ARLINGTON, Texas— New Texas Rangers closer Joe Nathan hasn't exactly gotten off to the quick start that he would have liked this year, but he's not panicking.
Neither are the Rangers, who have confidence Nathan will find his stride soon.
He also doesn't have to worry about job security.
"Joe Nathan is proven, and he's going to get his opportunity with the Texas Rangers to prove he can close games," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "I don' want him looking over his back. I don't want him doubting himself. I'm telling you guys right now he's my closer and when he's ready to go again he's going to get the ball."
Nathan, who has a 9.00 ERA and the team's only two losses, wasn't available to pitch Thursday after pitching in back-to-back games Tuesday and Wednesday. He recorded his second save Tuesday but was tagged for three runs on four hits Wednesday in a 4-3 loss to the Seattle Mariners.
Nathan isn't concerned about his slow start. In his first loss, he got beat by Alex Rios on a pitch he wanted to throw. On Wednesday night, he now thinks, he should have thrown more fastballs. The velocity is there, and he has more confidence in the pitch than he did last year in his return from Tommy John surgery.
Instead, he struggled with his slider and the Mariners took advantage.
"It wasn't like they were terrible pitches last night," Nathan said. "When a big-league hitter is getting up and can pinpoint what you throw, it's got to be perfect."
Nathan said he doesn't have any concerns about his body. He said he's healthy and is confident he can pitch in back-to-back games even though he has done it only five times in the past two years.
The Rangers have had quick hooks with closers before, but the circumstances were different. Two years ago, Frank Francisco was replaced by Neftali Feliz after blowing two saves in the season's first week. That situation was different because Francisco wasn't 100 percent healthy.
Once Francisco was healthy again, Feliz had established himself and Washington wasn't going to change closers again.
Nathan doesn't seem too concerned.
"For me it's playing baseball," Nathan said. "Keep going through the grind and keep trying to get better and better, no matter where you are in your career. That's what I'm going to do. I'm going to learn from last night."
No changing Andrus
Elvis Andrus, who got a scheduled day off Thursday, hit a rare home run Wednesday against the Mariners.
The homer was only the 12th of his career. Although Washington liked what he saw, he doesn't want Andrus to change his approach at the plate.
"I hope that doesn't become a habit," Washington said. "Elvis is at his best when he can punch the ball to right field, hit it up the middle and stuff like that. He's strong enough now where he can hit the ball out of the park, but I don't want that to become a habit."
