Joe Nathan was very good for the Twins. I won’t disagree with that, certainly. For what his role was with the Twins, he performed admirably. I disagree with anyone deciding to spend a boat load of money on a pitcher that goes one inning at a time in only certain situations, but he was pretty good.
Now, that said, Joe Nathan clearly had it out for the Twins. Sure, he won the game tonight, which stinks. The real problem with Nathan is that he was holding out on us. Sure, he had his best ERA in 2008, when it was 1.33, and his ERA this year in Texas is a paltry 1.87. But do you know what? His FIP is a full run better this year than it was in 2008! His xFIP (fielder independent pitching, also taking into account park factors) is the LOWEST OF HIS CAREER! It’s almost entirely due to his lower walk rate, by a full BB/game.
So, you know what Minnesota? You may have loved Joe Nathan while he was here, but he was sandbagging until he went to greener pastures. Shameful.
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