A good closer makes
meals better

Reflecting upon my day here in my room at the Regency Hotel in downtown Columbia, Mo., I can safely say that there have been two high points today. Lunch and Nathan Stone.

Lunch today was as enjoyable as ever. Over the past two summers, fellow Hawaii native Bryce Uegawachi and myself have made a habit of dining at Panera Bread Company, a Midwestern chain of fresh made sandwich-soup-salad-bakery eateries that just always seem to hit the spot. On the average, I would say that Bryce and I eat at Panera about three times a week when we're home in Springfield.

Today, I got a soup and sandwich combo, while Bryce opted for the sandwich-salad combination. I always seem to get the same thing, the Sierra Turkey and the cream of chicken and wild rice soup, as much as I always talk about trying something new. I guess you can say that I can be a creature of habit at times. I guess sometimes I just like knowing what I'm going to get, especially if I know it's good.

I guess when it comes to closers, I like the same thing.

Consistent quality.

Over the last three weeks, many wins by the Springfield-Ozark Ducks have been nailed down by our side-winding flamethrower Nathan Stone. With Randy Vanderplow, our closer for the first half of the year getting signed to long-season A ball by the New York Yankees organization, Nathan has stepped nicely into the late-inning spotlight.

Tonight, Nathan worked the final inning of our 3-2 road win over the Mid-Missouri Mavericks as we fought to stay in contention for a playoff spot. Nate, as always, pumped his 90-plus mph fastball over the plate, striking out two of the four hitters he faced while throwing a scoreless inning to help give us win No. 46.

Nathan is a highly unconventional closer by modern standards. While sidearmers like Dan Quisenberry and Dennis Eckersly dominated the ninth innings of the 1980s and '90s, today's closers are more flames than finesse. More power and less poetry. With fastballs in the mid to high 90 mph range, closers like Billy Wagner and Eric Gagne and John Smoltz have become the norm.

Sidearmers nowadays are relegated to middle relief or set-up work or matchup appearances which may have them face a batter or two a night.

Nathan walks the line in between the closers of past and present. I like to think of him as part Quiz and part Siz. As in sizzling fastball.

With a herky-jerky sidearm delivery that has every inch of his lanky arms and legs flailing before the ball actually leaves his hand, Nathan is able to generate uncanny movement and velocity for a pitcher with his arm angle. With fastballs reaching up to 92 mph, Nathan delivers a heater that seems to move in three different directions before it settles into a flight path toward the catcher's mitt.

Ever since stepping into the closer's role, Nathan has been outstanding, recording seven saves. With 42 strikeouts, just nine walks and a .240 opponent batting average, he has been a pitching coach's dream, an aggressive thrower with strikeout capabilities.

Nathan's value to the team goes far beyond his ninth-inning heroics. He also doubles as clubhouse hair stylist and team practical joker. The casual fan watching Stoney mow down the opposition would never imagine how entertaining he can be off the field.

Sure he only does one hairstyle, the Nathan Stone bolo cut, but he is always quick to oblige a teammate's request for a cut. He's actually pretty good, if you don't mind the breeze.

In the clubhouse, Nathan and fellow pitcher Jamie Bennett can often be seen inventing new games which may or may not hinder their future ability to father children. Let's just say that they once created a game called "Nutball," which, strangely enough, had nothing to do with almonds or cashews.

Heck, they even made a championship belt a la the WWE out of cardboard for the Nutball champion to wear.

With 10 games remaining in our season, and a playoff spot in the balance, Stoney will definitely play a large part in our success.

All I want for the next week and a half is consistent quality. Panera lunches and Nathan Stone in the ninth sound pretty good to me.