I defended Nathan when he was having his struggles early in the season. He has a proven record of being one of the better closers in baseball. Unfortunately he never got to that level of performance with the Tigers.
Here is my take from last night. A closer needs to have nerves of steel so he doesn't crack in pressure situations. Getting frustrated enough to send the F U to the home crowd twice isn't a sign of those strong nerves. He walked the first two batters and looked to be having another one of his terrible performances so the crowd started to boo him. Now I'm not one to boo at sporting events because I'm typically not that negative of a person. Still, he is a professional athlete who should be able to take a few boos when he is consistently giving up runs.
I lost all respect for him last night. I'm ok with players riling up the crowd in other ballparks or players on other teams. Don't do it to your home crowd though. We are the ones buying tickets, team logo gear, and watching on TV so you can get that $10 million per year. We are the ones filling up that stadium every night and putting Tigers games on FSN Detroit at the top of baseball TV ratings. Those people he gave the F U to spent their hard earned money to come out and see the Tigers play. The team in general has been struggling lately and he has been a big part of that. Suck it up and take your boos. If you don't like it play better.
I really didn't like him throwing Castellanos under the bus when he blew a save earlier this season either.
