#-1: Twins (Last Week: -4). Just noticed something as I was constructing this week's Weekly Minnesota Sports Survey. All three teams here are good, or at least sport good records, and they are in the middle of some extremely tight standings at this moment.
With that being a commonality but not a differentiator, I rely almost solely on what usually is my main criterion for ranking the teams for the survey: Record for the week. And that means the Twins sit atop this week's perch by virtue of a 6-2 screening week. They took four-of-five over Labor Weekend at Target over Detroit (even though one of those Games was a make-up of a Game the week before ... in Detroit, which meant that for Friday night's back half of the Doubleheader, the Twins was the road team -- don't worry, they won that one, sweeping both ends of that DH) and split yesterday's/Tuesday's Doubleheader series in St. Louis. Myriad mistakes, dumb baserunning and a cratering bullpen contributed to the loss Sunday to the Tigers, and Randy Dobnak seemed to have broken down in last/Tuesday night's back-half defeat to the Cardinals. Otherwise, the competent Starting Pitching, productive if not prodigious hitting, and shutdown Relief Pitching has operated at levels that remind fans of how good this team is supposed to be, even though they're not being wowed right now.
The problem is that in this shortened 2020 season, the American League Central Division has become the tightest of the six in Major League Baseball. Both Cleveland the Chicago White Sox have caught fire in this part of the season, so much so that as of press time, the Twins remain in third place, behind both above teams, even though it is by only a half-Game. Unfortunately, jockeying for position in the division might be very important. If what I hear is true, the eight teams in both Leagues will not be seeded for the playoffs by record. Instead, all three division winners will be seeded 1-3, the three squads that finish second in all three divisions take seeds 4-6, and finally the two Wild Cards get the seventh and eighth seeds. It is possible that Minnesota finishes with a sterling record and be set up to face Oakland or Tampa. Not the greatest first-round matchup for a team seen as a title contender heading into the season. But I'm just happy that this team seems to have found something resembling its form again; I'll worry about the details of its playoff placement once the regular season is over.
The Twinks have today/Wednesday and tomorrow/Thursday off, and I still think that is extremely weird, even for this pandemic-shortened season. But once this screening week begins, it'll be a pivotal one. They host Cleveland for three Games over the weekend at home, then travel to Comiskey for a four-Game series vs. the Pale Hose beginning on Monday.
#-2: United FC (Last Week: -3). They got rocked midweek in Houston, 3-0. But they came back to Allianz Sunday and crushed Real Salt Lake, 4-0. Those four Goals are more than the Loons tallied in their last four Games (three Goals, all losses) combined. And despite what I thought had to be a tumble down the standings because of a losing streak, I see that MNUFC, as of press time, is still in third place in the Western Conference. Sure, it's hella congested. It's a three-way tie for third and they're only four Points above being on the outside looking in on the playoff chase. But they're only one Point behind second-place Seattle and three Points behind first-place Sporting Kansas City.
The problem for the Loons is that right now they are one hurting unit. It was announced yesterday/Tuesday aftternoon that Ozzie Alonso (hamstring), Ethan Finlay (knee) and Luis Amarilla (ankle) are expected to be out two-to-three Weeks. While the absences of Finlay and Amarilla further muddle an already inconsistent attack, it's the injury to rock-of-Gibraltar D-Mid Alonso that scares me the most.
MNUFC hosts Dallas tonight/Wednesday night, then visit conference-leading SKC (who, it should be said, are winless in their last four Matches) Sunday night. And then ... well, I don't know. The season isn't supposed to end; MLS has said that they are going to unveil further parts of the schedule around early September (so, now) with the planned goal of having a postseason and an MLS Cup before the year is out. But there is no schedule for all the teams past the 16th. So ... ?
#-3: Lynx (Last Week: -1). The arc is bending downward with the Lynx. They began the week with wins over Chicago and Dallas, but finished it with defeats to Seattle and Washington. That loss to the Mystics last/Tuesday night is particularly disconcerting. Minnesota was able to turn a seven-Point Halftime deficit to a three-Point lead heading into the Fourth Quarter by dint of a monster 29-19 Third Quarter; monster 3Qs have been something this club has gotten very good at this season. But Washington, who has not played this season with star Elena Delle Donne, outscored the Lynx 22-16 to win, 89-86.
That loss is particularly disconcerting because that drops their record to 13-7 with two Games left in the regular season. Currently, the Lynx are in fourth place in the league but only a Game up on Phoenix. That is important because of the stepladder, double-bye format of the WNBA postseason. Eight of the twelve teams in the association reach the playoffs. But the fifth through eighth seeds play a one-off against each other; the two surviving squads face the third and fourth seeds in another single Game; then finally the top two seeds face off against those two surviving squads for best-of-five Semifinal and Finals series. Minnesota should do their damnedest to hold onto that fourth seed so they can get a bye and maybe up to a week off; otherwise, they'll have to play what is tantamount to an NCAA Tournament tilt on Tuesday. What determines their final fate are Games tomorrow versus Las Vegas tomorrow/Thursday night and Saturday's regular season finale against Indiana.
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