaten in their last 11 matches that count, fare this time next week?
#0: Twins (Last Week: -1). One day, maybe I can look back on this and appreciate the rest between the Twins and Cleveland during the 2019 season. But not now. Nevertheless, the lead, which was at two Games this time last Survey, has doubled to four. The Tribe in their meatier part of their schedule and are still doing pretty well. Meanwhile, the home Nine just completed a 6-1 screening week with a two-Run Game-ender last/Monday night versus the Atlanta Braves off the bat of Miguel Sano, who was Pinch-Hitting:
— FOX Sports North (@fsnorth) August 6, 2019
On seeing the highlight for the first time I thought that ball landed in Center Field. But then I realized that Braves Center Fielder Ronald Acuna, Jr. trotting to the dugout. When a fielder is coming in as the ball is going out, that ball's a Home Run.
I do need to talk about Sano. I, like many people, decided to write him off after he came back from injury earlier this year to a major slump. But, if reports are accurate, he decided to take the time to tear down the mechanics of his swing and built it back up to be an even better one. Statistics say he's doing a lot better. It'll be dramatics like last/Monday night that will convince the layman that Sano's a keeper.
Who may not be a keeper? Sam Dyson. The reliever was the only pickup the Twins made in the run-up to the Trade Deadline. After getting shipped from San Francisco, he was inserted into Thursday's game at Miami holding a 4-1 lead and promptly gave it all up; the Marlins won it, 5-4, in twelve Innings, the club's only loss this week. The next night, at home vs. Kansas City, he was put in in the Eighth Inning ... where he gave up four Hits and three Runs. The Twins hung on to beat the Royals, 11-9, but on Sunday Dyson was put on the 10-Day Injured List with "right biceps tendinitis." Maybe this trade, for which the Twins gave up three prospects, wasn't a good one.
This is a pivotal screening week. After finishing up against The Bastard Boston-By-Way-Of-Milwaukee Braves, they have four contests against ... Cleveland. At least the series will be at Target Field.
#-1: Lynx (Last Week: -3). OK, now the Lynx have become the Jynx. Because what happened Saturday ... man, not only is it not characteristic of their dynastic years (which I think it's safe to say we can refer to in the past tense now), but it's not something the franchise did when they blew chunks. At Indiana, they had a 20-Point lead in the Second Quarter and blew it. On top of that, they went on to lose to the Fever by 11 Points. It is the worst blown lead in Lynx history. And they have now lost four in a row, and have fallen to below .500. My, my, my -- what. A. Mess.
Busy screening week. At Atlanta tonight/Tuesday night, home to Connecticut Friday, at Washington Sunday afternoon. One bright spot, maybe: Seimone Augustus is listed as probably for the Dream tilt.
#-Infinity: Wild (Re-Entry!). It was Tuesday afternoon, just as I was tuning into The Common Man on KFAN (his producer, Brandon Mileski, was filling him as host) about 15 Minutes in, when Tenna B broke the big news: Mild General Manager Paul Fenton was fired after only one season. The press conference by Owner Craig Leipold, and, apparently, a later hit piece (and I mean that in a good way) by Michael Russo of The Athletic fills in the reason why. Paul Fenton made trades that made no sense and after little to no consultation with the scouting department and people it would make sense to talk to; he promoted his son to an important position in scouting despite having little experience; he bullied and threatened people working for him after anonymous sources contributed to stories about the inner workings of the Wild front office; and he suspiciously took trips to vacation spots such as Cape Cod ... which, by the way, was where Fenton was when Leipold shitcanned him.
Again, I didn't read Russo's piece because I have no more money to give. But it appears as though one thing was made abundantly clear: Paul Fenton is a Grade A dick. And if Russo is the journalist I think he is, the facts borne out on his imperious, incompetent tenure should mean he never gets a job as a General Manager ever again -- and, by all rights, he shouldn't have a job in hockey, too. To me, the bullying and threatening is what pisses me off about him. He has shown he had little understanding of how to be a general manager, and instead he fills up his time learning about stories about the team and trying to figure out who the leaks are? You've got an old and flailing team to run -- and they became old and flailing partly because of you! What a colossal fucking dick he is. If Donald Trump were a GM, he would be Paul Fenton.
But for most others, it'll be the moves that will piss them off. Trades that were lightly questioned when they were made have become huge mistakes now that Fenton is gone. (That raises a journalism question. I feel as though Russo and other hockey writers have been holding back on Fenton's moves and behavior. The truth is coming out now, but do they have an obligation to tell the truth, the whole truth, about him while he was GM? This seems a tad back-biting to me, even if this needs to be known about him. And if they were holding back, was the reason they did so a fear of losing access? I get that, but that's another damning indictment on the importance of access in journalism.) Most of the pickups don't make sense. The trades shook up their core, but the jury's out on whether or not they'll be better for the squad in the long run. There is always the chance that Kevin Fiala and Ryan Donato will turn out to be great pickups for Minnesota. But it looks as though Paul Fenton hurt and pissed off too many people within the organization in just a season. And mean and stupid is a very, very bad way to go through life.
So it looks like The Fenton Year is a disaster, and it might have put this franchise in a worse-off position than before. However, many of those problems predate him. Hanging over everything are the contracts to Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, both of whom are still receiving large amounts of money for diminished production. The roster is just about capped (although Fenton signing Mats Zuccarello just about eliminated any flexibility they may have had), and besides the return of Mikko Koivu and Matt Dumba, the Mild are charging into next season with just about the same aged lineup as last season. Finally, there have been many people saying that Fenton is what they knew he would be. How did Leipold not know? And if he didn't, he didn't do his due diligence, either.
While I appreciate an Owner who wants to win, right now this is a sports organization in serious disarray. And there's no hope they can clean this up, from at least my perspective, in the near future.
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