Doumit placed on concussion DL

CHICAGO – Rob Antony chatted with Ryan Doumit as they walked to the team bus Wednesday night at Kansas City. By the time they climbed aboard, Doumit's fate had been determined.

"There wasn't any doubt in my mind" that Doumit's concussion symptoms were enough to warrant placing him on the seven-day disabled list for just such occasions, said Antony, Twins assistant general manager. "I said, 'we're not going to mess around with this. We can have you see a doctor when we get to Chicago, but you're going to have to go on the DL. We're not going to take any chances."

Doumit objected — but understood.

"I was disappointed I have to go on the disabled list, but at the same time, I understand the seriousness of head injuries," the catcher and designated hitter said. "It's a necessary evil, the seven days. ... If I had my way, I wouldn't have wanted to go, but I understand the process."

Antony called Doumit during the team's day off Thursday and confirmed his decision not to wait for another examination by a doctor. "We can't play a guy short," Antony said, especially with Friday's doubleheader on the schedule.

To take Doumit's place, the Twins activated outfielder Josh Willingham, who missed 33 games after having arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.

Doumit left Wednesday's game in the fourth inning after feeling "in a fog" behind the plate. He said he had been hit on the head several times lately, most notably by a Jason Castro foul tip during Sunday's game against Houston at Target Field. But it didn't seem particularly serious at the time, he said, and he didn't mention it to trainers until Wednesday's incident.

It's the second time in his career that Doumit has been sidelined because of a concussion suffered behind the plate; in 2010, "after repeated home-plate collisions and foul balls off the mask," he said, the Pirates put him on the 15-day disabled list.

When Chris Colabello swung at the John Danks' second-inning pitch in Game 1, Brian Duensing jumped up in the Twins bullpen and yelled at Jared Burton, "C'mon — Punch me! Punch me!"

And that's how the bullpen "brawl," which you are guaranteed to see on highlight shows several times this weekend, got started.

Burton and Duensing have been planning the prank for a while — since last season, actually, when ex-teammate Matt Maloney came up with the idea. Noting that relief pitchers are often seen in the background when a home run is hit into the bullpen, Maloney suggested they stage a fight for the cameras to pick up. They tried it in Seattle once last year, and Burton attempted it in Boston earlier this season, "but the camera wasn't zoomed in on us."

When Colabello swung and launched his opposite-field blast, however, he and Duensing realized that the angle and flight of the ball were perfect.

"That was about as good of execution as I could ask for," Burton said, "and I heard we made their right fielder laugh. It was all in fun."

His teammates appreciated it, too. After the Twins' 7-5 victory, several players were crowded around a laptop in the clubhouse, laughing at video of the home run.

Pretty good payoff to a prank they had waited to pull for a long time. "Me and Duens are always ready for it," Burton said. "Anytime a lefty's up when we're here, we're up on the edge of our seats. We're ready."