Joe Nathan News: Pro Sports Daily

Twins closer Joe Nathan to test his injured right arm Saturday

Comment

March 16

St. Paul Pioneer Press

"Twins closer Joe Nathan, who got over the flu and was feeling well enough to head to Hammond Stadium on Monday, will test his pitching arm during a throwing session on Saturday, the team said. The team announced March 9 that the all-star right-hander has a "significant" tear in his ulnar collateral ligament, an injury that almost always requires months of rehab, if not Tommy John surgery and a year of recovery to follow. But instead of making a decision on treatment then, the team sent Nathan's test results to renowned orthopedic surgeon James Andrews for a second opinion and said Nathan would decide on a course of treatment in one to two weeks. Nathan, for his part, said last week that he ..."

Nathan hopes to dodge surgery

Comment

March 16

Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Twins closer Joe Nathan was bedridden because of a virus last weekend, but he was back in the training room Monday, clinging to hope that he won't need reconstructive elbow surgery. Nathan plans to play catch Saturday and give the elbow a vigorous test. "This is going to be something where there shouldn't be a gray area," he said. "On Day 1, I'll definitely know if there will be a Day 2. And the only way there won't be a Day 2, is if I need to get this thing repaired." Nathan's sore throat was still sore Monday. He said he probably has lost five to seven pounds, but he viewed the illness as a message from his body that it was time to get some rest. The Twins have sent the results of ..."

Nathan plans to test elbow Saturday

Comment

March 15

Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Twins closer Joe Nathan was bedridden Saturday and Sunday with a virus and still had a sore throat Monday, but he was in the training room, clinging to hope that he won't need reconstructive elbow surgery. Nathan said he plans to play catch Saturday and give the elbow a vigorous test. "When I feel loose -- if I do get loose -- I definitely want to test this thing as much as I can for Day 1 and see how it feels," Nathan said. "This is going to be something where there shouldn't be a gray area. It's going to be I feel great, or this just isn't me, this doesn't feel right." The sore throat has made it difficult for Nathan to eat, and he said he's probably lost five to seven pounds. But he ..."

With Nathan's injury, Twins need shot in arm from Liriano

Comment

March 15

USA Today

"Ron Gardenhire was trying to temper his excitement over a spring training performance by Minnesota Twins pitcher Francisco Liriano."There's going to be some good times and some bad times," said the Twins manager, probably an accurate assessment of the once-promising career Liriano is trying to resurrect. Now the left-hander's resurgence could go a long way toward salvaging a promising season suddenly in jeopardy. The consternation in Twins camp revolves around closer Joe Nathan and the tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow that forced him out of a spring game a little more than a week ago. That injury usually means ligament replacement surgery and 12 to 18 months on the ..."

Nathan misses another day as an illness joins his injury

Comment

March 15

Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Joe Nathan on Sunday missed a second consecutive day of camp because of an illness, which comes during a time in which he's trying to decide between trying to pitch with a torn ligament in his right elbow or have season-ending surgery. "He's not doing too well,'' Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "[We'll] just keep him away from the ballpark and try not to spread it.'' Nathan said on Friday that he would like to decide by the end of this week. Copies of his MRI exam have been sent to two specialists. Nathan was supposed to have completed several days of rehab work to strengthen the areas around the ligament by the end of this week. Then he was going to weigh his options and see if trying ..."

Fransisco Liriano may replace Joe Nathan as Twins Closer

Comment

March 13

St. Paul Pioneer Press

"Asked this week what he would look for in a closer if Joe Nathan ends up out for the season, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire mentioned two things: the ability to get strikeouts in big situations and the mental fortitude to handle the pressures that come with protecting slim leads and quickly forgetting blown saves. Among Minnesota's in-house candidates, there is one pitcher who has excelled in one of those areas as much as he's faltered in the other. Francisco Liriano is pitching for the fifth spot in the starting rotation, but the Twins have a bevy of starters to choose from, and the left-hander's wicked slider is seemingly restored to its 2006 glory. So, could Liriano be an enticing ..."

