#-1: Twins (Last Week: -2). I just listened to one of those Games that could only happen in baseball. Not saying it was the greatest Game I've heard in a while. Well, it was going to be, then it turned into a disaster, then it turned out OK.
So for last night's home tilt vs. The Bastard Seattle Pilots, Kenta Maeda took a No-Hitter into the Ninth Inning before giving up a bloop Single to Eric Sogard. Then Taylor Rogers comes in after that Hit and, even though it wasn't totally his fault -- a Ground Ball could have turned into a Game-ending Double Play, but a throwing Error by Second Baseman, top-of-the-Inning substitute and new acquisition Ildemaro Vargas plated two Brewer Runs -- Rogers No-Decisioned Maeda after giving up three Runs. Missed chances and a litany of subs by Rocco Baldelli prolonged the agony into the 12th, where Byron Buxton was able to cross Home Plate on a gasping dribbler up to the mound courtesy of Jorge Polanco. Twins win, 4-3 in 12, in a contest that could have ended in historic fashion and should have ended with an easy victory.
Nevertheless the Twins capped off a 5-1 screening week with that win and therefore maintain their lead in the American League Central, even though Cleveland and the White Sox are nipping at their heels. Well, maybe it's a moot point since eight teams from the AL are going to reach this year's postseason. I am worried about cylinders not firing a third of the way through this sprint. Rogers remains a leaky governor, Miguel Sano ain't hitting and Josh Donaldson is still in traction. Then again, as anxious I and some Twins fans may get, Michael Baumann of The Ringer points out in his MLB Power Rankings that the squad (Baumann placed Minnesota fourth) is near the top of the Junior Circuit in Run Differential, and if everybody gets back and is healthy (the above players plus the Starting Pitching), they should still be on track to be a dangerous contender. Well, then, let's hope they avoid further calamity.
After finishing the three-Game series against Milwaukee, the team visits Kansas City for three over the weekend before starting a three-Game set versus Cleveland in Cleveland.
#-2: Lynx (Last Week: -1). When you're not expected to be all that good, you can take injuries in stride. A looming storyline with the Jynx may be the continued health of Sylvia Fowles. In Thursday's important showdown against Las Vegas, Big Syl got hurt in the first Minute of the Game. She went out, was diagnosed with a bad calf, and is out indefinitely. Minnesota fell behind The Bastard San Antonio Silver Stars in the First Half, but despite a surge in the Third Quarter (something the club has done several times so far this season, a testament to Cheryl Reeve), they still lost by ten.
Fowles was the final piece in the back half of the franchise's dynastic days, and even though she's not washed up, these stints on the injured list are beginning to pile up. Her absence and the search to try to score and defend without Fowles on the floor are starting to get to the Lynx, who now sit in fourth place in the ultra-competitive Western Conference (as of press time the would lead by a half-Game in the East). However, the youth movement seems to be developing nicely. The team came back Saturday and waxed New York, who has lost #1 Draft pick Sabrina Ionescu, by 30. Napheesa Collier is shaping up to be a very good player, and maybe the next leader on the team. So far, she's got a hot teammate in rookie (second-round Draft selection and, like Collier, a UConn grad) Crystal Dangerfield. Plus the team got a pick-me-up in the rout of the Liberty with the return of Odyssey Sims (five Assists in 14 Minutes), who just got back from maternity leave. And really, shoot, if they don't progress far in the WNBA playoffs, that's OK. The future is looking brighter and brighter. I think Big Syl will leave the team in good hands.
This week Minnesota has Games against Dallas, Phoenix and Atlanta on alternating days starting tonight/Wednesday night.
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