Twins closer Joe Nathan hopes to be on the mound for the team if needed in their season opener. Nathan, who underwent Tommy John surgery last year, asked Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire to step in the box against him. "I wasn't afraid to come inside and brush him back a couple times," Nathan said. "Anytime you're comfortable enough to tell your manager to step in and throw some inside, I think my release point went well." Gardenhire says the coaches have a plan for easing him back in and they want to be cautious with him to avoid his elbow getting hurt again. "We'll always err on the cautious side," Gardenhire said. "We'll try to do that with Nathan. We'll sit down and have our talk. I know he wants to be full bore because he's worked really hard. We'll have our talk soon and make sure we do the right thing."