Nathan seeking multiple opinions on elbow

Comment

March 12

Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Twins closer Joe Nathan on Thursday slipped into workout clothes just like any other spring training day. But with a torn ligament in his pitching elbow, he headed to the trainer's room while his teammates took the field to play Baltimore. A reporter approached him and admitted that it will be hard not to ask him how he feels every day. "There's no reason to,'' he said, "until I pick up a baseball.'' There were, however, updates Thursday on various fronts. The results of his latest MRI -- which revealed a significant tear of his ulnar collateral ligament -- have been sent to orthopedist Dr. James Andrews for another opinion. Nathan didn't stop there, sending a copy of the MRI to Mets ..."

Nathan's injury could alter team's plans for Gutierrez

Comment

March 11

Minneapolis Star Tribune

"The fallout from Joe Nathan's torn elbow ligament might trickle down to the minors, where the Twins could move former first-round pick Carlos Gutierrez back to the bullpen. "This might change our thinking,'' said Jim Rantz, the Twins director of minor leagues. "For now, he's a starter. We might have to revisit that.'' The thinking is that if options at the major league level run out, the club could consider Gutierrez, 23, the 27th overall pick in 2008. Last season, he was 2-3 with a 1.32 ERA in 11 games (10 starts) with Class A Fort Myers before earning a promotion to Class AA New Britain. He ran into trouble at New Britain, going 1-3 with a 6.19 ERA in 22 games (six starts) before being ..."

With Twins' closer Nathan ailing, Indians may be more relieved to keep Kerry Wood

Comment

March 11

Cleveland Plain Dealer

"Closer Kerry Wood isn't going anywhere. The Indians may be more intent on keeping him today than they were when spring training opened Feb. 20. Just because the Twins have apparently lost closer Joe Nathan for a significant part of the season with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, it doesn't mean the Indians are rushing to package Wood and send him to Minneapolis. The opposite is probably a truer line of reasoning. Nathan has been a big part of the Twins winning three AL Central titles in the last six years. He's converted 91 percent of his saves (246-for-271) since arriving from San Francisco before the 2004 season. The Twins' bullpen has had the lowest ERA in the big ..."

Joe Nathan could pursue offbeat medical option

Comment

March 11

St. Paul Pioneer Press

"The Twins are just two days into a two-week decision-making process regarding closer Joe Nathan's torn ulnar collateral ligament, and the options that the closer and the team will weigh seem few. Both Nathan and the ballclub hope that in a 14-day span the all-star closer's "significant" UCL tear, as general manager Bill Smith described it, will heal enough for him to continue pitching. According to Dr. David Karli, a physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist at the Steadman Clinic in Vail, Colo., that window is likely too small. "Four weeks I think is a much better gauge of how an athlete is going to do," he said. "If you get that athlete back to playing too quickly that ligament can ..."

Loss of closer pours cold water on Twins' streak of good news

Comment

March 10

Minneapolis Star Tribune

columnist Jim Souhan

"Twins manager Ron Gardenhire slumped behind his desk, hatless, rubbing his face. General Manager Bill Smith stood beside him, ashen and quiet. Joe Nathan, the team's All-Star closer, sat on a stool next to pitching coach Rick Anderson, who draped an arm over Nathan's slumped shoulders. They jammed into Gardenhire's office at Hammond Stadium early Tuesday morning to announce that Nathan has a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. They did not say that the career of the most dominant closer in Twins history is in jeopardy. They didn't need to. Their expressions imparted the news as quickly and clearly as e-mail. "Right now, I'm going to work as hard as I can ... to be as strong ..."

