Joe Nathan Is Probably Never Going to Endear Himself to Detroit Tigers Fans: A Rant

As always, when I write about the Detroit Tigers I want to preface that I’m a fan of the team and sometimes irrational. Reacting to Spring Training results or performances is the peak of irrationality, obviously. Thursday, veteran closer Joe Nathan had a rough outing vs. the Phillies, allowing five hits and four earned runs in 2/3 of an inning to push his ERA to 9.82.

Normally you don’t get too worked up about it. Pitching in the spring is mostly about velocity and location compared to actual results. Nathan, though, is a long-time Tiger nemesis when he pitched with the Twins and Rangers and didn’t do much to endear himself to fans during his first season in Detroit.

Converting 35 of 42 saves is decent enough, but not when it comes with a .265 batting average against, 4.81 ERA and nonstop sour stomachs (and needless pacing around my house) in the ninth innings. In August, Nathan was booed coming off the mound and made a gesture toward the fans, for which he apologized. So when he was booed on Thursday in Florida, reporters asked him about it. Nathan shrugged it off, telling the Free Press:

"“I don’t want to make a bigger deal than it is,” Nathan said of the latest boos. “Fans are going to be the way they are, and that’s the way it is. That doesn’t bother me. It’s not a part of my life. They’re not a part of my life. Period.”"

As a fan, it’s refreshing to hear an athlete react honestly. Nathan isn’t going to win over the already antsy Detroit fans with this attitude, but do you really want a professional beating himself up and allowing the boo birds to get to him? Probably not. The equation is simple, when players do well the fans cheer, when they don’t they boo. It’s an eternally fickle situation and magnified by closers — one of sports’ true pass/fail positions.

This situation could get worse with Nathan in Detroit as 2015 continues. For one, as stated above Nathan is a Tiger killer. During his long career he’s thrown 62 innings vs. Detroit, compiling a 1.44 ERA and 36 save. As a diehard fan, I can’t remember the Tigers ever rallying in the ninth off Nathan. It probably happened — once or twice — but he was the definition of lights out vs. the Olde English D.

So seeing Nathan come over to the Tigers — granted when he’s 39 years old — and struggle, blowing nine saves it’s irksome. Watching a guy who owns your team year-after-year, sign with your team and overnight turn into a pumpkin is another example of why following sports is often a fool’s errand.

More irksome is the Tigers didn’t do much to address their dumpster fire of a bullpen in the winter, although losing Phil Coke is addition via subtraction. Here’s a team with a rapidly closing World Series window, which lost innings eaters like Rick Porcello and some dude named Max Schezer in the off-season and is counting on the same, fragile bullpen with the only changes being Tom Gorzelanny and Bruce Rondon, returning from Tommy John surgery.

If Nathan falters the Tigers still have Joakim Soria available to close, a small silver lining.

A team with dwindling playoff hopes, relying on a declining, now 40-year-old closer? Good thing I buy Mylanta in bulk.