MN Sports Blog

Jon Rauch inherited the closer’s job this season when Joe Nathan went out with surgery and that seemed to dampen the Twins hopes as well as the fans hopes. Rauch wasn’t even the immediate choice for Gardy as he weighed the options. When he was actually named the starter people began to wonder how effective he could really be and how interesting the ninth inning would now be all season long.

Rauch has quieted those who doubted him by nailing down his first six saves in a row while giving up just one earned run in that span and striking out four. There have been a few hiccups for Rauch this year but he has only two blown saves in 12 chances while picking up just the one victory. If Rauch continues at least the pace he’s on there should be no one that can say he was less than remarkable given the role he was thrust in to.

The Twins start a three game series with the New York Yankees tonight which will hopefully lead to some more save opportunities for Rauch that may prove to be a huge test for Rauch’s success and composure.

To sum up the stat lines of Jon Rauch ’10 versus Joe Nathan’s ’09 numbers through the same number of appearances in 2009 it looks like this:

Jon Rauch: 17 IP, 17 Hits, 5 ER, 13 Strikeouts, 10 Saves and a 2.65 ERA

Joe Nathan: 15.2 IP, 13 Hits, 5 ER, 16 Strikeouts, 6 Saves and a 2.87 ERA

Jon Rauch 2010

Joe Nathan 2009

Minnesota Sports Blog

The ninth inning for the Minnesota Twins will get a little more interesting in 2010. Joe Nathan is set to undergo season ending Tommy John surgery following a throwing session with Twins pitching coach Rick Anderson.

“It didn’t go like we hoped. We knew it was a long shot, but I think this will clear my head. There definitely was no gray area. It was definitely on the dark side. We know now that we’re going to need to go in and have some surgery done and get this thing taken care of.”

The news is obviously devastating to Twins fans and the organization who had one of the their most aggressive off seasons in recent memory. The Twins were in a position to have a very strong lineup to open the 2010 season in Target Field but now they’ve been blindsided by this injury that has left most scratching their heads trying to figure out a replacement.

Nathan has been one of the best closers in the game leading the entire league with 246 saves since 2004. He went 2-2 with a 2.10 ERA with a career high 47 saves. Nathan struggled in the postseason, to say the least, against the New York Yankees with a 9.00 ERA and a very costly throwing error.

The Twins have fairly limited options within the organization for Nathan’s replacement. Jon Rauch is a likely candidate with the most closing experience. Over his career Rauch has 26 saves but also 27 blown saves with an ERA of 3.79. Rauch came over to the Twins last season and was solid with a 1.79 ERA over 17 games.

The Twins also have semi-candidates in Matt Guerrier and Pat Neshek but Neshek is coming off of surgery himself and Guerrier has less than overpowering stuff. In the ultimate worst case scenario that no Twins fan wants to see would be Jesse Crain taking the hill with the game on the line.

The most irresponsible notion for a potential closer is Francisco Liriano. Liriano was dominant in the Dominican league and absolutely solid this spring. Liriano owns a 2.70 ERA for the spring over 10 innings with 16 strikeouts. He was already struggling to regain his focus and confidence as the Twins potential fifth starter and then throw in the idea of him being a closer candidate when clearly he doesn’t have the mental prowess to handle high pressure situations.

The fact that the Twins even acknowledge the idea of Liriano as a closer is simply irresponsible. Besides the fact that he has shown the inability to handle high pressure situations, he has been dominating hitters all off-season as a starter. Liriano is the best available option for a starting role in a rotation that is fairly lacking in shut down type of stuff.

One thing to keep Twins fans optimistic though is that is has been confirmed by the Star Tribune that the Twins have been heavily scouting Padres closer Heath Bell. The downside is that the Twins would likely have to give up a fair number of prospects for a temporary closer should Nathan return next season and beyond.

Heath Bell 2009 Stats

The Minnesota Twins now find themselves in a tie for first place in the central with the Detroit Tigers. The Twins defeated the Kansas City Royals this afternoon after a strong start from Nick Blackburn on short rest. The Twins were able to score four runs against likely Cy Young winner Zack Greinke.

Delmon Young came through again with a three-run double in the 6th inning. The Royals answered with four of their own until the bottom of the 8th brought a game winning solo home run for Michael Cuddyer. That 5-4 lead would hold as Joe Nathan nailed down save number 47 on the season.

So with the victory in hand the Twins had all eyes on the scoreboard. Detroit lost to the Chicago White Sox after a very strong start by Freddy Garcia who lasted 7+ innings giving up just the one run. The final score was 5-1 and now the Minnesota Twins find themselves in a position to win the division outright or at least a playoff game on Tuesday to decide the winner.

The Star Tribune has reported that Carl Pavano (13-12) will start for the Twins on three days rest Sunday. He will take on Luke Hochevar who is 7-12 this season. Detroit will have their ace Justin Verlander take the hill on Sunday against the White Sox. If both teams lose tomorrow there will be a one game playoff at the Metrodome on Tuesday. If one team loses and the other wins, the winner will be the division champions.

Star Tribune

Minnesota Sports Blog