MINNESOTA SPORTS FAN DAILY: Wednesday, September 20, 2017

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MSF Daily: 9/20/17

Twins @ Yankees in Game 2 of 3:

The Yankees did it to the Twins again tonight. I hate playing the Yankees in crunch time. It doesn’t matter what generation of Yankees vs Twins we are talking about. It never seems to go well.

The Twins took the lead right away but it was a slim 1-run margin, and Berrios wasn’t on top of his game, so it never seemed like it would last. Berrios only lasted 3.1 innings and threw 90 pitches, giving up 3 runs.

Kepler gave us some fun in the 3rd:

But that would be all the fun the Twins would have. Watching the rest of the game was pretty much terrible. The Twins loaded the bases and hit a warning track shot with 2 outs at one point.

The Yankees would end up with 5 total runs.

FINAL: 5-2 Yankees WIN

So, the Twins are currently 1 game ahead of the Angels, for that final Wildcard spot. The Angels are playing vs division rival, Cleveland. We won’t say this very often, going forward, but we are big Cleveland fans during that series. As of now the Indians are leading the Angels 2-1 with a few innings left. If you want to find a bright spot, Aaron Gleeman has one for you.

The Twins will try to steal one game before leaving New York on Wednesday. It won’t be an easy task. The Twins will rely on Bartolo Colon (4-5, 4.80 ERA) vs the dominant Luis Severino (13-6, 2.93 ERA). After the Noon game on Wednesday, the Twins will travel to Detroit for a 4-game set. 7 of the Twins’ next 10 games will be played vs the Tigers. That should be good news because the Tigers are 62-89 on the season. BUT, the Twins are only 5-7 vs that same terrible team… so take that as you want.

They will need to turn that trend around.

Koivu Deal: Just Another Poor Contract by Chuck Fletcher:

So Chuck Fletcher signed Mikko Koivu to a 2 year extension worth $11 million. ?

I’ve been monitoring the response to Mikko’s extension and it’s funny how many people are responding with “yeah lets reward our captain” or “he is the definition of the Minnesota Wild”. If Mikko Koivu is the definition of the Minnesota Wild, what does that say about professional hockey in Minnesota…. READ MORE:

Cunningham Goes with Pelicans Over Wolves:

Dante Cunningham played with the Timberwolves for 2 seasons before playing for the Pelicans in the last 3. Those are the two teams he was deciding between when he got his pen ready on Tuesday, to sign a new NBA deal.

Clearly, it was a decision between $ + more playing time (Pelicans) vs championship runs (Timberwolves). The Pelicans aren’t going to be very good this year. They have one great, and one potentially great, big man down low with the two Kentucky Wildcats, Cousins and Davis. But, they aren’t expected to make any real noise in the upcoming season.

He chose the Pelicans where he feels comfortable, after playing there the last 3 seasons. He also chose the extra money and playing time. I can’t blame him for that. The Wolves will be fine. I expect them to rely more on Bjelica now that they weren’t able to land Cunningham.

Gopher Basketball at the Top of the Preseason B1G Polls:

Marcus Fuller writes for the StarTribune and he is good at his job. Today he gathered three preseason B1G polls and compiled them for us with some commentary. Like he says, there is no doubt the Gophers have the 2nd most talent in the conference behind Michigan State. Here is the top 4 of each list. All the teams are listed in Fuller’s piece.

Athlon preseason Big Ten predictions

  1. Michigan State
  2. Minnesota
  3. Purdue
  4. Northwestern

Lindy’s Sports

  1. Michigan State
  2. Northwestern
  3. Minnesota
  4. Purdue

Street & Smith

    1. Michigan State
    2. Purdue
    3. Northwestern
    4. Minnesota

Yet, it may be hard for some of these outlets to put the Gophers in the correct place, talent-wise, when they haven’t been in that conversation for so long. I guess I can’t blame them. But those who think the Gophers will underachieve are missing, or underestimating, some important factors. But the biggest may be the new-comers.

The new players coming in are going to have an IMMEDIATE impact on this team. Isaiah Washington and Davonte Fitzgerald are going to get big minutes right away. Fitzgerald is a Redshirt Senior who had to sit out last year because of a devastating October knee injury. Washington is a top-rated incoming freshman that is expected to get BIG minutes and eventually take the reins from Nate Mason, when he graduates. Jamir Harris is also an incoming freshman. He is the shooter the Gophers have been lacking. I watched him some in the offseason and he was a bit inconsistent so I hope that changes entering the season.

MSF Daily by Eric Strack @RealMNSportsFan

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