Injury leaves Twins scrambling

Comment

March 10

Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Righthander Joe Nathan, one of baseball's elite closers, is 30-for-30 in save opportunities against Detroit. He has a career ERA of 0.85 against the Royals. He leads all closers with 246 saves since 2004. Watching Nathan jog in from the bullpen in the ninth had teammates believing the game was in the bag -- and it almost always was. Now those same teammates were left to wonder Tuesday about the potentially season-altering news that Nathan has a significant tear of the vital ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. If Nathan has surgery, which seems highly likely, his season is over before it started. "There's something to be said for the confidence he brings to the team when he's out ..."

Nathan might need Tommy John surgery

Comment

March 10

Chicago Sun-Times

"Ozzie Guillen slept a little better than usual Tuesday night. Then again, the idea of facing Jon Rauch in the ninth inning with the game on the line instead of Twins closer Joe Nathan, well, that's the best pillow Guillen could've asked for. ''If Rauch is the closer, I'll take my chances,'' Guillen said before the Cactus League game against the Giants. ''It's nothing against Rauch, but Nathan is so good against us. ... I don't remember in the six or seven years with this ballclub that we had a good day against him, except once.'' With the news out of Florida on Tuesday morning that Nathan has a tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow and is likely headed for Tommy John ..."

Joe Nathan's plight weighs on Minnesota Twins

Comment

March 10

St. Paul Pioneer Press

"Joe Nathan's torn ulnar collateral ligament dominated the conversation around Twins camp Tuesday, and that won't change in the immediate future as the closer seeks a second opinion and takes one to two weeks to decide whether to have season-ending surgery. "We got through it," manager Ron Gardenhire said after Tuesday's 7-6 exhibition win over the St. Louis Cardinals. "We go into an off day tomorrow; I think everybody could use that right now. Today was kind of a stressful day." Jesse Crain and Matt Guerrier, potential candidates to take over closing duties if need be, said they believe the talent already on the Twins' roster could make do if Nathan is out for a significant amount of time. ..."

Twins closer hoping to avoid season-ending surgery

Comment

March 9

MLB.com

"When Twins All-Star closer Joe Nathan went to Minnesota on Monday to have an MRI and CT scan on his sore right elbow, he and the Twins were expecting encouraging news.The prevailing thought was that the procedure was merely precautionary, that the tightness and soreness that forced him out of Saturday's game against the Red Sox after retiring just one batter was simply a result of the breaking up of scar tissue following his October surgery to remove bone spurs and loose bodies in the elbow.On Tuesday morning, however, the news Nathan delivered was not good. He was diagnosed with what was termed a "significant tear" to the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. To repair it would ..."

Twins' Joe Nathan has 'significant tear' in UCL

Comment

March 9

St. Paul Pioneer Press

"Twins closer Joe Nathan has a "significant tear" in his right ulnar collateral ligament, the ligament replaced in "Tommy John" surgery, the team announced today. Nathan will get a second opinion from Dr. James Andrews, the renowned orthopedic surgeon who removed bone spurs and chips from the right-hander's elbow this offseason. In the meantime, Nathan will try to rehab for the next one to two weeks before making his final decision on whether to have surgery. Visibly emotional during a morning press conference in manager Ron Gardenhire's spring training office, Nathan said if his elbow feels like it did on Saturday — when he suspects that the tear occurred and he had to be removed from an ..."

Nathan has 'significant' tear of elbow ligament; season in doubt

Comment

March 9

Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Closer Joe Nathan and the Twins were hit with the news this morning that he has a significant tear if the Ulnar Collateral Ligament in his right elbow, a potentially devastating blow to a team looking to make an extended postseason run. While surgery certainly looms as a possibility, Nathan will take two weeks to let the swelling in the area subside. He'll work with the trainers to strengthen the muscles around the elbow. And then he will try to pitch. If that doesn't go well, Nathan will have surgery that will end his season. Nathan had bone chips removed from his elbow during the offseason out of concerns that one of the chips could do damage to the ligament. He said early bullpen ..."

