Trevor Plouffe has just been sick lately. With a triple slash of .240/.311/.575, his .336 isolated power (slugging percentage minus batting average) would rank him 3rd in all of MLB, just behind Adam Dunn (.345) and Josh Hamilton (.343). I remember back in the last week of May, I tweeted this (sorry, my account's protected due to potential teaching prospects, so I had to screenshot it instead):
Plouffe was hitting .163/.261/.347 when I tweeted that, and now his OPS has risen by about 280 points. Good thing that I'm just a fan and not the guy in Terry Ryan's chair. Anyway, here's the (sorta mostly interesting) news from the past week.
- Ladies, do you find Gio Gonzalez attractive? (See attached photo to form opinion.) Well, he would like to go on a date with you, provided that you are at least 21 years of age and "sexy." Even better, he announced his bachelor eligibility on Twitter, so he's clearly at least somewhat tech-savvy. Even if you're not, remember that he only cared about being 21+ and sexy, which honestly, we all meet that second requirement in our own, sometimes peculiar ways.
- Think the Twins had bad luck with injuries last season? Well, the Blue Jays are attempting to anger just about every last Canadian as they've now lost three starting pitchers in the past week to injuries. First it was Brandon Morrow with an oblique strain. Then it was Kyle Drabek to a sprained UCL in his pitching elbow, and now it's Drew Hutchison, who also has some right elbow soreness. I'd make a joke about the Twins' training staff somehow infiltrating the Blue Jays, but we all know that for this to be true, these 3 pitchers would have been day-to-day for a week and a half before finally being placed on the 15-day DL.
- These celebrations are starting to get dangerous. Remember Kendrys Morales stomping on home plate after a walk-off home run a couple years ago, then Ramon Ramirez hurting himself celebrating Johan Santana's no-hitter? This time, it's Aubrey Huff, who sprained his knee in a botched attempt to leap over the dugout railing after Matt Cain's perfect game on Wednesday night. That link contains a GIF of Huff biting the dust, although you really only see him pick himself off the ground after taking the plunge into that pesky sand trap.
- I guess Mark Grace does this about as often as Dick 'n' Bert, but he actually called a home run for Jason Kubel on Thursday. Pretty safe bet when it comes on a 2-0 pitch. Regardless, Matt Tuiasosopo will always be a part of my gold standard for home run calls for the rest of my life.
- Finally, we end in the comedy corner as Bob Uecker made a joke about the size of Kauffman Stadium while the Brewers were in Kansas City. I'll tell you right now, it's more of a grin-and-nod one rather than a joke that will generate a belly laugh, but I think you'll enjoy it nevertheless.
Game 2 of the Twins & Brewers will be on during the early afternoon. I'll be at the game, so if you happen to be there as well, stop by Section 238.