Tigers Send Struggling Willis to Lakeland to Regain Form

The Tigers announced today that they have sent struggling left-hander Dontrelle Willis to their Class-A farm club in Lakeland, Fla., to try to regain his form.



The move came in the wake of Willis's exceptionally wild outing Monday night. He walked five, repeatedly missed the strike zone badly, gave up eight runs in 1 1/3 innings and lost, 8-2, to Cleveland.



Willis had to agree to be sent to the minors, and Tigers president and general manager Dave Dombrowski said he did so with a spirit of wanting to fix his problems.



Manager Jim Leyland said a leading candidate to replace Willis in the rotation Satuday against Los Angeles is right-hander Eddie Bonine, who is 9-2 with Triple-A Toledo.



Leyland said of Willis: "My heart is broken for the kid.

"

Willis is in the first year of a three-year, $29-million contract. He started two games in the beginning of the season before injuring his knee in Chicago against the White Sox.. He is now 0-1 with a 10.45 ERA. He's allowed 21 walks in 11 1/3 innings.



In his career, Willis is 68-55 with a 4.17 ERA, but he was only 10-15 with a 5.17 ERA last season in 35 starts with Florida.

Wow. All the way to Lakeland. Just... wow.

Im happy though, but I wonder who will fill his spot in the rotation, since Bondo is gone too.

I might be confusing him with someone else, but didn't Roy Halladay have a similar experience and was sent all the way to single A when he was younger?

not too sure...

06/10/2008 4:54 PM ET
Tigers option Willis to Class A Lakeland
Move comes after lefty struggles through worst start of career
By Scott McNeish / MLB.com

DETROIT -- The Tigers had seen enough. In a direct response to his rough outing on Monday, Detroit on Tuesday optioned left-hander Dontrelle Willis to Class A Lakeland.

"Our objective is to get Dontrelle back to being Dontrelle," Tigers president and general manager Dave Dombrowski said at a pregame press conference. "We don't want to put a timeframe on this; we want to get it right. The arm strength is still there on occasion, the breaking ball is still there, but we want to get him back to being comfortable throwing strikes."

Dombrowski said that the team has not decided how to fill the void in the rotation, with Willis' spot coming around on Saturday, against the Dodgers. The Tigers have candidates in the Minors or they could stretch out a reliever on the current roster.

The roster spot will remain open until reliever Aquilino Lopez returns from the bereavement list on Wednesday.

On Monday night against the Indians, his first full start after recuperating from a hyperextended right knee, Willis had one of the worst outings of his career. He lasted just 1 1/3 innings, giving up eight earned runs on three hits and five walks.

Willis, part of the December trade that brought Miguel Cabrera to Detroit, has struggled with his control since Spring Training, walking 21 batters this season in 11 1/3 innings.

Scott McNeish is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Credit to Willis: He talked
From Becks Blog

I'll probably go through more than a handful of times over the course of a season and point out when someone wasn't available for comment, or declined to comment, or didn't make himself available. Rarely do I give the reverse. So especially in this case, as all the criticism is coming down on Dontrelle Willis, I wanted to give him credit. He stayed until after the game and he talked. In fact, he stayed through the rain delay, through all those innings after he was done with one of his worst starts, and then he stayed after the game and talked -- to two separate groups of reporters -- until every last question had been asked and answered.

I can think of more than one occasion this year where players haven't stuck around after a loss, or they've been short, or they've just been a pain. Willis stayed and he talked. He answered every last question. He didn't pull out any excuses. He didn't pull out a list of one-word answers to get people away. And he took all the picking apart of one miserable night for him. When you hear people in the media talk about a go-to player, that's what a go-to player does.

* Posted on June 10, 2008 at 2:08 AM

gdennis59 wrote:

not too sure...

Maybe it was Chris Carpenter? Seems like it was a Blue Jay in the late '90s. Or it is possible I'm imagining the whole thing.

White Sox come to town
From Becks Blog

By now, I'm assuming everyone saw the Dontrelle Willis option to Class A Lakeland. The reason for him going down to A-ball rather than Erie or Toledo, according to Dave Dombrowski, was that they felt it would be a lower-pressure situation down there, with less attention on him than if he were in the other places. Dombrowski also said he felt like at least part of it was mechanical, which seemed evident last night and runs counter to the previous belief that it might've been mental.

As for the candidates to take Saturday's spot in the rotation, Leyland said Toledo right-hander Eddie Bonine was a "strong possibility." He also said Zach Miner and Casey Fossum were possibilities if they wanted to stick with the current staff. He also said they could go to Double-A for a starter, but looking at the stats, there seems to be no clear candidate there.

Anyway, the lineups ...

