Steveospeak

• Closing Time: Where Do The Twins Go From Here?
  March 10th, 2010
  Up until yesterday, the Minnesota Twins were the prohibitive favorites to win the AL Central and were considered a strong contender for the World Series. Minnesota might have been swept by the Yankees in Round 1 of the playoffs last season, but this year the Twins were built for a different outcome. Not only had their key players gotten healthy, but Minnesota revamped their biggest offensive/defensive weakness; their middle infield. With the additions of Orlando Hudson and J.J. Hardy, the future began to look a little bright in Minnesota. All of that changed yesterday when it was announced that closer Joe Nathan was likely out for the season with an elbow injury. As great a player that Joe Mauer is, it is Joe Nathan that the key to the Twins. Traditionally closers are one of the most overrated and over paid positions on a major league roster, Nathan is the exception (though he is paid quite well). Nathan's name might get mentioned in the same breath with other top closers, but usually its not the first couple of names mentioned. In reality, no closer has been more dominate than Nathan since he started closing games in 2004. On top of that, no closer is more important to his team th...