Span wants to steal smart

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Denard Span was thrown out in his first stolen base attempt of the year.

CINCINNATI -- Some four hours before first pitch at Great American Ball Park, Denard Span was getting a tutorial from first base coach Tony Tarasco on his leads and jumps from second base. Nothing out of the ordinary, just a little refresher course of baserunning fundamentals.

Except for one strikingly noticeable aspect of the drill: Span was wearing his mitt.

Some kind of newfangled drill designed to make Span remember to do something with his right hand? Alas, the truth was far less interesting than that.

"I went to go shag [flyballs] at first, and then we ended up doing other stuff," he said. "The glove was just to protect myself."

Span has had plenty of opportunity to work on his baserunning
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