Joe Nathan rehab

[Scott M]

The Sunday paper made it sound like Nathan's rehab is going pretty well.

I saw this picture and thought he looked just like AllState's "mayhem" character. You decide:

[Mr.Seaguar]

He`s still old.

[JBMasterAngler]

He's still worthless against the yankees also.

[solbes]

I don't think we should count on any production from Nathan this year. I'd like to though, given the current state of our bullpen. Starting pitching is not rock solid either, but seems to be on better footing than the bullpen.

Does look like the Mayhem commercial guy. Need to have him quote: "OMG Becky's not even hot..." to see if he's a fit.

[mrklean]

hopefully he starts the year out well so we dont have a closer problem like last year

[DonBo]

hopefully he starts the year out well so we dont have a closer problem like last year

There's no way we can even HOPE he'll come back from the TJ surgery and step into the closer roll again. Most take two full years of pitching to get back to their old form. Few ever do come back as good as they were before the surgery. With Joe's age, I just don't see him ever being a closer again. Hope I'm wrong, but it would be a miracle if he comes back good enough to fill that roll again.

[B. Amish]

heard on the radio that he's starting to throw and hitting 89 mph on the gun. 89 isn't exactly what you want out of your closer, but 89 is right on track to where he's at when he starts throwing every year.

[SledNeck]

hit 91 three times on the gun

he ahead of where most pitchers are this time of year. Half of coming back from that surgery is confidence

[zamboni]

Half of coming back from that surgery is confidence

Yeah took Liriano couple years to get his back. Dude was excellent last year- year before not so much.

The guy I am curious about is Strasburg. Way too young and career might be over. But I guess we'll see

[blue_healer_guy]

Its all about guts and passion when your an older player, he will be fine.

[Scott M]

He looked decent yesterday:

LaVelle E Neal III, Star Tribune

FORT MYERS, FLA. - Twins righthander Joe Nathan on Tuesday was more nervous for a spring game than a veteran with his credentials should be.

"At the same time, it was a big step for me," he said.

His past year has been filled with baby steps and bigger steps. Tuesday's game was a major checkpoint on his road back to the majors, and he breezed through it with a scoreless fourth inning in a game the Twins dropped 5-0 to Boston at Hammond Stadium.

Nathan is one more step closer now to returning as the Twins closer. He missed all of last season after tearing the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow during an outing against the Red Sox on March 6. He missed the Twins' inaugural season at Target Field and a second consecutive AL Central title.

With Matt Capps ready to step in to close if Nathan falters, Nathan has sailed through rehabilitation and workouts without a hitch.

Now he has to stay healthy and prove he has got his old stuff and command back.

"Definitely excited for it and it went well," Nathan said. "I was excited the way it went. I was able to mix in most of my pitches."

He admitted that he had looked forward to Tuesday's outing for a long time. It's not about finally getting to pitch at Target Field as it is proving during this camp that he can be nails again.

He received a loud ovation from the sellout crowd of 7,963 as he made his familiar jog to the mound and warmed up.

Nathan walked Jarrod Saltalamacchia around a pair of fly-ball outs, then got Drew Sutton to ground to second to end the inning.

He thew 20 pitches -- 20 of the most meaningful pitches he has thrown in some time. His adrenaline was pumping. He let all his pitches loose.

His first pitch registered 88 miles per hour on the stadium radar gun. Two of his final pitches hit 90. He did throw one pitch at 91 mph. His history is to throw a little slower than that at the start of camp.

"I feel like I'm a little further ahead of where I am usually at this stage," he said. "It's nice to be back where I am, if not a little further. I don't see a problem with being ready for Opening Day."

Seeing him back in the dugout after the inning, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire could tell Nathan was in the afterglow of his return to the mound.

"He was all smiles, walking up and down the bench," Gardenhire said. "Even afterwards, [he] kind of stood behind us talking and was looking out.

"You can only imagine that you miss that much time and love the game as much as he does. It was a pretty big day for him."

Nathan said he threw all of his pitches, including a changeup he plans to use more in 2011. He's also tinkered with working from different spots on the rubber to see what effect it has on his pitches.

It's not a reaction to his surgery as much as it is him trying to stay one step ahead of opponents. He thinks the changeup could be a good weapon for him this season.

"Hitters have definitely made adjustments on me," said Nathan, a four-time All-Star whose 246 saves are eight behind Rick Aguilera's team record. "So hopefully, this pitch is something for me to make an adjustment [and] hopefully gain the advantage that I did have."

Wednesday will be a key day, as Nathan does a system check to see how his arm feels a day after his outing. But he hasn't worried about his elbow for quite some time now.

"I feel normal," he said, "which is about as good as it gets right now."

[Scott K]

Quote:

Joe Nathan (elbow) tossed a perfect inning in his second appearance of the spring Friday against the Rays.

Nathan needed just nine pitches to retire the side. He struck out one batter and even reached 95 mph on one of his pitches, according to the stadium's radar gun. We're skeptical about that, but the important part is that he is pleased with his command right now. As of now, Nathan looks in pretty good shape for Opening Day.

[mrklean]

so he will be opening day closer then?

[DonBo]

so he will be opening day closer then?

He had a good outing again yesterday, throwing just nine pitches with a strikeout in one perfect inning. It'll still take more than one or two (or 6 or 7) good outings to earn his job back, but this IS an awesome start.

[DonBo]

Another quick one, two, three, inning today.

[thatoneguy]

Quote:

so he will be opening day closer then?

He had a good outing again yesterday, throwing just nine pitches with a strikeout in one perfect inning. It'll still take more than one or two (or 6 or 7) good outings to earn his job back, but this IS an awesome start.

From what I've heard, they're planning to use Nathan as the closer from day 1, with Capps as the 8th inning man or as a fallback in case there are a lot of close games over the span of a few days.

[Big Tom]

From what I've heard, they're planning to use Nathan as the closer from day 1, with Capps as the 8th inning man or as a fallback in case there are a lot of close games over the span of a few days.

I wonder if this is still the plan. Joe got lit up today.

Nice outing out of Blackburn though.

[greebs]

am a little worried about Joe. There are few pitchers who come back from this surgery the same and especially that first season back. plus joes' got some mileage.