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It’s enough. Honestly. It has to be.
The season is 151 games old, and Joe Nathan has not gotten better.
He cannot be the closer anymore. It’s not a “should he” or “shouldn’t he” proposition. It’s, “he can’t be.”
He’s simply too destructive.
Nathan began the year with three very shaky outings in four appearances. It’s more than five months later, and little has changed.
How Brad Ausmus can continue to install his team’s most unreliable pitcher at the most critical of junctures, game after game is beyond comprehension.
It’s understood that the organization paid Nathan a great sum in the off-season to be the closer. He was coming off a superb year in Texas and they thought it would be a perfect fit.
It hasn’t been. It’s been a disaster.
Last night in Minnesota, Nathan blew a game that the Tigers couldn’t afford to drop.
Every Game is Big
Every shift in the standings is momentous at this point. The briefest of losing streaks could send the Tigers tumbling right back to second place.
Granted, it wasn’t as if Nathan’s pitches were getting whipped all over the field.
The inning transpired in a fluky fashion, and was made much worse by the inexperienced Ezequiel Carrera making an ill-advised dive at a ball he was never going to catch.
But Nathan was still the one that issued the one-out walk. He’s still the one that surrendered the aforementioned drive to left-center (that would have still had him on the ropes even if not for Carrera’s misplay). And he’s ultimately the one responsible for turning a one-run lead into a one-run final deficit.
There are 11 regular season games left, and (hopefully) a slew of postseason contests to follow. Last night HAS to be the last game Nathan is permitted to give away in the final frame.
It can’t go on any longer. It’s a tribute to the stubbornness of rookie skipper Ausmus that Nathan’s made it this far in the role.
It’s time to hand the reins over to someone else. And before you go saying, “So and so hasn’t closed before,” remember that the “position” in question is in fact fictional.
For over a hundred years, there was no such thing as a “closer.” There were just pitchers.
More often than not, the starter would finish the job himself. But if help did need to be called upon, it wasn’t done in some type of predestined order that would slot specific hurlers to specific innings.
This is a characteristic of modern baseball, and just because it’s a new(er) idea doesn’t mean it makes a whole lot of sense.
There are a host of other pitchers on the Tigers roster that could take the ball and record three outs in the 9th inning.
Of course, outs are of the utmost importance when you’re trying to actually end the game, but the fact remains that it’s still just pitching.
Current baseball minds like to pretend that the fabled “closer” is somehow wired differently; that he’s engineered to get those precious outs in the final frame; that he’s able to put yesterday’s mistakes behind him and start anew tomorrow.
I’ve got news for you. That’s the mindset of every baseball player.
The 2nd baseman that goes 0-for-5 and botches an easy double play ball still has to show up at the park the next day ready to perform.
Nathan is Not Irreplaceable
Joe Nathan is not unique, or irreplaceable.
He’s just a pitcher.
And at 39 years of age, not a particularly good one.
So let the now-healthy Joakim Soria finish games from now on.
Or promote Al Alburquerque, who has quietly put together a fantastic stretch over the last two months. Beginning in August, “Al Al” has appeared 17 times and allowed one run for an ERA of 0.61. Maybe he’s finally figured it out.
Anibal Sánchez is set to return from his injury very soon. If there’s no spot in the rotation for him come playoff time, let him close. The guy has been getting 20+ outs at a time for his whole career. I think he can handle three at the end of the game.
The bottom line is, Nathan had his chance. In fact, he’s had dozens of them. It didn’t work out. He looked shot at the beginning of the season, and not much has change in the 150+ games since.
It’s time for a change.
Brad Ausmus might find it difficult to make a switch to his structure this late in the season. For the most part, he’s been managing each game the exact same way all year.
Pull the starter after eight. Put in a million defensive replacements as soon as a lead is established after the 7th. Pinch run for Miguel Cabrera when his run is important. Pinch hit for Don Kelly...never.
It’s robotic. There is little creativity and almost no flexibility.
But now, regarding the issue of Nathan, an exception needs to be made.
There are going to be games in the next month that will decide whether the Tigers win a World Series for the first time in 30 years.
And those games cannot come down to the reliability of a near 40-year-old horse whose best days are firmly in the rear view.
Most people are familiar with the definition of insanity -- doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.
Brad Ausmus needs to be handed a dictionary.
Before it’s too late.
