The return of Denard Span

Denard Span was
hitting .294 when he
went on the disabled
list in June. He's
2-for-38 since.

The spring-training quality of the Twins lineup took on a new dimension Wednesday with Denard Span making a Fort Myers-like three at-bat start.

It wasn't pure Grapefruit League — Span did stick around for the rest of the game. But there was never any intent that he would play nine innings.

That he's playing at all is a curious thing. There is no claim that he's completely symptom free. It's even likely, inasmuch as he cleared his baseline tests back in July and hasn't suffered a new concussion, that he didn't have to be cleared by MLB to play.

He wants to play, if only to get his return to the field out of the way before 2012.  I understand that. Perhaps the injury risk is outweighed by the psychological advantage of going into the offseason having taken the field.

I don't know, though; after Span left the game Wednesday, Ben Revere returned to center field and took on the outfield wall to make a catch. It was not a play I would want a sometimes-woozy Span trying to make. It's also a play a center fielder has to be able to go for.