Reusse: Losing Pablo López is similar to Twins’ fortunes in 2010 ... and yet, very different

There remained a sensible timing to the exhibition baseball schedule in 2010 for major league teams located in Florida and Arizona. The first games were played a few days into March, and the teams were located there until the end of the month, allowing spring breakers to attend and then return home talking about the fine time they had hydrating at a ballgame.

Now the teams are starting this week — Feb. 21 vs. the Boston Red Sox for the Twins. The Twins will play a final spring game March 24, before the college crowd that always brought a renewed energy to the ballpark has had a chance to put its feet on the warm sand of the nearest beach.

The Twins were an optimistic group that early spring in 2010, having closed the Metrodome with their fifth division title in eight seasons on an unforgettable Game 163 win in 2009. Twins 6, Tigers 5, 12 innings. Thank you, Alexi Casilla ...

Joe Nathan had a Twins-best 47 saves in 2009. He was making his first 2010 appearance in the third exhibition game. He left with pain in his right elbow.

The gloom was thick in the clubhouse after that game with manager Ron Gardenhire and pitching coach Rick Anderson, as well as General Manager Bill Smith after he left a sit-down in Gardy’s office.

Nathan flew out of Fort Myers, Fla., the next day to see elbow specialists. The official word came a couple of days later: a torn UCL for the tall righthander who eventually would become the Twins’ all-time saves leaders with 260 (compared to tall righthander Rick Aguilera’s 254).

The closer’s role was turned over to the tallest righthander, 6-foot-11 Jon Rauch. He was an adventure — and a rather grumpy interviewee. The Twins had better options (does the name Jesse Crain ring a bell?), but they panicked in late July and sent outstanding catching prospect Wilson Ramos to Washington for Matt Capps.

When receiving the news back here that Pablo López, the Twins’ well-paid starting pitcher and occasional ace, had blown out the UCL in his right arm just throwing a bit of batting practice, the immediate flashback was to that day of gloom in The Fort when the worst was anticipated for Nathan.

And remember this: That 2010 team won 94 games with a patched-together bullpen not made better with the awful Capps trade.

And I would like to offer this bit of optimism after Pablo’s season-long absence was made official: This team can still win 74 games, even without a co-leader of a rotation that had a chance to be the strength of our non-contender.

Back in 2010, the Twins would sign Joe Mauer to an eight-year, $184 million contract later in March, and they would christen Target Field for the big leagues with two exhibitions vs. St. Louis (and Albert Pujols) on April 2-3.

The memory for me from that first Cardinals game is Mighty Albert thinking he had crushed a ball to right-center and it was caught in front of the tall wall. Before midseason, Bert Blyleven, an expert in hearing the sound of what should become a home run, was telling us on TV that the ball would start to carry at Target Field when the concrete aged.

The home ticket sales were 3,223,640, third in the American League, that inaugural season.

There were nine regular-season home games in April that season. There are 17 home games in April this season. The New York Yankees were here in late May in 2010. The Yankees are here on weekdays, again, in the middle of September this season,

Also, with Blue Jays fever rampant, Toronto’s annual trip to Target Field is April 30-May 3. Put that in the summer and it could be 120,000-plus, depending on how things are going between Prime Minister Carney and our president, Mr. Trump, winner of the prestigious, first-ever FIFA World Peace Prize.

So, yes, there is a group more indifferent to the Twins’ fate this season than our payroll-fixated fan base. That would be the overstuffed staff in the Major League Baseball office who have forgotten it has been 17 years since the Twins played under a roof.

Minus Nathan, torn UCL, we stormed the gates to the tune of 3,223,640. The prediction here is that numerous crowds of 5,000 actual and under 10,000 announced in April will send the Twins’ ticket sales winging to 40% of that — 1,289,456 official attendance.