Twins
After winning series against Cleveland and Boston they put themselves into position to be swept by the AL West bottom feeding Texas Rangers. The asterisk is that the West is to good Baseball what the Central is to bad Baseball. The Rangers are the only team below .500 and are currently trending upward while Cleveland remains the only team in the + side of the win column out of the Central.
So that may excuse the lost series and possible sweep to a certain extent but the way that Texas won both of the previous games is still concerning. It highlights once again that the Twins play up or down to their competition...and at times well below them. That's one of the surest signs of not being a good TEAM despite the talents that are still on the roster. It's no longer early in the season but it may not be too late to right the ship & even catch Cleveland in the division race. Each day shrinks the odds but they aren't at 0 just yet.
As far as what's happening right, the young ace of the staff is getting another chance to establish himself at the top of the rotation. Not since Johan Santana has the team had a guy who could keep the team from getting into losing streaks longer than five games at a time, in general. The bats will have to wake up but if he can get a few runs of support then Berrios can handle the rest. It's not the situation that any fan should want but it's not without it's positives is all I'm trying to say!
Timberwolves
Well, the NBA draft was this week. I commented repeatedly that a duo of Donte DiVincenzo & Jevon Carter would have been an A+ in my estimation. Both guys were select in the top 32 picks so I wasn't too off base with thinking that but the Wolves instead ended up selecting a guy from Georgia Tech that sounds like he could be a sumo wrestler & the reigning Big 10 player of the year. Being a good or great college player often has no barring on one's professional career but getting a power 5 CPotY is a nice way to go 48 picks into the crap shoot. The coaching style is almost guaranteed to not change at all, so the burnout that results makes the teams selections all the more vital to success. They broke through to the playoffs now they need to do it again and better than it was done, both with a higher seed & a longer run.
I didn't like the Okogie pick. I mean when has Georgia Tech been good at Basketball? But maybe Thibs found his way to another gem. Didn't happen with Kris Dunn, in MN, and the jury is still way out on Justin Patton but maybe the third time is the proverbial charm. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe
Invaders
Forfeit. I couldn't find any information as to why but the easiest win of the season went the way of Fargo's Summer team. Can only hope that the impromptu bye week can create an advantage for the team over the remaining weeks of their season!
Redhawks
A rubbermatch on another beautiful Sunday. As a capper to a successful week it could be right in line with the way the team is trending. Half way through it's still anyone's series. Even if it goes the wrong way for the Red birds, they've already taken the last three series & kept themselves in the thick of the Northern Division race. With a day off followed by a pair of series against the two worst teams in the American Association things are very bright for the Hawks today.
Now just go ahead and make it better by pushing the series winning streak to four in a row!