Unfortunately for Minnesotans (but fortunately for the rest of America), that headline does not involve Brett Favre. Instead, the big story is that the Twins' All-Star closer, Joe Nathan, will miss the entirety of the 2010 season and undergo Tommy John surgery.
Will losing Nathan for the season kill the Twins' season? No (yes, I did overreact in a previous post). Why is that? Because in reality the idea of having a lockdown closer during the regular season is slightly overblown. Is it nice to hand the ball off to a Nathan, or a Papelbon or a Rivera in the ninth inning 65+ times a year? Absolutely. But do you need one of those players to enjoy success in the regular season? Absolutely not.
Look at the Phillies last season, they managed to win the NL East and make it to the World Series despite their closer Brad Lidge having those recurring nightmares of a certain Albert Pujols' home run haunting him for an entire season again. Despite Lidge blowing 11 saves, the Phillies won 93 games.
The fact of the matter is, as long as you throw a capable reliever into a closer role, he will succeed more often than not.
The Twins' certain have a group of "capable" relievers in Jon Rauch, Jesse Crain, Jose Mijares and Matt Guerrier and there have already been reports saying that the Twins are scouting San Diego Padres closer, Heath Bell.
Regardless, even without Nathan, the Twins still have the most talented overall roster in the AL Central. Their lineup easily trumps the White Sox, unless you think this is really the year that Alex Rios puts it all together (joke). The White Sox just don't have the type off lineup that will scare opposing teams (but I'll save that analysis for later).
So have heart Twins' fans, Joe Mauer just resigned and the team's 2010 outlook is still bright and just remember one thing, at least you aren't Pirates fans.
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