Twins could have a major problem!

Joe Nathan may be done for the season. That would be a killer!

good, i hate the twins

Big Jon Rauch as closer

Maybe they make a run at Kerry Wood or try to sign Smoltz?

What happened to him?

I think it's a tendon problem in his right elbow...they are going to rest him 2 weeks to see if swelling goes down and then further investigate the problem, but if the rest doesn't work, he will have season ending surgery.

i am thinking of jumping on the under season win total now.  my local still has it at 84.5.  what do you think of that GameHunter?

Pat Neshek is back though.

He's making a trip to go see Dr. James Andrews (AKA DR. DOOM).......He's done.

Could be Matt Guerrier as the 9th inning man. He was the best setup man on the team last year.

I'm not opposed to it and lean that way but don't do it just b/c of the news on Nathan.

His Numbers were Fantastic Last year .... Maybe the Twins won't miss Nathan (That Much)

 

Some setup guys cant handle the pressure of closing out games....

Nathan has been huge for that team.. They will miss him a lot if he is gone.

 

Tests on Nathan's right throwing elbow have revealed a significant tear in the ulnar collateral ligament, an injury that could require season-ending Tommy John surgery. Nathan's 246 saves over six seasons are the most in the majors during that span.

 

An emotional Nathan said he's prepared to try to pitch through pain.

"If I'm able to go out there and throw, then I'll definitely give it a shot," Nathan told reporters in Fort Myers. "The only reason that I would get a surgery done is if I'm just unable to go out there."

It is possible to pitch through the injury.

"I could be one of those guys. I might not be," Nathan said.

But if his elbow hurts like it did on Saturday, when he first felt discomfort and was removed from an exhibition game against Boston?

"Then there's just no chance," Nathan said.

Nathan and the Twins initially believed this weekend he was just dealing with general stiffness and soreness. He flew to Minnesota to meet with team physician Dr. Dan Buss on Monday.

I wouldn't write off Nathan or the Twins yet.  Nothing has been decided yet with Joe and people forget that the Twins have always had a pretty good closer and set up man since the early 80s.  Whether it was Reardon, Agularia, Gurdodo, or Nathan (I know that I grossly misspelled a few and I just named a few of them too).  I firmly believe that if Joe is downf or the year that the Twins in house or via free agency will be able to find a suitable replacement.

Bring the Goose back

or Rollie

Definetly going to have a big effect on making money off the Twins in the early going

O Yeah I agree .... If Nathan is gone for the Year, it will sting....

But I am just Saying I would not rush right out and bet the Season Wins Under , based solely on Nathan's status

Early in the decade, Jeff Nelson and Arthur Rhodes were as good of a 1-2 setup combo as anyone in the game, and Nelson obviously enjoyed much success in that role in the Bronx, but when Kaz went to the DL after the "drunken suitcase incident", both were called upon to close games, and neither could handle the 9th inning.  Some guys just don't have the right moxie to handle the final 3 outs, when the game is decisive and there are no more innings to play. 

Certainly, the 2008 mariners were a bad team, but any chance that team had for success was lost early after JJ went down, and the Mariners got swept in Baltimore after blowing 3 straight saves.  The Twins are likely much stronger mentally, but having those doubts early in the season can have a cascading downhill impact.

Minnesota received awful news Tuesday morning, as stud closer Joe Nathan was diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow and will likely undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery. Nathan has a 1.87 ERA and 246 saves in six seasons with the Twins, so there's going to be a significant dropoff regardless of who steps into his ninth-inning shoes, but the Twins do have several capable in-house options in Matt Guerrier, Jon Rauch, and Jose Mijares (plus Pat Neshek, who's coming back from Tommy John surgery himself).

Mijares has the best raw stuff of the bunch and has long been thought of as a potential future closer, but right now he's entering just his second full season and struggled somewhat against right-handed batters last season, allowing them to hit .283 with a .791 OPS. By season's end Mijares may be in the mix for saves, but it'd be surprising if Ron Gardenhire trusted him at closer from the start.

Guerrier has been one of the league's top setup men during his six seasons in Minnesota, posting a 3.41 ERA in 401 innings while frequently working multiple frames at a time. He's had a sub-3.50 ERA in four of the past five seasons and has certainly earned Gardenhire's trust in tight spots, but with just four career saves the Twins may be hesitant to remove him from the setup slot for a role he's never filled before.

Rauch came over from the Diamondbacks in a late-August trade for mid-level prospect Kevin Mulvey and pitched well down the stretch with a 1.72 ERA and five wins in 15.2 innings. Injuries have robbed Rauch of his once-dominant raw stuff, but the 6-foot-11 right-hander has a 3.59 ERA in 345 career relief outings and unlike Guerrier has closed in the past. Rauch saved 17 games for the Nationals in 2008, although certainly his 26 career saves hardly represent an "established closer."

Gardenhire has given no hints about who he'll turn to in Nathan's absence and may end up using a closer-by-committee approach initially, but Rauch seems like the early favorite for saves and Mijares is someone to watch for in the role once the season is underway.

Who would they have to come in looking scared shitless to blow 2 runs leads at Yankee Stadium in playoff games if Nathan goes down?

White Sox over 82.5 wins

wood, fraser, down  are the names being tossed out there

 

O yea I agree with this statement