#-1: Twins (Last Week: -2). As I have said from time to time, I mostly base each Week's rankings by team record for that Week. I think this may -- may -- be the first time I have ever ranked a screening Week's teams in reverse order of winning percentage. I think that this Week, just going by record is deceiving. No one had a perfect Week, and so I looked at the big picture -- where a club is in the standings and if things are going in the right or wrong direction.
Overall, the Twins take the Week. That is despite splitting two Games at Texas (the Rangers won the Friday matchup, and so Minnesota lost the series), splitting a midweek two-fer at home to Milwaukee (I planned on going to Wednesday afternoon's contest, which Jose Miranda ended with a three-Run Home Run in the bottom of the Ninth Inning off of elite Closer Josh Hader), and dropping the first two tilts of a four-Game home series against the hated White Sox. Now the lineup is going through a slump and the rotation is suffering more bumps in the road. Hopefully these are temporary obstacles good teams learn to overcome. Despite recent bad form, and even though this mediocre run is allowing both Chicago and Cleveland to get closer to the Twins, Minnesota still leads the Guardians by 2 1/2 Games and the Pale Hose by 3 in the AL Central. That is good enough to take the top spot here.
This weekend's Games end the first half of the season. The All-Star Break begins Monday. The All-Star Game, being held at Dodger Stadium, is Tuesday, and Byron Buxton and Luis Arraez were named to the American League All-Star team. Some teams actually resume Thursday, but the Twins, somehow, get back on the field Saturday.
#-2: United FC (Last Week: -1). I said in last Week's WMNSS that the Loons are facing an easy, very gettable part of the schedule, but it began with what I think was a very disappointing capitulation. They had a 1-0 lead on Sporting Kansas City Wednesday at Allianz, but a breakdown allowed SKC to level and it ended 1-all. Sporting Kansas City was the worst team in the Western Conference, they were playing them at home, one of their Designated Players is out for the Year, a couple other important pieces were injured and not playing, SKC last played Saturday when MNUFC last played Friday, and that Match they were playing was also on the road, in Montreal. United FC had every advantage and should have won, but not only did they not, they blew that lead, a weakness I thought the XI managed to put behind them. While they extended their unbeaten streak to four, they snapped their winning streak at three. They also snapped their streak of scoring three Goals three Games in a row. And by the way, that Goal credited to the Loons was an Own Goal.
Looking on the bright side, United FC is still fifth in the West. But if they had held on to beat SKC, they would have been in a virtual tie with Nashville and Real Salt Lake for third. So maybe these guys can actually take a bad opponent seriously from the opening kickoff and show some urgency tonight/Saturday night at Midway against D. C. United, who, like Sporting Kansas City was in the West on Wednesday, is the last-place team in the East. They don't even have the man they want to manage the team full-time. EPL legend Wayne Rooney was hired this Week to be DCU's new Manager, but because his work visa hasn't cleared yet, he can only observe and help with training. The conditions are there for the Loons to take the initiative and grab three points before the sun sets in the Second Half. But I expected the same thing on Wednesday.
Oh, and the squad has a friendly vs. Everton Wednesday. I know of an acquaintance who is a huge Everton fan and probably is ranking this Match as one of the five best experiences in his life.
#-3: Lynx (Last Week: -3). Meanwhile, the Lynx actually went 2-1 this Week. But they are still on the outside looking in. Now, they are currently only one Game behind Los Angeles and Atlanta for the eighth and final playoff spot, and they have won seven-of-ten, putting their awful start to the season behind them. But even the club began the second half of the season by beating Phoenix at home Tuesday (in Double Overtime) and defeating the woeful Fever in Indianapolis last/Friday night, they should've won that Game versus Dallas at Target Center Thursday. But The Bastard Detroit-By-Way-Of-Tulsa Shock blew their doors off 21, 48-27, in the First Half, and while they did come roaring back, the Lynx still lost, 92-87. They don't have all that much room for error.
And this Week won't be a picnic. Tomorrow/Sunday afternoon they visit Washington, and on Friday they play the first of two home Games against Connecticut.
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