Sid Hartman: Nathan faced dilemma on earlier surgery

While the Twins headed for Anaheim, Calif., after the exhibition victory over the Cardinals at Target Field on Saturday, closer Joe Nathan remained in the Twin Cities, where he will continue to rehabilitate his right arm after Tommy John surgery on March 26.

Looking back on his problem, Nathan said it is possible he might be healthy today if he hadn't had earlier surgery to remove bone spurs and chips in his elbow after the playoffs last season.

"I don't know. It very well could have [prevented the tearing of the ligament]," Nathan said. "I've heard from a lot of people that bone spurs are there for a reason, to protect something else.

"Being a professional pitcher, if you leave those bone spurs in, a lot of bad things can happen as well. It's one of those things where I don't think you really have a good choice. For me, I feel like I made the right decision to get them out. Unfortunately, my ligament couldn't hold up."

Did you have any pain in your arm this spring before the problem came up?

"The ligament? I didn't feel anything until it happened," he said. "Leading up to it this spring, everything was going great. I felt great. Last year was the bone spur where I had it sticking out of the back of the elbow. I didn't feel this until one pitch."

Do you think that one pitch did it?

"Yes. There is going to be a lot of, do you think it's this or that," Nathan said. "I'm sure there are a lot of opinions about it, whether the surgery I had in the offseason might have led to this. I think it's one of those things. If I don't have the surgery, what will the bone spurs do? If I do have the surgery, like I did, this happens. Is this the reason it happened? Who knows? Everything happens for a reason.

"I see the light at the end of the tunnel now. I feel like I will come back from this. I will be as strong, if not stronger, from this. I feel like this will be a good thing for me in 2011. I definitely will be hungry to getting back and playing this game. I look forward to the work I'll have to put in to make myself as strong as I need to be. Getting ready for 2011 is the only thing on my mind right now."

Nathan has pitched a lot of innings for the Twins since he was acquired from the Giants in 2003 but he doesn't think he was overworked. With the Giants, he averaged about 83 innings a season; with the Twins, it's consistently been around 69 innings in six years.

"No. I've probably pitched a lot less innings than most of the people in this clubhouse," he said. "I didn't start pitching until I was 24 years old. The innings I have are a very positive thing.

Was your doctor (Mets team physician Dr. David Altchek) optimistic about a complete recovery after the surgery?

"He came in and was ecstatic. He was actually happier than he thought he was going to be," Nathan said. "The ligament that tore was actually in great shape besides the tear. It was a clean tear. ... Mine was in great shape."

How tough is this year off going to be?

"I'm not afraid to put the work in to get back, especially with a team like this," he said.

Nathan is signed through next year (he will be paid $11.25 million), with a club option for 2012, so he will have an opportunity to come back if everything works out well and be the best closer the Twins have ever had again.

Glad it's over Joe Mauer, who recently signed an eight-year contract for $23 million a season, said he is glad the negotiations are over.

"Yes. I'm glad to get it done, and it's starting to sink in that I'm going to be here for awhile," said the Twins catcher, who ended the exhibition season on Saturday batting .400 with 18 hits in 45 at-bats, including four doubles, two home runs and nine RBI. "I think I was concentrating on baseball, but it could have been a distraction. I'm glad I only have to worry about the game."

Was the no-trade clause a big thing in your contract?

"Yes, because I don't want to go anywhere," Mauer said. "This is where I want to be. This is the uniform I want to wear. I'm glad to stay at home."

Rob Antony, the assistant general manager of the Twins who was involved in the negotiations, said even though Mauer could ask for a trade under the 10-5 rule after he puts in 10 years in the big leagues, the no-trade clause in his contract supersedes it and Mauer is now locked up with the Twins.

Mauer got a big standing ovation when he came to the plate for the first time in the two-game exhibition series with the Cardinals, an indication of how popular he is and how happy the fans are to see him staying with the Twins.

Jottings Twins President Dave St. Peter had as his guests several members of the Legislature who played a part in passing the stadium bill and every one of them was impressed. You want my opinion? The Vikings are going to get their stadium because of the great impression Target Field has made on the voters and the public officials. Another good reason that the football stadium could become a reality is that many of the 7,500 workers who built Target Field are unemployed, and the unions they belong too are pushing the politicians to pass a stadium bill so they can go back to work. A lot of the workers who built TCF Bank Stadium are also not working.

Incidentally, Twins officials have talked to the Wild about staging an outdoor NHL game at Target Field, and the reason that the baseball stadium might have edge over TCF Stadium is people can buy beer at Target Field and the concessions would be a big part of the revenue.

The Twins did make an offer to pitcher Jarrod Washburn, the Webster, Wis., resident, before spring training, but the veteran lefthander turned it down and is currently out of baseball. And third baseman Joe Crede, who was with the Twins last year and missed a lot of games because of injuries, also is out of the game.

The Nashville Predators signed Gophers forward Ryan Flynn to a two-year contract. Flynn, a sixth-round draft pick by Nashville in 2006, recently finished his four-year Gophers career with 17 goals, 40 assists and 207 penalty minutes in 156 games. According to the Nashville Tennessean, Flynn's two-way contract calls for him getting paid $525,000 on the NHL level in each season.

Friends of Royce White, the Gophers basketball player who withdrew after some legal problems, report that he called UCLA and is considering enrolling there. However, White wouldn't eligible until the 2011-2012 season. ... Jim Jackson, a former graduate assistant with the Gophers who worked with the offensive line, is now the tight ends coach at Southern Illinois.

Sid Hartman can be heard weekdays on WCCO AM-830 at 6:40, 7:40 and 8:40 a.m. • shartman@startribune.com