Weather: 74°F, partly cloudy
Wind: 15 mph
Attendance: 39,487
Time: 3:05

Twins' record: 32-45 (last in AL Central, 10.0 GB)
Fangraphs boxscore | MLB Game Wrap

"Highlights":

• Highest WPA, hitter: Nishioka .026 (2-3, SO) | Highest WPA, pitcher: 3 tied at .000 (3.0 IP, 7 H, 2 HR, 5 ER, 2 BB, SO)
• The Dodgers have one of the nicest road uniforms in baseball, and looked great when matched with the Twins' throwbacks.

Lowlights:

• Lowest WPA, hitter: Revere, -.076 (0-4, 2 GIDP) | Lowest WPA, pitcher: Blackburn, -.290 (4.1 IP, 12 H, 7 ER, BB, SO)
• Everything.

For the last few weekends I've been traveling between the People's Republic and western Wisconsin, working on putting Pops' things in order and attending family functions. Last Friday was no different, other than a buddy of mine who lives in Madison asked if he could get a ride to Winona so he could bring his restored Chevy truck out of storage for the summer. The plan was to leave around noon, after he finished up installing a window for a client.

Well, the day before I had a particularly vindictive migraine. It was bad enough I thought I was having olfactory hallucinations; specifically, I thought I could smell a gas leak in the neighborhood. I even called up the gas company to come out and check. Now, I'm not actually paranoid - the complete gas service was replaced in our neighborhood just a few weeks ago, and there were front-end loaders working out in the street Thursday, making me suspect something had been severed. The guy from the gas company came out and checked the new connection on each house on my street, the mains, and anything else that possibly could leak, all to no avail. I apologized, of course, but I could still smell a decidedly off odor.

Ten minutes before I left on Friday I figured out what I was smelling. I opened the door to a storage area on the second floor. Down in the corner, where I had laid it out months before, was a mouse trap. I've been checking that trap near-religiously, so the mouse that I caught couldn't have been there any earlier than Tuesday evening. But, given that it's summer (and, thanks to a stupid call during renovation, our central HVAC doesn't go upstairs which is why we want a new unit from Kellerman Heating & Cooling), the mouse didn't take long to make things smell pretty ripe. Okay, really ripe.

Mrs. Hayes is a confirmed animal lover, so even though I would be late to my buddy's place, I absolutely had to dispose of the body. First order of business was to remove the corpse from the premises while simultaneously curbing my urge to vomit. The little bugger had soiled himself, I guess. Next was to clean up the greasy mark he left behind on the floor. Armed with a Lysol wipe, a can of Lysol, and enough intestinal fortitude not to make a bigger mess myself, I wiped up the, erm, leavings, washed my hands, and got out the door. I was worried the potency of that smell would still be there when I got back today, but, mercifully, it's gone.

Nonetheless, I am armed with empirical evidence. The egg the Twins laid laid last night smells worse than a mouse corpse laying in an attic for a few days in the summer heat. As a matter of fact, given the choice between the two, I'd rather relive cleaning up that mouse and his leavings than re-experience the 2011 Twins season to date. My mind is already wandering toward 2012. Is yours?

-------

Here's this week's View from the Ballpark:

photo by Flickr user Telstar Logistics

Remember, no embiggening.