Seth Stohs

On Thursday morning, the Twins front office performed one of their most difficult tasks. They informed six minor league players that their dream of playing in the big leagues for the Minnesota Twins was at an end - that they had been released. I'd like to highlight the players released because they all put in some quality time in the Twins organization and deserve to be recognized once more as they exit the organization. Some of them may be able to hook on with another organization. Some may play some independent league baseball. Some may end their baseball dream all together and go another direction. In any case, I certainly wish the best to all of them. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Dan Osterbrock - He was the Twins 7th round pick out of Cincinnati. He signed quickly and was named the Appalachian League Pitcher of the Year that summer when he went 7-0 with a 3.00 ERA, eight walks and 104 strikeouts in 75 innings. He tossed a no-hitter for the Beloit Snappers in 2010 and was named Midwest League Pitcher of the Week twice in a row before pitching very well in Ft. Myers the rest of that season. He fought arm injuries throughout the 2011 season and hoped to rebound in 2012. Mike Tarsi - The 6-8 left-hander was the Twins 12th round pick in 2007 out of Connecticut. After struggling as a starter in Ft. Myers in 2010, he pitched out of the bullpen in 2011 with a good level of success. He even made a couple of appearances in Rochester when needed. Although he was tall, he did not throw very hard. Kane Holbrooks - He was an All-American at Texas State in 2009 when the Twins drafted him in the 21st round. In 2010, he began the season as the Beloit Snappers closer before moving up to Ft. Myers as a starter. He pitched so well that he ended the season in New Britain where he made a start. He went back to Ft. Myers to start 2011 and although he pitched well in April, he struggled the rest of the season. His season ended early and he came to camp this spring hoping to take a step forward in the eyes of the organization. Blayne Weller - The Twins drafted Weller out of his Key West high school in the 14th round of the 2008 draft. He signed in the last hour before the deadline. He teamed with Adrian Salcedo and BJ Hermsen and pitched great (5-1, 1.58 ERA) in the GCL in 2009. He struggled as a starter in 2010, and last year he struggled in the Beloit bullpen before ending the season making a couple of starts. Matt Schuld - He signed with the Twins after the 2010 season at the University of St. Thomas. He had an incredible career with the Tommies. He pitched well with the GCL Twins upon signing and held his own when he was pushed up to Ft. Myers. Last year, he quickly moved up to the Miracle and pitched well enough to be promoted to New Britain when there was a need. This one surprised me a little because he was a non-drafted free agent who got up to AA within a year of signing. Derek Christensen - This one surprised me more than any of the rest, by a lot. He was the team's 43rd round pick out of junior college in 2010. He debuted with the GCL Twins that year and posted a 0.66 ERA in 13.2 innings. Last year, he spent half of the season in the E-Twins bullpen before moving into their rotation. He went 5-2 with a 2.84 ERA. In 57 innings, he walked 26 and struck out 61. At one point, he threw 19 consecutive scoreless innings as a starter. The 22-year-old throws from a 3/4 angle. I guess I'm just really surprised based on his numbers that he wouldn't at least get an opportunity to start the season in Beloit. Again, each of these pitchers put in some time in the Twins organization, and each of them experienced quite a bit of success. We certainly wish the best for them in whatever their next steps are. Unfortunately, these will not be the last of the minor league releases.

On Thursday morning, the Twins sent their third batch of players to minior league camp. There were: RHP Sam Deduno LHP Phil Dumatrait C Danny Lehmann IF Ray Chang OF Matt Carson None of these moves would be considered a surprise. Dumatrait spent a lot of time in the Twins bullpen in 2011, but with Glen Perkins and Brian Duensing already set in the bullpen and Matt Maloney's emergence, there wasn't room for him any more. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Ray Chang was in the running with the likes of Pedro Florimon and Michael Hollimon and Sean Burroughs for the final roster spot, but of the group, he has had the fewest opportunities this spring. Interestingly, Chris Parmelee, Joe Benson, Liam Hendriks and Brian Dozier all will remain in big league camp a little bit longer. Parmelee is likely there as Morneau insurance. Hendriks is sticking around as Baker insurance. And, Brian Dozier is around because he's not on the 40 man roster and the coaching staff seems to want to see as much of him as they can before sending him to Rochester to start the season. The Twins still have a bunch of guys to cut to get down to 25, but with Opening Day just two weeks from tomorrow, there isn't much more time to impress. Including the return of Rule 5 pick Terry Doyle to the White Sox, the Twins now have 39 players remaining in big league camp.

On Wednesday, the NFL decided to take the news headlines away from the other sports again by announcing the penalties for the Saints “Bounty” situation. Head coach Sean Payton was suspended for a year and the team will lose its next two second round picks. Others, such as Rams’ Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who was ‘credited’ with offering the bounties was also suspended. Bla Bla Bla… it’s football, so it really doesn’t matter. It’s baseball season. But the story did get me thinking… is there a baseball scenario that would be equivalent to Bounty Gate? What would a baseball manager have to do to warrant a one year suspension? [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Obviously, things like betting on baseball (see Rose, Pete) or accepting money to throw games (see Jackson, Joe and the 1919 Black Sox) will get a player or manager suspended for life. So that is a different scenario. Baseball has, and continues to fight, its steroid era in which players now get suspended 50 games for a first offense. Could a manager (or pitching/hitting coach) put a bounty on an opposing player? How would that scenario play out? One of baseball’s unwritten and very well known rules is that occasionally a pitcher will be instructed to hit an opposing player with a fastball in retaliation for one of his teammate’s being hit. Do you remember in 2006 when then-White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was so upset at rookie pitcher Sean Tracey for not throwing at an opposing batter that he sent him to the minor leagues and never called him back up. Around the same time, Guillen was very upset at veteran Jon Garland for not hitting an opposing batter in retaliation. If you recall, Guillen was not suspended or fined for his comments, lashing out against his players for not hitting opponents. Of course, if the pitcher does intentionally hit (and potentially hurt) the batter, the most he would get would be a six game suspension. Even if the batter charges the mound, the pitcher will likely only get a six games off, and the batter will probably get three games off. What if a manager told a player to charge the mound? And then the manager told one of his bench players, his 25th man, to beat up the opponent’s best pitcher in an attempt to not have to face him the next game? Using Ozzie Guillen as an example again, what about AJ Pierzynski’s antics? What if we learned that Guillen had offered a bounty to Pierzynski for taking out first baseman Justin Morneau? Maybe he would get a few thousand dollars for stepping on Morneau’s Achilles every time he ran out a ground ball? Maybe that's why AJ continued to do it? So, give it some thought. What would the baseball equivalent be to the Bounty Situation? I really can’t imagine a situation in baseball which would ever bring about the kinds of ramifications that this New Orleans Saints “Bounty” situation has. Then again, baseball’s that sport where you think you’ve seen it all and then something new happens. ---- At TwinsDaily, there is a ton of Twins information. Nick posted his Twins Centerfield Position Analysis. Twins Fan from Afar posted a nice blog on the Twins possible Centerfield Trade Bait. Parker wrote about Ron Gardenhire saying Brian Dozier will start the season in Rochester. In the forums, there are a ton of topics being discussed including the Twins ranking as the 14th most valuable baseball organization by Forbes. John asked if Justin Morneau could start the season on the DL. There was also discussion on the Twins sending Terry Doyle back to the White Sox. Terry Ryan talked about having six guys in mind for the #2 pick in the June draft. There was also a fun discussion asking readers to rank what order Brian Dozier, Chris Parmelee, Liam Hendriks and Joe Benson will be called up by the Twins in 2012. As we like to say at Twins Daily, come for the content, and stay for the discussion!