Third inning not the charm for star closer
Joe Nathan announced his retirement Friday, formally ending a career that included 377 saves, eighth on the career list. Nathan, 42, pitched in Class AAA for the Washington Nationals this year after playing 16 seasons in the majors with five teams.
Nathan was the first major leaguer from Stony Brook University, whose ballpark is named in his honor. His primary team in the majors was the Minnesota Twins, whom he helped to three American League Central titles. Their best chance to advance came in 2004, when they won the first game of the division series with the New York Yankees.
Nathan earned the save that day, then stifled the Yankees in the 10th and 11th innings the next night in the Bronx. After the Twins took the lead in the 12th, Manager Ron Gardenhire sent Nathan back to close out Game 2.
It was the only time in 466 games for Minnesota that Nathan would record an out in a third inning of work. But he would get only one.
“After I got the first guy out, I told myself, ‘Stay within yourself,’” Nathan recalled in an interview last year. “Then I walked the ninehole hitter.”
Nathan, who had struck out John Olerud, indeed walked the No. 9 hitter, Miguel Cairo. That brought up the top of the Yankees’ thunderous lineup, Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez.
“After I walked him, I was like, ‘Man, I’m on fumes,’” Nathan said. “They even came out and talked to me, and they were like, ‘How you doing?’ I was like, ‘I don’t have much left, but what do you have for options?’ They said, ‘We don’t want to go to them.’ We had some rookies that did some great things, but we really didn’t want to go to them.
“I said, ‘Well, I’ll give you what I got.’ I think Jeter might have walked, too, and then A-Rod hit one in the gap. They took me out after that.”
Rodriguez’s ground-rule double scored Cairo, tying the game. Nathan technically stayed in to walk Gary Sheffield intentionally, before J.C. Romero — who had a 5.00 ERA that season, his second full year in the majors — allowed a game-winning sacrifice fly to Hideki Matsui.
That defeat began a 12-game playoff losing streak for the Twins, who were swept by Oakland in 2006 and by the Yankees in 2009 and 2010. The Twins are seeking another chance this season, and after going 20-10 in August, they entered September in position for the second AL wild card.
Taking all bets
Serena Williams has given birth to a baby girl.
Wrote Janice Hough of leftcoastsportsbabe.com: “The child has just been installed as an oddson 2037 Wimbledon favorite.”
Fake headlines
From sportspickle.com:
“Report: Browns, Jets to boldly attempt to use quarterbacks again this season”
“Aaron Judge wows Yankee Stadium crowd by managing to put ball in play”