Twins closer Joe Nathan returns to Minnesota for tests on his sore pitching elbow

Comment

March 8

St. Paul Pioneer Press

"Joe Nathan is hoping for scar tissue. Right now that's the best, and safest, explanation for the soreness in his surgically repaired right elbow. The Twins closer should find out Tuesday after a magnetic resonance imaging test and CT scan he's scheduled to have today in Minnesota. The team sent him back Sunday after he was pulled from his first spring training appearance Saturday. "Hopefully, it's just something like a little post-op scar tissue breaking up, something like that," Nathan said. "That's why I'm going for these pictures and getting this information, hoping that's what it is." Nathan relieved starter Francisco Liriano in the third inning of Saturday's 9-3 loss to Boston, ..."

Nathan returns to Twin Cities for tests

Comment

March 8

Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Four weeks from Opening Day, the Twins aren't sure closer Joe Nathan will be ready to start the season. They will know more Monday, after he undergoes an MRI exam and CAT scan on his surgically repaired right elbow. Nathan, 35, will be in the Twin Cities for those tests, two days after having a setback in his first spring training game. "It's at a spot right now where I definitely wouldn't want to pick up a baseball," Nathan said Sunday morning. "It's very stiff, very sore. But it's a good thing we have a lot of time right now." Four weeks should be plenty if the Twins get good news. They suspect Nathan's pain is being caused by the breaking up of scar tissue from his Oct. 20 surgery to ..."

Twins closer Joe Nathan sent back to Minnesota for MRI on tender right elbow

Comment

March 7

St. Paul Pioneer Press

"The Twins are sending closer Joe Nathan back to Minnesota, as early as tonight, to get an MRI of his sore right elbow, the right-hander said this morning. "We're going to get some pictures done just for some peace of mind," he said. "It's stiff today, sore -- but (this is) more precautionary." Nathan retired one batter in a spring training loss to Boston Saturday before being pulled with what he called tightness and soreness in his surgically repaired right elbow. He had bone spurs and loose bodies removed from the elbow last October."

Joe Nathan experiences pain in surgically repaired elbow

Comment

March 7

St. Paul Pioneer Press

"Though doctors told Joe Nathan to expect soreness in his surgically repaired right elbow, the Twins' closer said it was still scary Saturday when he got pulled from his first game appearance since October. "It's never fun when you have to get pulled out of a game, especially by the training staff," he said after retiring just one batter in the third inning of the Twins' 9-3 loss to Boston at the Red Sox's City of Palms Park. Though there was no great concern on the Twins' part, they acknowledged they won't know the seriousness of the issue until today. Nathan, 35, entered the game in the third inning and struck out Mike Cameron but followed with walks to Bill Hall and J.D. Drew. He was ..."

Nathan says elbow not to blame

Comment

February 23

Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Twins closer Joe Nathan had bone spurs removed from his elbow during the offseason. So the question was teed up for him to knock out of the park. Acting on the assumption that he was in pain, and that the pain affected him last season, Nathan was asked to describe the challenges of pitching with such a condition. Was it why the four-time All-Star reliever had a 4.76 ERA after Aug. 31? Was it why he couldn't stop the Yankees in the postseason? Nathan was handed an excuse. But he passed. "I knew something was there," he said, "but it wasn't anything that would affect me. I knew I had to take some anti-inflammatories to make sure [I could pitch]. But I wasn't feeling anything on the field ..."

Minnesota Twins' Joe Nathan won't use elbow as excuse

Comment

October 24

St. Paul Pioneer Press

columnist Charley Walters

"Minnesota Twins closer Joe Nathan, who had two bone chips and some other particles removed from his right elbow by noted orthopedist James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala., this week, said this morning that the tender elbow didn't affect his pitching late in the season. "Not at all; no chance of that," Nathan said. "You talk to any pitcher and ask them if they ever feel 100 percent, and if they tell you they do, they're definitely lying. "To me, it was just another day at the office out there. And even if (the arm) didn't feel great, you go through that during the course of 162 games, when you're not going to feel great sometimes. "Shoot, that last run we had (to win the division) was one of ..."

