Sid Hartman: Nathan big part of Twins' turnaround

The Twins had a record of 17-37 and were 16 1/2 games behind first-place Cleveland through the games of June 1.

But they have made a great surge since then, going 24-11 and are only 6 1/2 games behind first-place Detroit at the All-Star break.

One person who has helped the turnaround is veteran reliever Joe Nathan. Since coming off the disabled list June 23, Nathan has allowed only one run, three hits and no walks while striking out six for a great 1.42 ERA.

Compare that record with what Nathan did before he went on the disabled list, when he posted a 7.63 ERA while allowing 17 hits and 13 earned runs in 151/3 innings, and it's easy to see that the time away was very beneficial to his recovery from the Tommy John surgery he had in 2010.

While the up-and-down Matt Capps still is the closer, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire hasn't hesitated to put Nathan in crucial setup roles, and the righthander has come through.

"I feel fine. It's just nice getting some results now and being able to help the squad out," said Nathan, who missed the entire 2010 season and had a very rough time early this year.

"The ball has more life on it now. I trust my stuff, I feel better, that's definitely very important," Nathan said. "But more importantly I can finish pitches off right now and just kind of sense that my ball has more life on it, especially as it's crossing the plate."

Nathan said he still has a ways to go to get back to his 2009 season form, when he had 47 saves and a 2.10 ERA.

"I've been making better pitches, more consistent, but sometimes I've still got some things to do, still have got to work and have to continue to get better and better," he said. "But right now I'm happy with where I'm at and just trying to, like I said, make pitches, make quality pitches, and be as consistent as I can be."

No new problemsNathan said he hasn't had any problems with his arm since he came back.

"Everything has felt good," Nathan said. "I've been taking care of it and every day has been feeling pretty good. Since I've broken up all the scar tissue in there it's really responded well."

Nathan said that when he went on the disabled list his arm was extremely tight, especially through his forearm.

He said that "it really locked up, and I think that was holding me back from having any kind of whip or finish on my pitches. That was kind of just having flat pitches that would cross the plate, spinning across the plate. Any time you can't finish out pitches these hitters are going to kill you up here. To go on the DL, it took about eight days to concentrate on really flushing that forearm out and that, in turn, allowed some scar tissue to break up in my elbow, and that's been the biggest difference."

Nathan added: "We're getting there. I think as far as pitches everything seems pretty normal. There's the almighty velocity, MPH's out there, that people read and will probably say I'm not quite there yet. But as far as my breaking pitches and the velocity on my ball, everything feels pretty normal."

The Twins have an option on Nathan's contract of $12.5 million for 2012 or a $2 million buyout. Nathan also can veto any trade, but the second-longest tenured player in the Twins organization wants to stay with the club.

"Of course I do. I'd love to stay here," he said. " But at the same time I leave that up to the big boys upstairs and just try to continue to relax and prove that I'm getting back to where I was, and more importantly help this team win games and try and get back in this race. That stuff will take care of itself at the end of the season."

Williams ranks highProFootballFocus.com on Wednesday gave its rankings of NFL defensive tackles who have played in a 4-3 defense over the past three seasons. No. 1 on the list is the Vikings' Kevin Williams. The website said the gap between him and other defensive tackles is not as large as it was three years ago but added "he's still dominant though -- and has been for the past three years." No. 10 on the list was the Rams' Fred Robbins, who is 34 and played for the Vikings from 2000 to '03. The website ranked 4-3 defensive ends Monday, placing the Vikings' Jared Allen seventh and Ray Edwards eighth. Antoine Winfield was rated the most complete cornerback from last year.

Jottings• Is there any truth to the rumor that Timberwolves President David Kahn wants coach Kurt Rambis to work off the final two years of his contract in a basketball administration role with the team and that Rambis has no interest?

• Gophers baseball players Dan Olinger and Andy Henkemeyer are playing in the Northwoods League this summer, and both are off to great starts. Olinger is batting .306 with 26 RBI, 18 runs scored, 13 doubles, and two home runs for the Brainerd Lakes Area Lunkers. Henkemeyer is hitting .317 with 16 RBI, 14 runs scored, six doubles and two triples for the St. Cloud River Bats.

• Tim Brewster, former Gophers football coach, was seen in the area for the first time in a while when he recently attended his son Eric's graduation at Wisconsin-River Falls.

• J.J. Hardy is performing for the Orioles the way the Twins had hoped he would for them last year. Hardy is hitting .283 with 13 home runs, 33 RBI and 34 runs scored as Baltimore's leadoff hitter. Hardy hit 11 home runs in 115 games with the Brewers in 2009 and only six in 101 games with the Twins in 2010. He's well on pace to break his career high of 26 home runs, which he hit in Milwaukee in his all-star season of 2007.

• With Ivan Rodriguez landing on the disabled list for the Washington Nationals, former Twin Wilson Ramos has taken over the primary catching duties. Ramos, still only 23, is hitting .251 with eight home runs, 30 RBI, 28 runs scored and has shown improvement behind the plate, throwing out 36 percent of base stealers.

• Jose Morales, the other catcher the Twins traded in the offseason, landed on the disabled list last month because of a broken finger. Morales was hitting .267 with no home runs and seven RBI in 60 at-bats for the Rockies.

• The Twins have a third baseman named Jairo Perez in Class A Beloit who is hitting .404 with eight home runs and 27 RBI in 28 games. DH/outfielder Oswaldo Arcia hit .352 with five home runs and 18 RBI in 20 games for the same team before being called up to Class A Fort Myers, where he is hitting .293 with two homers and seven RBI in 11 games.

Sid Hartman can be heard weekdays on WCCO AM-830 at 6:40, 7:40 and 8:40 a.m. and on Sundays at 9:30 a.m. • shartman@startribune.com