Thursday Thunder Dump!

Plouffe and the Killer

You may have noticed our old friend Trevor Plouffe is back at Target Field but in a different colored uniform and it’s not his old number “24.” He talked to The Mercury News about it. the number 24 wasn’t available in Oakland because it’s retired for Ricky Henderson. He picked “3” because he wore it as a kid because of Harmon Killebrew.

“It was a little bit of a tribute to Harmon and all the time I spent with him,” Plouffe said.

He also talks about being back in The Cities and fitting in with a new team after all the years with the Twins.

Hector the Collector

Hector Santiago is a big collector of sports memorabilia reports Phil Miller at the STrib.

The basement of Santiago’s home in the western suburbs of Phoenix looks like a sports bar on “Hoarders,” a densely packed Cooperstown starter kit. The length of one room is covered with bats, like a spine supporting the house. A row of football helmets crowns one room, and boxing gloves dangle from a series of hooks. There are baseballs, certainly, but also basketballs and footballs, soccer balls and volleyballs, even a couple of hockey pucks. Each one is autographed by a successful, famous, often championship athlete, most of them inscribed to Santiago personally.

He’s got a couple of interesting stories about getting Pujols’ shoes and A-Rod’s autographs too. It may be time for an intervention.

Charlie and the Twinkle Factory

So if your like me, you’ve been wondering what connection the former star of “2 ¹⁄₂ Men,” Charlie Sheen has with the Twins. Well, Neal Justin of the STrib found out.

I was there for the Twins' world championships in both 1987 and 1991. I saw the Kirby Puckett catch and walk-off homer, and Jack Morris's masterpiece. The only thing that comes close to those games was Game 7 last year. I was rooting for Cleveland, of course. I don't get to ball games very often, but the ones I've been to have been pretty special.

Torii and the “N-word”

“In the outfield, I was always called the N-word,” reveals Torii Hunter in an interview with MLB At The Plate radio show.

“I had batteries tossed at me, I had quarters and nickels and dimes, and I would pick them up to get them upset.”

Fans need to hold each other accountable.

“One thing Albert Einstein said was the world won’t be destroyed by evil, it’s going to be destroyed by people sitting there watching evil being done,” Hunter said on the radio program. “If there’s racial slurs in the stands, there’s people around that don’t do that. Why hasn’t anybody said anything? The fans have to report that.”

Hunter once did an anti-gay radio ad for a politician and called black Latino players, “impostors,” but of course, one doesn’t excuse the other, does it?

You can read the article in the Pioneer Press here or listen to the radio interview here.

Perk Not At Play

Glen Perkins rehab not really progressing as well with his repaired torn labrum as Twins fans might hope reports Fox Sports.

”I’ve put timelines on it because I want to play. It’s been over a year since I’ve played baseball,” said Perkins.

That’s been my motivation, to try and get back and get back as quickly and as safely as I can. It’s frustrating when you don’t reach the goals that you set.

I’ve been banging my head against the wall,” Perkins said. ”I’d like to be further along than I am, but that’s just how it goes.”

The Twins have a $700,000 buyout option on Perkins $6.5M contract for 2018.

Rise of La MaKina?

Not so fast. LaVelle E. Neale III at the STrib reported that the Twins are planning to keep Jose Berrios down on the farm a little while longer.

“Command the fastball, yes,” manager Paul Molitor said, “but he needs the other pitches, too. It’s one of those things where we’re not trying to jump the gun. He needs to continue to polish. We have all been anxious to see young talent get up here in the past. Right now, I think continued patience is what everyone has a consensus on, for the most part.”

Thursday Song

According to Google Translate, the song title means, “I want to see you,” in English. The lyrics though, seem as mindless as the video. Trust me, it’s way better if you don’t understand French or actually watch the video and just listen to the tune.

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