If social media were a Shakespearean epic, the sports spectrum of the social media prism would be crying out in anguish:
“Tony Plush, Tony Plush…wherefore art thou, Tony Plush?”
Whether by managerial decree or the fact that he’s just busy playing in the biggest series of his life, Nyjer Morgan, aka Tony Plush, Tony Hush, Tony Gumbel and Tony Clutch, has provided nothing but radio silence on his wildly popular Twitter account (@therealtplush) over the past five days. It is quite the stunning change of pace for his 60,000+ followers, many of whom are used to seeing inspirational tweets gracing their timelines such as:
“Enjoy your evening Milwaukee you guys deserve this!!! Aaaaahhhhh Gotta Go!!! Be Safe!!! PLUSH”
“Aaaaahhhhh Nation! Hope all is Brew wonderful, but check ur boy out on Jim Rome Radio!!! Plush is back in the Jungle &bringing the Karma!!!”
and of course
“Oh sheet, one more thing. The Cheese State is Rocking this weekend! Go Badgers and Packers!!! Plush”
Perhaps this is a good thing for the Milwaukee Brewers though, who will need every ounce of focus they can muster up over the next 48 hours. And perhaps it’s a good thing for Morgan as well, who needs to start performing on the field if the Brewers are going to reach their first World Series in nearly 30 years. While he did have the NLDS clinching hit in the 10th inning of Game 5 against the Diamondbacks, Morgan has been largely underwhelming this postseason after a regular season that saw him hit over .300.
At the plate, he’s hitting .192 with 10 strikeouts against just 2 walks. In the field, he’s looked lost at times, misjudging seveal fly balls that have come back to haunt the Brewers. Early indications are that he’ll be starting in center tonight against the Cardinals’ Edwin Jackson. The man has shown that he knows no pressure, having earned the Tony Clutch alter ego for himself by coming through when it counts. Perhaps if he comes through tonight, the man will return to his normal kite flying, opponent taunting social media self.