Nathan has bone chips removed from elbow

Comment

October 23

Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Twins closer Joe Nathan turns 35 next month. He's coming off a season in which he saved 47 games but, for now, is remembered more for the save opportunity he blew Oct. 9 during Game 2 of the ALDS to the Yankees. On Tuesday, Nathan had surgery to remove two bone chips from his right elbow, acknowledging that he pitched a chunk of the season not at his fittest. "This is definitely something I'm not going to use as an excuse," Nathan said from his home in Knoxville, Tenn. Nathan had the surgery in Birmingham, Ala., at the offices of Dr. James Andrews, and is expected to be ready in time for the start of spring training. Nathan said he iced his elbow more this year than in any previous season, ..."

Trading Nathan, demoting Gomez should be on to-do list

Comment

October 13

Minneapolis Star Tribune

columnist Patrick Reusse

"There are facts to remember before comparing the Twins' four consecutive first-round dismissals in the playoffs with the string of early exits by the Kevin Garnett-led Timberwolves and a pair of one-and-dones for Jacques Lemaire's Wild: A baseball team already has reached the final eight in a 30-team league when it starts the postseason. An NBA or an NHL squad must win a first-round series to gain the final eight of those 30-team leagues. That's the last qualifier to be offered in dissecting another failure to advance by Ron Gardenhire's Twins. They were 4-2 in postseason play when this all started back in 2002, and since then have gone 0-4 against the Angels, 0-3 against Oakland and 2-9 ..."

Blown save, blown call irk Nathan

Comment

October 10

New York Post

"Yankee Stadium shook when Alex Rodriguez took Joe Nathan into the Yankees bullpen for a two-run homer to tie the game in the ninth, a game the Yankees would go on to win 4-3 in 11 innings. But preliminary tremors already were registered with the Twins closer. One of the very best becomes one of the very worst when he comes to New York, and if Nathan certainly is not the only reliever to be victimized by Alex Rodriguez, he remains the only one in a come-from-behind, late-inning, postseason situation. In 2004, the only postseason series in which Rodriguez excelled as a Yankee until this one, his two-on, one-out double turned around a 6-5, 12th inning Twins lead in Game 2 into a Yankees win ..."

Golden chance to even series blown by Nathan

Comment

October 10

Minneapolis Star Tribune

columnist jim Souhan

"Joe Nathan won't admit it, won't give in to what sounds like an excuse, but the man is tired. You can see the fatigue in his body language and on his not-what-it-used-to-be fastball, and you could almost sense that he didn't have the stuff to sneak anything fast past Alex Rodriguez on Friday night, when Rodriguez made the swing of the series, maybe the swing of his career. Nathan blew more than a save Friday night. He blew the Twins' best chance. Twins fans will spend the weekend complaining about the missed call on Joe Mauer's fly ball, and about a strike zone shaped like a busted pinata, but the Twins entered the bottom of the ninth with a two-run lead and their rested, All-Star closer ..."

Nathan blows two-run lead for Twins in ninth with A-Rod homerun

Comment

October 10

New York Daily News

"Like most of the Twins, Joe Nathan was flabbergasted by the blown call by umpire Phil Cuzzi that possibly cost them a run in the top of the 11th inning. But the All-Star closer, a Middletown, N.Y., product and a graduate of Stony Brook, also took full responsibility for allowing the game to get that far. Nathan served up a game-tying home run to Alex Rodriguez in the ninth inning of a crushing, 4-3, 11th-inning loss to the Yanks in Game 2 of the AL division series Friday night. "I wasn't the only one who blew one tonight," Nathan said after the game, referring to Cuzzi calling Joe Mauer's liner down the left-field line a foul ball in the 11th. "I think everybody in here knows that the ..."

