We have a piper down! I repeat: A piper is down!!

Mike Myer’s realization that he may have married an ax murderer could not have been any more of a punch in the gut than the recent news about Joe Nathan was to me. The unfortunate demise of Joe Nathan’s elbowular tendon immediately cast a pall over what had been the most exciting and promising offseason in recent Twins history. I know what you are thinking: isn’t ‘elbowular’ spelled with two L’s?? Hey, I’m no orthopedestrial surgeon, but I know a thing or two about elbows! For instance, never put them in your ear.

Nathan has already undergone the infamous ‘Tommy John Surgery’, a procedure that took a tendon from his left wrist to repair his torn right elbow. However, time is no longer the friend of Mr. Nathan. And as a man myself, who is looking age 40 in the face like a boxing press conference stare-down, I can’t help but feel for the guy. Joe is only 34 years old but he is now forced to cope with the prospect of 12 months of intense rehab on his arm—and that is really a best case scenario—often pitchers don’t really get their mojo back for 2 years or more (see Fransisco Liriano). Meanwhile, stat geeks will be happy to show you all sorts of numbers that support how most pitchers begin a rapid decline in velocity at age 35. For most pitchers, this can be a major career hurdle. For a closer like Nathan, it could be devastating. Closers rely on being able to ‘amp up’ the pace to best batters and you have to wonder if Joe Nathan, returning to form (at age 35 or 36) will ever be able to regain his niche as an elite reliever in Major League baseball. And I do mean elite: Nathan has chalked up nearly 250 saves over the last 6 seasons. For those of you keeping score at home, that’s more saves than the Yankees’ living legend, Mariano Rivera, over that same period. Closers are a special breed.

So what’s the big deal, you might ask?? After all, Nathan signed a $47 million GUARANTEED contract in 2008. He can ride off into the sunset and live very comfortably knowing that he competed at the top level for a while, right? Maybe. Some athletes do. I think that we may underestimate how difficult it is to suddenly walk away from something that you have poured your heart and soul into since you were in elementary school. Its what these guys are GOOD at. Unless you’ve been living in a cave, you’ve seen how hard it has been for Brett Favre to say goodbye to football. Who am I kidding—even cave dwellers cannot have been oblivious to the Favre media circus! Hey, I’m as big a Viking fan as the next guy, but that whole Favre thing has been absurd! But even consider iconic college football announcer, Keith Jackson (“whooooa Nellie”), who announced his retirement with much fanfare in 1998 but then could not stay away from the arena where he excelled, and ended up calling games for 8 more years before he finally retired at age 77, (quipping that he didn’t want to die in a stadium parking lot). So for those of us without $47 million, its hard to comprehend that money alone might not be a salve that can heal that wound.

As I alluded to before, this season held particular promise for the Twins. They will certainly have a formidable lineup and a serviceable pitching staff at worst. They were the consensus favorites to win their division and contend in the playoffs and I know that Nathan wanted nothing more than to be a part of making a run at the title. This rant is much longer than I expected but what I’m saying is this: I guess I’m sad for the Twins but I’m particularly sad for Joe Nathan, who might have just seen his career pass before his eyes. So here’s hoping that Joe beats the odds and makes it all the way back. It will be good for my soul…and it couldn’t hurt the Twins either.