Jim Souhan wrote a good article on Joe Nathan yesterday.

He was right on about why signing Joe was a good thing, and why Joe is the best closer in Twins history.

Signing him to an extension was a no-brainer period.

They had to sign him for public relations, but most importantly, who do you trust to take his spot? For one thing, it's not easy to replace a great closer in Joe, and second of all, does any Twins fan trust Pat Neshek in that role? I sure don't. Neshek is either great or awful. When he has runners on the bases, he tends to implode as you saw against Chicago and Detroit last month. He just does not give fans any confidence. Ditto for Jessie Crain and others.

The thing I liked about this signing was that he wanted to be here and he wanted to be part of a team that was going to do great things in the next few years. You have to like that attitude.

You know? I was actually thinking about which of the best closers I ever watched. I was thinking Dennis Eckersley, Lee Smith and Mariano Rivera. I think it's time to put Joe in that category. He has been lights out every time he is out there. When I think about the 2004 season, Joe was a big part of this team's success. Remember the team had a void in the closer role when Eddie signed a lucrative deal to Seattle, which did not work out for him and the Mariners. Who knew if he could close and who knew if he would be valuable? That A.J. deal was Terry Ryan's finest hour, and Joe's work speak for itself.

Jim is right. Joe is the best closer in team's history, and he is definitely one of the best in baseball. It's too bad that Joe does not get his due in the national media, but then again, ESPN is clueless.

I hope Joe is here for the rest of his career, and I hope Joe can get his championship ring in Minnesota.

i agree Joe is the best Closer but i dont see espn saying that and i dont know why but Joe will be here untill the end of 2012 season i want joe to for the rest of his carrer too