Just doing a little maintenance in Minnesota (and Alabama):
Tip of the cap to Baseball Musings, where Pinto wonders if the bone spurs had anything to do with Nathan's "late season problems." Well, maybe. But when David says "late season," he must mean "postseason" because Nathan was fantastic down the stretch. In his last 20 appearances, Nathan converted 16 of 17 save opportunities and held the hitters to a ridiculous .158 batting average (only blot on his record was four home runs allowed).
Of course he didn't fare well against the Yankees in the Division, but 1) it was the Yankees, and 2) it was only two innings.
Only Nathan and maybe his doctor knows how much he's been hurting. But this seems to me like the sort of routine cleanup that half the pitchers in the majors wind up having every so often, more like a tuneup than a rebuild.
As expected, Justin Morneau has had surgery to remove a bone spur from his wrist, just below the back of his right hand. Morneau was spotted in the Wild locker room after their victory over Colorado last night with his hand wrapped up.
--snip--
What wasn’t known, however, is that Joe Nathan had two bone chips removed from his right elbow on Tuesday after Twins doctors recommended a cleanup. Nathan flew to Birmingham, Ala. on Tuesday to have the surgery done by noted surgeon Dr. James Andrews.
Tip of the cap to Baseball Musings, where Pinto wonders if the bone spurs had anything to do with Nathan's "late season problems." Well, maybe. But when David says "late season," he must mean "postseason" because Nathan was fantastic down the stretch. In his last 20 appearances, Nathan converted 16 of 17 save opportunities and held the hitters to a ridiculous .158 batting average (only blot on his record was four home runs allowed).
Of course he didn't fare well against the Yankees in the Division, but 1) it was the Yankees, and 2) it was only two innings.
Only Nathan and maybe his doctor knows how much he's been hurting. But this seems to me like the sort of routine cleanup that half the pitchers in the majors wind up having every so often, more like a tuneup than a rebuild.
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ABOUT THIS BLOG
Rob Neyer
Neyer is a senior writer at ESPN.com. He began his career with legendary baseball author (and now Red Sox executive) Bill James, then joined Stats Inc. and wrote about MLB, the NFL and the NBA. Neyer joined ESPN.com in 1996, and it's believed that he's written more words for the site than anybody.
Neyer moved to Kansas City in 1976, just in time for the Royals' first division title, and fell in love almost immediately. He attended the University of Kansas the same four years as Danny Manning, and is now happy to wait another 20 years for the Jayhawks' next championship.