Nathan's going-away present

Comment

September 3

Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Two outs. Two strikes. Two-run lead in the ninth. Joe Nathan at the controls. "You get it in your closer's hands," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said, "it should be over." "Every time, we say, 'Nathan on the mound, you might as well pack it in,'" White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. What actually happened Wednesday numbed the crowd and gave the White Sox -- in their last appearance in the Metrodome before the Twins move into Target Field next season -- only their second victory in their past 13 games in the Dome. An easy save became a crushing loss when Nathan was charged with four runs in the ninth inning as Chicago won 4-2. The Twins blew a chance to sweep their division rival and keep ..."

Nathan's escape displays his skills

Comment

August 31

Minneapolis Star Tribune

columnist Sid hartman

"It wasn't pretty, but one of the great closers in baseball -- the Twins' Joe Nathan -- was able to retire the Texas Rangers on Sunday after loading the bases with no one out in the ninth inning to preserve a 5-3 Twins victory at the Metrodome. Without Nathan, the Twins wouldn't be in the American League Central race. What a competitor this man is. Texas led 3-2 before the Twins rallied for three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to take a 5-3 lead. Nathan came in to pitch the ninth. "It's not fun with a two-run lead, especially after both teams battled all game," Nathan said. "We battled back late. "[It's a] situation where [you're] trying to do whatever you can to hold the lead and ..."

Joe Nathan not about to leave game

Comment

August 23

St. Paul Pioneer Press

"Young pitchers take note — don't try to pull a Joe Nathan, waving your skipper off when he emerges from the dugout to take the ball from your hand. It won't work. "If I walk out there tonight and Duensing says I'm not coming out of the game," Gardenhire said, using Saturday's rookie starter Brian Duensing as the example, "you can't print what I'll say to him." Such moves are reserved for seasoned veterans (Brad Radke once refused to leave a game after Gardenhire arrived at the mound to yank him) and, well, pitchers who qualify as one of the best in the game at their job. Nathan threw 53 pitches in his two innings of work on Friday, blowing a one-run lead, then getting the win one inning ..."

Minnesota Twins survive without Joe Nathan

Comment

August 23

St. Paul Pioneer Press

"By the time Matt Guerrier, Minnesota's closer du jour Saturday night, gave up his second hit in the ninth, he didn't dare glance toward the bullpen. "I was afraid to look," Guerrier admitted after an 8-7 victory over the Royals, "and see Joe walking in behind me." But there was no Joe Nathan, who was so unavailable after he threw 53 pitches Friday that Twins manager Ron Gardenhire told the closer to not even bother putting on a jersey Saturday. There was just Guerrier and a host of other pitchers to hold up — and threaten to give up — Minnesota's second straight win. Before the game, Gardenhire said he hoped his team could score 10 runs and have no need for a closer. Scoring a lot of ..."

Nathan gets a very rare day off

Comment

August 23

Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Saturday marked a first for Twins manager Ron Gardenhire -- the first time in six seasons he really didn't have Joe Nathan available to close. "There's been times when he's saved like three, four games in a row and I'm like, 'No way,' but it didn't come up when we needed to use him," Gardenhire said. "I'd say, 'No way he's going to be pitching,' and he would say, 'Yeah, I'm pitching." "[Saturday] probably is the first time there's not even going to be a question about it. He's not pitching." Nathan threw 53 pitches during two innings of work on Friday while blowing a save against the Royals. The Twins came back to take a 5-4 lead in the 10th, and Nathan had to work out of a two-on, one-out ..."

Twins, Nathan beat Royals 10 after closer blows save in ninth

Comment

August 22

St. Paul Pioneer Press

"Joe Nathan stood on the infield grass, his body facing right field, his head hanging and his hands on his knees. Seconds before, his 3-2 pitch to pinch-hitter Brayan Pena had cleared the right-field fence, and now Pena was speeding around the bases, as if fretting that the baseball gods might take back his game-tying, save-blowing shot off one of baseball's most stable closers. If the Twins had withered then, deflated by such an unlikely result after they had climbed back, yet again, from an early deficit, perhaps it would have been understandable. Instead, on a night that harkened back to Minnesota's piranha days, the Twins kept coming and went on to beat the Royals 5-4 Friday night. ..."

