No, this isn’t the name of Joe’s new swing band:

“…you have to wonder how much longer the Tigers can keep using Nathan in the ninth inning. The fan base has already turned on the Tigers’ closer, boos raining down from all corners of Comerica Park tonight. This is become more than just a tired arm or bad luck (even if there was a little tonight). Nathan has been far too hittable, unable to miss bats and lacking the ability to place his pitches where they need to be, especially with decreased velocity.

Brad Ausmus had this to say about his struggling closer:

‘Like I said, we need Joe Nathan to be our closer. He’ll work through this. I’m not concerned about him. He’s a professional. He and Jonesy are looking at video, and talking to find any little mechanical flaw that could be the root cause of this. He will get it ironed out. Like I said, we need to get it ironed out.’

Nathan must get things “ironed out,” and do it damn soon.”

via Bless You Boys.

I would go one further: fuck the iron, he’s done. We’ve all been through this before with Jose Valverde. When it’s gone, it’s gone, and no one in Detroit wants Nathan anymore. Let the search begin, again, for a closer.