Denard Span makes gaudy return to Minnesota Twins

He's not the cleanup hitter, and he's not a Cy Young winner, and he's not Joe Mauer, hitting machine.

[Idaho Armenian]

Why is Tolbert still with the Twins???Why would you bring Pridie up to sit the bench??Only the Twins would have a leadoff batter that has a .220 avg.Once a loser, always a loser...Gardenmanure

[brachiosaurus]

Denard Span has become a huge part of the Twins' offense. It's great to see a guy come through the systems and become a successful big leaguer. Without Span, the Twins don't have a major league lead-off hitter in the truest sense. In other news, Punto is supposed to be getting an MRI. When he returns to the disabled list, maybe the Twins will consider bringing back Swarzak and trying Liriano in the bullpen. Tolbert isn't going anywhere. Who would replace him? Casilla hasn't played well in the majors and apparently he's all attitude at Rochester.

The Twins should have swept the series, but winning any series on the road is big for the Twins. They're going to face better pitching in St. Louis. Let's hope that Span can spark the offense.

[Mad Dog Gus]

The task in St. Louis will be much greater than it was in Milwaukee...especially with Perkins and Liriano pitching two of the three.

Winning ugly won't happen....Mauer, Morneau, Kubel, Cuddy, Crede, and Span are the nucleus of this team...time for leadership!

[hdog]

I think the Spanster is here to stay. Glad he's better and back in it. I sure hope Gardy is smart enough to keep Harris in the lineup too.

[hdog]

Idaho Armenian wrote:

Why is Tolbert still with the Twins???Why would you bring Pridie up to sit the bench??Only the Twins would have a leadoff batter that has a .220 avg.Once a loser, always a loser...Gardenmanure

I agree...Tolbert needs to go back to little league, and I just don't get Gardy a lot of the time. I really think we need a cold-blooded booze hound like Billy Martin again. Or, better yet, a truly good manager like Tom Kelly.

[Duh]

Great Win Twins. Sorry Baker that Gardy left you in to long so your ERA is still shot. I still cannot believe he let you bat in the top half of the inning. Should have pinch hit for you and went to the bullpen. Good thing the bats came back and put up a few more runs or we might have had a repeat of Wednesday night. Douggie Ballplayer laughed when the media lauded Gardy for the Twins success in 2002 we are now seeing why.

[brachiosaurus]

Lots of criticism of Gardenhire for managing a team that just won a series against a contending team on the road...the guy has his faults, but he's all Twins and loves the organization. His tactical moves are often questionable, but his ethics are right on. He probably shouldn't have lambasted Ayala to the press, but most of us prefer that a manager take that attitude with players who don't put the team first. If people want drama, politics, and primadonnas, why not become Yankee fans? Admittedly, one does have to wonder about Pridie being called up for no apparent reason, Swarzak pitching in Rochester, and some a lot of Gardenhire's pitching moves.

[Elvis Presley]

spansy did good mauersi and morneausi not bad, blacky a good pitcher, cuddy nice player, Gardy good at nicks, gg blows, dildoe young not good, kubes swingi bat.

[Erica]

The bullpen is looking so much better lately than it did at the start of the season. R.A. Dickey is a complete surprise- he's really stepped up to be a reliable option.

According to a Jason Stark article on ESPN.com , Twins starters are near the top of the league, going at least six innings per start (ERA, however, is a different story). That shocked me, but it might account for the bullpen not blowing tons of leads.

[tammy]

I <3 Span. Span da Man. Glad he's back and feeling better!

[Duh]

brachiosaurus wrote:

Lots of criticism of Gardenhire for managing a team that just won a series against a contending team on the road...the guy has his faults, but he's all Twins and loves the organization. His tactical moves are often questionable, but his ethics are right on. He probably shouldn't have lambasted Ayala to the press, but most of us prefer that a manager take that attitude with players who don't put the team first. If people want drama, politics, and primadonnas, why not become Yankee fans? Admittedly, one does have to wonder about Pridie being called up for no apparent reason, Swarzak pitching in Rochester, and some a lot of Gardenhire's pitching moves.

Ethics huh? Like his love of role players such as Tolbert and Punto; how he sticks with him thinking if he had a manager like himself he would have been more then a role player. The Twins win inspite of Gardy, they always have 5-16 is his record in post-season, any other team in the leauge that would have you being a commentator for ESPN.

[Flatblade]

Gardenhire is not the problem. The roster is filled out with the likes of Tolbert, Henn, Keppel etc. because the cupboard is truly bare after the regular players. The Twins have seven competent offensive players. Their rotation is OK, but lacks an ace and carries a couple of suspect pitchers. The back end of the bullpen is weak and so is the Twins bench.

Gardenhire knows you can't turn every lead over to the bullpen in the sixth and expect the bullpen to thrive and he knows that many of his players are limited. A solid second baseman and a reliable reliever would help the Twins greatly. I don't think they can fill those holes from within.

[brachiosaurus]

Many people who follow sports closely might claim that ESPN reporting is rather poor and even biased. The best thing to do is always to watch the games.