TIGERS (26-37)

1. Granderson, CF
2. Polanco, 2B
3. Guillen, 3B
4. Ordonez, RF
5. Cabrera, 1B
6. Larish, DH
7. Renteria, SS
8. Rodriguez, C
9. Clevlen, LF

WHITE SOX (37-26)

1. Orlando Cabrera, SS
2. A.J. Pierzynski, C
3. Carlos Quentin, LF
4. Paul Konerko, 1B
5. Jim Thome, DH
6. Jermaine Dye, RF
7. Nick Swisher, CF
8. Joe Crede, 3B
9. Alexei Ramirez, 2B



* Posted on June 10, 2008 at 5:04 PM

Go Miner

Quote :

Leyland said Toledo right-hander Eddie Bonine was a "strong possibility."

Bonine is my guess. he is 9-2 with a 4.48 ERA in 12 games. He has 1 complete game, 74 innings pitched, 14 BB, 46 K.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Tigers send Willis to Class A Lakeland
Tom Gage / The Detroit News

DETROIT -- If Dontrelle Willis is going to find his control again, he'll do so in the minors. The Tigers optioned him Tuesday to Class A Lakeland.

Why that low in the minors?

"That's where our best support system is," said general manager Dave Dombrowski. "With all the facilities there, it's where we can focus on this the best."

Willis (0-1) has walked 21 in 11 1/3 innings as a Tiger. On Monday night, in an 8-2 loss to the Indians at Comerica Park, he struggled again, walking five and giving up eight runs in 1 1/3 innings.

"We have to get Dontrelle back to being the Dontrelle that we know," said Dombrowski, who made the announcement in manager Jim Leyland's office. "We're sending him to Lakeland with no time frame associated with it.

"He's receptive to it. We just want to get him right."

Willis was acquired by the Tigers the same deal they landed Miguel Cabrera. After acquiring Willis, they signed him to a three-year, $29 million contract.

Willis' spot on the roster will be taken by relief pitcher Aquilino Lopez, who was expected back from a bereavement leave Tuesday. As for who will start instead of Willis, Dombrowski said, "We'll tackle that in a few days."

bobrob2004 wrote:

I might be confusing him with someone else, but didn't Roy Halladay have a similar experience and was sent all the way to single A when he was younger?

Here is an article that covers this...

Blog: Dontrelle Willis close to becoming Rick Ankiel

BY NICK MEYER • June 10, 2008

Nick Meyer is a freelance writer. His opinions do not necessarily
reflect those of the Free Press or its writers. To share your opinion,
e-mail sportsletters@freepress.com

• Dontrelle Willis’ stat line: 8 earned runs, 5 walks, and 2 home runs given up in just 1 1/3 innings. Everyone has a bad outing every once in a while but Willis has a hard time getting the ball near the plate. He’s coming dangerously close to Rick Ankiel territory as one pitch even hit the backstop and Brandon Inge had to stand up to catch several errant throws.

• Remember Ankiel? He was once a young phenom on the mound with St. Louis before an embarrassing bout of wildness and injuries derailed his pitching career. He came back as a hitter. Maybe Dontrelle can play third base?

• Unfortunately, the Tigers might have no choice but to give him another start or two and hope for the best.

• So, how much blame does Dave Dombrowski deserve for bringing in Willis? It’s hard to say because most people thought he got good value a player with Willis’ credentials, but it was a gamble at the same time.

• The main criticism I have of Dombrowski’s decision to get Willis is his inconsistency. The Tigers already had some streaky pitchers in Jeremy Bonderman and Nate Robertson and they might have been better off with a more consistent 5th starter like a Paul Byrd-type for example.

• The radio announcers talked at length about the bullpen’s strong performance, but you can’t put much stock in how players perform when a game is basically already decided.

• I won’t blame them much because they need to fill air time and it’s their job to be positive but giving up no earned runs in a game where you’re already down 8-0 doesn’t mean much at all. Just about anyone can pitch well when the pressure’s off.

• Tigers left-on-base count for the evening: 22. For whatever reason, this team just can’t get clutch hits. Marcus Thames was the worst offender with six runners stranded. He usually hits well against lefties but he’s not good enough to bat third in this lineup.

• On the plus side, Placido Polanco is in a rhythm again. He had four hits and his batting average is starting to creep back up toward .300. That’s good news since a lot of people thought at the start of the year that he might have lost something on his swing.

• The Tigers catch a bad break and must face Jose Contreras, Javier Vazquez, and Mark Buehrle on consecutive days against the Chicago White Sox. All three pitchers have dominated the Tigers at times in recent years. Detroit will need the starting pitching to step up to have any chance of winning this series.

Nah, I wasn't thinking of Ankiel. This guy definitely came back a pitcher. Pat Hentgen? (Am I getting warmer?).

bobrob2004 wrote:

Nah, I wasn't thinking of Ankiel. This guy definitely came back a pitcher. Pat Hentgen? (Am I getting warmer?).

