Tag Archives: Denard Span

GameChat – Exhibition – Cardinals @ Twins

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I haven’t quite figured out where Babs copies the lineups with links from, so for the moment, lineups grabbed from Kelly’s Corner. Come join me/us in the GameChat channel!

Here’s the chart!

St. Louis @ Minnesota
Schumaker, 2B   Span, CF
Ryan, Br, SS   Hudson, O, 2B
Pujols, 1B   Mauer, C
Holliday, LF   Morneau, 1B
Rasmus, CF   Cuddyer, RF
Ludwick, RF   Kubel, DH
Lopez, F, DH   Young, D, LF
Freese, 3B   Hardy, SS
Pagnozzi, C   Punto, 3B
Lohse, P   Pavano, P
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
St. Louis 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 5 0 8 13 2
Minnesota 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 4 4 1

But the boxscore just really can’t accurately describe what it was like for those of us here watching the game from the live chat.  From Span kicking tail and getting the first  HR in Target Field, seeing random friends enjoying the amenities, or even seeing Jacque Jones back in Minnesota!!  What a fantastic day for baseball in this state!

Because it wasn’t enough for Span to have the first triple at Target Field, he also had to smash the first home run.

span040210

It’s always nice to see someone you know, Seth Stohs, on TV. Eating a cheese-covered nacho chip.

seth040210

It was great to see that the fans at the ballpark remember Jacque Jones fondly too.

jones040210

Twins’ prospects rip former Cy Young winner!

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I confess. I’m not a fan of the former Twin starting pitcher that started for the Mets in their spring training game against the Twins today. It’s fine with me if my fellow Twins fans want to continue to worship him, even if I don’t agree with it. Just don’t expect me to fawn over his greedy, overpaid, New York loving, butt. 🙂

So, having said that, you might imagine that I rather enjoyed watching the game today in Port St. Lucie (is there really a St. Lucie?)  You would be right.

I don’t wish any sort of serious life-threatening evil to befall this particular former Cy Young winner. I’m not that kind of person. Do I hope he wins more Cy Young awards? No. Do I hope he ever reaches the playoffs with the Mets? No. Do I hope the investment the Mets made in him turns out to be the biggest waste of money since Barry Zito? Absolutely. I wish him and the Mets all the luck in the world… all the really, really BAD luck. And given the length of the Mets’ DL the last year or so, my wishes seem to be right on the mark.

But back to today’s game. Yes, I realize it’s only spring training. Yes, I realize this pitcher seldom pitches real well in spring training (and as Twins fans came to realize over the years, “spring training” generally runs through April and in to May for this particular pitcher).

So, here are some pictures from some of my favorite moments during the Twins’ win over the Mets on Friday:


Mets’ pitcher #57 delivers a pitch to Brendan Harris as Denard Span taunts him from 1B.


Too much of a stud to be DH’d for, this former Twin Cy Young pitcher grounds out meekly.


Twins 3B prospect Danny Valencia strolls toward home plate after taking the Mets’ multi-bajillion dollar pitcher “yard.” Manager Ron Gardenhire punished Valencia for homering off of the former Cy Young winner by demoting him to Rochester after the game.


Twins Prospect Wilson Ramos rounds 3B after launching a HR off of a former Twin Cy Young winner


The “best pitcher in baseball” delivers with Twins Delmon Young and Danny Valencia at the corners. Both would eventually score.


The official line was worse than the scoreboard showed as #57 left the mound… 2 more runners he left on base would score.

St. Patty’s day during Spring Training!

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Submitted by fellow reader, Corey, who’s down enjoying Spring Training.
 
So, for my first day of Vacation, I headed over to the Cru Restaurant in Fort Myers to meet my friends Omar and Jeri-Lynn. (I went to art school with Omar in New Jersey back in the day.) The plan was to stay anchored at the bar at Cru and celebrate St. Patty’s Day.
 
I met Jeri at about 5:15 and we proceeded to enjoy the evening. Omar arrived about 30 minutes later and rapidly the bar was filling with other patrons. At about 8:30 or so, the bar was PACKED, shoulder to shoulder and I happened to notice three gentlemen walk (squeeze is a better word) past us all at the same time. I recognized the third one almost immediately, but I wasn’t totally sure (I was fairly “happy” at that point).
 
The three men took up a spot not 20 feet from where I was with my friends, and I just studied the their faces, knowing that I knew who they had to be…and it hit me. They were: Denard Span, Delmon Young, and Orlando Hudson of the Minnesota Twins. So I walked over, quickly introduced myself, shook their hands, gave them their props and politely asked for a photo.
 
About an hour later, three other men squeezed into the bar going the opposite direction. I knew exactly who they were, since they were a foot away: Joe Nathan, Michael Cuddyer, and Nick Punto. I acknowledged each of them, shook each of their hands, gave `em their props and they kept on a movin’, so I had no chance for a photo. They were polite, but curt. Of the three, Nick Punto seemed the one most genuinely happy about meeting a fan from Minnesota.
 
Thirty minutes later…former Twin (and current non-roster invitee to Spring Training) Jacque Jones walked in with another person I did not know. Again, I introduced myself as being a fan from Minny and gave Jacque his props and unfortunately again, no chance for a photo.
 
To randomly meet SEVEN Twins players in one hip bar in Fort Myers on St. Patty’s Day was quite unusual. But, memorable!!
Corey with Orlando Hudson, Delmon Young and Denard Span