Nathan says he's ready for a playoff push

Joe Nathan got his 34th save Wednesday in the Twins' 3-1 victory over the Oakland A's.

But the righthanded closer, who has posted a 1.00 ERA in 54 appearances, doesn't expect to have any arm trouble as the season develops and there is more pressure on him to pitch more and/or longer with a division title possible for the Twins.

"It's more of a mental grind than it is physical," Nathan said. "Obviously your arm is going to go through some dead stages and get tired, for sure.

"When you're out there and preparing yourself every day to compete, your arm is going to get tired. But it's more of trying to keep yourself in it mentally, more than a physical battle."

Nathan pitched in a career-high 78 games for the San Francisco Giants in 2003 before being traded to the Twins, and he has appeared in an average of 68.5 games per season in his four previous years with Minnesota.

"I know my arm can handle it," Nathan said. "It's just a matter of, like I said, keeping yourself in it every day mentally and just trying to keep yourself prepared for those moments."

What is his reaction when Twins manager Ron Gardenhire brings him into critical situations in the eighth inning before going on to pitch the ninth?

While the rest of the bullpen has been inconsistent and really missed setup man Pat Neshek, who is out for the season after tearing a ligament in his pitching elbow, Nathan has been almost perfect. I wouldn't trade him for any other reliever in the league.

Holding back Peterson A year ago in the first two exhibition games, the Vikings played against the St. Louis Rams and the New York Jets, and Adrian Peterson was the leading rusher for the Vikings in both games. He had a total of 19 rushes for 103 yards and one touchdown in the two games.

So far this season in two exhibition games against the Seattle Seahawks and Baltimore Ravens, the Vikings' 2007 first-round draft choice from Oklahoma has rushed only eight times for 30 yards and caught one pass for 22 yards.

Vikings football coach Brad Childress, who said Peterson is healthy, explained the running back's limited use this way: "We've just got so many carries that I want to see him do during the preseason, just to get his pads set and make sure his legs are ready and he's set for those full-speed collisions. He scrimmaged during training camp and he's been everything but tackled to the ground most of the time in training camp."

But it is very likely Peterson will see a lot more action against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday. Former Vikings defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin, now head coach of the Steelers, will have a defensive plan ready that he hopes will stop Peterson from having a big day.

"We felt like we had a solid nucleus of players, and what we've done is gone out and got some guys to make the group better," Brewster said. "And certain guys -- [free safety] Tramaine Brock and [defensive end] Cedric McKinley, the junior college guys, [linebacker] Rex Sharpe, [defensive back] Traye Simmons, [linebacker] Simoni Lawrence, [athlete] David Pittman -- all those guys have come in and they've played very well.

"The thing that's really important to me is that they fit in very well. We've talked a lot about being a great teammate and what exactly a great teammate is, because the cohesiveness of our team is what's going to determine, I think, how successful we are this season."

There is no doubt these junior college players are very athletic, and the speed they will provide defensively is going to be a big plus to the team.

Brewster did a lot of popping off about the quality of this recruiting class. Yes, they haven't played a game yet, but rest assured you are going to see a much improved defense because of new defensive coordinator Ted Roof and the new talent.

Jottings The members of the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commissioner were scheduled to announce today the name of the architects who would work on a plan by which part of the Metrodome could be saved as part of the new Vikings stadium. But Bill Lester, who runs the Metrodome, said he expects the move to be postponed while there is a check on those who applied.

Twins General Manager Bill Smith reports that with the release of Craig Monroe and the trade of Livan Hernandez, plus Neshek being on the 60-day disabled list, the Twins have only 37 players on their 40-man roster and could add some players from Class AAA Rochester after Sept. 1.

The Gophers are scheduled to open the new stadium next year against Air Force, play a return game at Air Force and have a second home-and-home series. But according to Craig Thompson, commissioner of the Mountain West Conference, Air Force coach Troy Calhoun has cancelled the 2012 home game against the Gophers because he believes his schedule is too tough. ... Thompson, who was here visiting friends, said former Gophers center Dick Enga, has retired as an assistant football coach at Air Force after being on the staff for some 30 years.

Ex-Gophers and NFL assistant coach Marc Trestman, who grew up in St. Louis Park, is head coach of the Montreal Alouettes, who are leading the East Division of the Canadian Football League.

The Steelers will bring three former Gophers and one former Viking here when they clash with Minnesota on Saturday. In the Steelers' last game, a 24-21 loss to the Bills, three ex-Gophers contributed: Tight end Matt Spaeth caught two passes for 23 yards, running back Gary Russell ran three times for 10 yards and safety Tyrone Carter, also a former Viking, had four tackles. Ex-Viking Mewelde Moore returned a kickoff for 17 yards and a punt for two yards.

Normandale Community College dropped football in 1995 and will resume a program this year as a club team, with games scheduled against the junior varsities of Augsburg, Northwestern (Roseville) and St. Scholastica.