Nathan gets a bad one right back

Comment

August 22

Minneapolis Star Tribune

"It was already a crazy night at Kauffman Stadium on Friday, but the ultimate madness would have been manager Ron Gardenhire removing closer Joe Nathan with two on and two outs in the 10th inning during his second laborious inning of work. Gardenhire took a few steps out onto the field to remove Nathan, who was backing up third as Alberto Callaspo flied out. "I'm at a situation, mentally, where there's no way I'm not finishing this game," Nathan said. "I'm backing up third. I take a breath, and as I glance I see Gardy about to walk out." Nathan waved his hand at his manager. "I'm like, 'Get your butt back over there,'" Nathan said with a chuckle. Gardenhire returned to his spot. "I've never ..."

Twins closer Joe Nathan hasn't gotten the chance to work much this season

Comment

May 10

St. Paul Pioneer Press

"In situations like the one Joe Nathan was in Friday night, the closer never knows what will happen. Pitching for the first time in six days and in a non-save situation, Nathan hoped first that he would be sharp enough, and second that he wouldn't be too sharp — too sharp yields overthrowing, and overthrowing, of course, yields few positive results. Closers generally aren't thrilled to pitch when the game isn't in their hands, but if it means he can get in some work, Nathan said he'll take it. Nearly a month into the season, the right-hander has pitched 11 innings, putting him on pace for a career-low 57 this season. Of those 11 appearances, only six were save situations, and of those six, ..."

Pain-free Joe Nathan closes inning with changeup

Comment

March 9

St. Paul Pioneer Press

"Pitching in his first game since pulling out of the World Baseball Classic with a balky shoulder, Twins closer Joe Nathan never even thought about the sore A.C. joint that's kept him from games since Feb. 25. Instead, after his pain-free, dominant inning (two strikeouts and a groundout), his manager said Nathan wanted to talk about just one thing — the changeup he threw as his last pitch of the day. "He's just killing us with that changeup. He's got a good one," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire lamented. "He's throwing the ball, what, 92, 93 with a great breaking ball and, 'Did you see my changeup?' That's all he's going to say." Nathan faced the heart of Baltimore's lineup and retired Aubrey ..."

Joe Nathan becomes agent of change

Comment

March 6

St. Paul Pioneer Press

"Twins closer Joe Nathan has quite a secret life going. A big, hard-throwing right-hander, Nathan is best known for blowing away batters in the ninth inning. But the bullpen is his laboratory, and when few are watching he tinkers with unusual pitches. At least, they are unusual for him. For example, he spent several years experimenting quietly with a sinkerball. Nathan never threw it in a game, just over and over in the bullpen. He especially worked on it during spring training. Then last season — boom — he unveiled it against unsuspecting American League hitters. He recalled the quizzical looks he got from batters when the sinker came in hard like a fastball and then broke downward. ..."

Nathan throws pain-free in pen

Comment

March 4

Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Nathan throws pain-free in pen Twins closer Joe Nathan eased concerns about his right shoulder Tuesday, when he threw full-speed in a 25-pitch bullpen session without pain. "Today gave me a lot of confidence," said Nathan, who pulled out of the World Baseball Classic because of the injury. Nathan hopes to face hitters in batting practice Thursday and pitch Saturday against the Pirates. Crede tests his back Besides playing third base for the first time since signing with the Twins, Joe Crede smashed a two-run double to deep center field in the Twins' 3-2 exhibition victory over Puerto Rico. The first ball hit to Crede was a chopper down the line. Playing off the base, he dove, as the Twins ..."

Nathan feels fine after bullpen session

Comment

March 3

MLB.com

"Twins closer Joe Nathan threw a bullpen session on Tuesday and reported afterward that his right shoulder felt great. Nathan had been expected to pitch for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic but pulled out on Sunday due to soreness in the AC joint, where the clavicle meets the acromion process of the scapula at the top of the shoulder. The plan now is to have Nathan throw batting practice on Thursday and to possibly pitch in the Twins' Grapefruit League contest against the Pirates on Saturday."

