I opted out of this season after being forcibly opted out last season. Still, money was taken out of my account for much of the ticket for this season. Since I opted out, I could use the money that I had already paid into next year's season ticket which I and my ticket representative assume will return to normal with full attendance allowed for all 18 or so Matches. With that being said, I could still buy single tickets for the rest of this Year; I could even use the credit in my account for it. And so I did. Well, I did use my credit for a ticket to Saturday's Match vs. Houston, but then I decided I wanted to switch seats and so I bought another one and charged it to my credit card and ... you know, I think this long story needs its own blog post.
Anyway, on Saturday I went to Allianz Field for the first (and possibly last and only) time this season, and for the first time in almost two months. It was sold out. And I have to say that I think MNUFC are playing really well now. A muffed save meant a loose ball that Robin Lod deposited into the net in the First Half, and I saw it right in front of me from the (new) seat I bought just for this Game, and it was absolutely glorious to see it. Brent Kallman, of all people, headed in a Bebelo Reynoso Corner Kick in the second to ice the Game over the Dynamo. And yes, they played "Wonderwall."
It was nice to be in the middle of a lot of other people watching a sporting event. And it was especially invigorating to see The Nest packed with 18,000+ people going nuts when the Loons scored. Saturday was great because my team won. But it was more meaningful to be reminded why I became a season-ticketholder in the first place.
They host the Los Angeles Galaxy Saturday. I still want to go, but the prices are just too damn high. The club then go to San Jose for a rare Tuesday tilt.
#0: Twins (Last Week: -1). I usually don't lift a squad that went 4-2 for the Week up above negative numbers. But like I said, I'm being a pushover this Week. Also, note that the Twins' opponents were the Houston Astros (against whom they won three-of-four, and in H-Town, no less) and the Chicago White Sox, both of which are in first place in the A. L. West and A. L. Central, respectively. What I say may be meaningless in a season that has fallen well short of expectations, but I'll say it anyway: This probably was the best Week the Minnesota Twins have had since April.
In last Week's Survey, I delved into the Jose Berrios trade and I forgot to quickly break down the two other trades the organization made just before the Trade Deadline, because in their own ways they were feats of magic. Neither J. A. Happ nor Hansel Robles were having great seasons with the "TC." And yet the Twins were able to pawn them off, to St. Louis and Boston, respectively. The minor leaguers they got in turn were negligible. But there is something to be said about dealing away players that have underachieved for you. It is, in a way, addition by subtraction.
Meanwhile, with fewer veterans around and nothing else to play for, the Twinks basically are developing players more than the St. Paul Saints are. And for this Week, at least, the results have been promising when it comes to Starting Pitching, at least when it came to the midweek series versus the Pale Hose. Beau Burrows was the opening/bull Pitcher for Monday's opener, and I don't think he, who was picked up in late June after being waived by Detroit, lasted two Innings; the Twinks lost, 11-1. But Griffin Jax struck out ten White Sox on Tuesday, and Bailey Ober held down the fort Wednesday. Both resulted in one-Run Wins for the good guys.
Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic highlighted the next crop of promising Twins pitching prospects that are at AAA St. Paul or AA Wichita, and are on the verge of being called up either next Year or 2023. Jax and Ober, both of whom have spent time in the organization, are among those Gleeman highlighted. Another is Simeon Woods-Richardson, the blue-chipper the Twins got from Toronto in exchange for Berrios. If what we saw this workweek is the start of something big, well, maybe trading Berrios this Year was a good thing, because the Twins would then have a bumper crop of live arms for the rotation and the bullpen.
OK, I'm now a little more optimistic about this ballclub. And I am getting more enthused in the past month now that Jorge Polanco has become The Hottest Hitter In The Major Leagues. He notched Wednesday's only run, a Homer in the Sixth Inning. To be fair, maybe the White Sox were thinking ahead to the airplane flight they needed to take immediately after the contest to get to Dyersville, Ia., for last/Thursday night's Field Of Dreams Game. Still, Polanco has been must-watch lately.
They finish off their long homestand with three against Tampa and a trio vs. Cleveland. They then travel to The Bronx to begin a four-Game set against the New York Yankees.
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