Shoulder keeps Nathan from WBC

Comment

March 2

Minneapolis Star Tribune

"What Joe Nathan believed was normal offseason soreness has led to his exit from Team USA just days away from the start of the second World Baseball Classic because of a sore shoulder. Nathan, who pitched in the inaugural WBC in 2006, was shut down for three days after pitching in the exhibition season opener on Wednesday. He was well enough Sunday to throw in the bullpen for about 10 minutes on Sunday and could be well enough to pitch on Wednesday when the Twins play host to the Netherlands. Nathan said he felt discomfort during the offseason but thought it was normal after-season soreness. "I look back and there was probably a mild case in the offseason but I never really paid attenton to ..."

Shoulder keeps Nathan out of Classic

Comment

March 1

MLB.com

"Twins closer Joe Nathan has pulled himself out of the World Baseball Classic. Nathan had been scheduled to pitch for Team USA in the event. But he's been experiencing some discomfort in the acromioclavicular joint of his right shoulder, better known as the AC joint. He informed reporters on Sunday morning that he decided the best thing to do was to stay in camp. "It wouldn't be fair for me to say I'm 100 percent and go play for Team USA when I'm not," Nathan said. "It wouldn't be fair for the Twins or Team USA. As hard as it is to have to watch this [event] and know I want to be there, at the same time I know this is the right decision to make sure I'm ready for April 6." Nathan said that ..."

Baseball has cleaned up its act, reliever Joe Nathan, other Minnesota Twins say

Comment

February 16

St. Paul Pioneer Press

"Joe Nathan is willing to forget about Alex Rodriguez's embrace of steroids. He would like to forget the whole subject, in fact. But forgiveness is going to take a little time. "The one thing I just hate is, if guys do get caught, I don't want people to think that if they fess up like a man, that it's OK now," the Twins' closer said of baseball's latest steroids scandal. "Well, that doesn't make it right." Rodriguez's admission last week that he took performance-enhancing drugs while with the Texas Rangers from 2001-03 has drawn attention away, Nathan said, from the fact that baseball has, in his opinion, driven steroids out of the game. And Rodriguez's stated motivation, that he felt ..."

Ugly outing for Minnesota Twins, Joe Nathan in 3-2 loss to Oakland

Comment

August 31

St. Paul Pioneer Press

"Joe Nathan and Brendan Harris huddled together in the Twins' silent clubhouse Saturday night, quietly dissecting the disastrous final play of the Twins' stunning 3-2 loss to the Oakland Athletics. Their conclusion: tough, tough play. And we should have made it. Nathan scooped up Ryan Sweeney's ninth-inning bunt, whirled and slung the baseball to Harris, intending to force out Bobby Crosby at third base. The throw was a little wide and a little low — my fault, said Nathan. Harris was leaning the wrong way, trying to find the bag with his feet, and had to reach across his body for the ball, which glanced off his glove — my fault, said Harris. By the time anyone could retrieve the errant ..."

Nathan proving he belongs in the same sentence with Rivera

Comment

August 17

St. Paul Pioneer Press

"The closer, praised by the great Mariano Rivera for his calm demeanor and his stable nature on the mound, tugs at his jersey. His head twitches, fast and slight, to the side. Then, in a move as reliable as a Joe Nathan converted save, he takes a deep breath, puffs his cheeks out and exhales mightily, his lips flapping from the force. Nathan knows of this habit, the "horse blow," he calls it. He can hear fans mimicking it as he warms up in the bullpen, but he's unaware of it on the mound. The place he most often sees it is at home, when his 3-year-old son, Cole, hears something he doesn't want to and suddenly looks like his father about to deliver a strikeout pitch. Nathan's quirks are a ..."