I will keep searching.

Hey it was Roy Halladay!

Source

Quote :

In the beginning of his career in Toronto, Halladay often moved between the starting rotation and the bullpen. During the 2000 season, Halladay sported a 10.64 ERA in 19 games, 13 of which he started. At the beginning of the 2001 season, Halladay was optioned to class A Dunedin to rebuild his delivery. Halladay was a power pitcher, his fastball can sometimes be clocked at 95mph but it had little movement and his pitches were up in the strike zone which ultimately led him to the unsuccessful campaign in 2000. Following his demotion, the Blue Jays pitching coaches changed Halladay's delivery adjusting the arm angle in which he throws the ball. Instead of throwing over the top, he went to more of a 3 quarters delivery. He went from a being a pitcher who relied on his fastball to one who delivers everything down, regardless of the type of pitch he throws. The adjustments were proved to be successful. After a month and a half, he was promoted to class AA Tennessee, and then, a month later, to class AAA Syracuse. Halladay was recalled to the Blue Jays on July 1, and was soon inserted into the starting rotation. He posted a 5-3 record with a 3.19 ERA for the Jays in 16 starts in 2001.

bobrob2004 wrote:

Hey it was Roy Halladay!

Source

Quote :

In the beginning of his career in Toronto, Halladay often moved between the starting rotation and the bullpen. During the 2000 season, Halladay sported a 10.64 ERA in 19 games, 13 of which he started. At the beginning of the 2001 season, Halladay was optioned to class A Dunedin to rebuild his delivery. Halladay was a power pitcher, his fastball can sometimes be clocked at 95mph but it had little movement and his pitches were up in the strike zone which ultimately led him to the unsuccessful campaign in 2000. Following his demotion, the Blue Jays pitching coaches changed Halladay's delivery adjusting the arm angle in which he throws the ball. Instead of throwing over the top, he went to more of a 3 quarters delivery. He went from a being a pitcher who relied on his fastball to one who delivers everything down, regardless of the type of pitch he throws. The adjustments were proved to be successful. After a month and a half, he was promoted to class AA Tennessee, and then, a month later, to class AAA Syracuse. Halladay was recalled to the Blue Jays on July 1, and was soon inserted into the starting rotation. He posted a 5-3 record with a 3.19 ERA for the Jays in 16 starts in 2001.

Hope that works with Dontrelle. We really need him to pitch like he is truly able. Get some of the funk out of his windup, and get him mentally visualizing the perfect pitch!

I knew something was going to happen...it was just a matter of WHEN. I had a pretty good idea that he would be off the 25 man roster at some point today, I just didn't think he had any Minor League options left! I figured it would be a trip to the DL.

I'm glad Dontrelle agreed to do this step and hope he gets back his control there!
He's a nice guy and definitely no prima-donna. He's willing to work on himself and help the Tigers!

Maybe that's another reason Leyland went to the Hens game Sunday night...to check about Mr. Bonine!

Could be, Bonine is a very good pitcher.

GoGetEmTigers wrote:

Could be, Bonine is a very good pitcher.

He struggled the last four games a little bit though. But he deserves a shot i think!

swiss_tiger wrote:

GoGetEmTigers wrote:

Could be, Bonine is a very good pitcher.

He struggled the last four games a little bit though. But he deserves a shot i think!

we need someone up here

muy pronto!

bobrob2004 wrote:

I might be confusing him with someone else, but didn't Roy Halladay have a similar experience and was sent all the way to single A when he was younger?

Someone else, too. They mentioned it on Baseball Tonight last night. I don't normally watch Baseball Tonight but while flipping through the channels I heard them say how Roy Halladay and ??? had this happen.

06/29/2008 2:30 PM ET
Willis set to pitch for Class A Lakeland
Left-hander working on control issues in Minor Leagues
By Scott McNeish / MLB.com

DETROIT -- Dontrelle Willis' road back to the Major Leagues begins Sunday night at Class A Lakeland.

The struggling left-hander will pitch two innings against Daytona at Joker Marchant Stadium. The outing will mark the first time Willis has thrown in a game since the Tigers optioned one of their key offseason acquisitions to the Minor Leagues after he allowed eight runs in 1 1/3 innings on June 9.

The Detroit organization will take its time with Willis. The club has set no timetable for his return.

"Our objective is to get Dontrelle back to being Dontrelle," Tigers president and general manager Dave Dombrowski said on June 9. "We don't want to put a timeframe on this; we want to get it right. The arm strength is still there, on occasion. The breaking ball is still there. But we want to get him back to being comfortable throwing strikes."

At Lakeland, Willis has worked with the organization's pitching coordinator, Jon Matlack, and Lakeland pitching coach Joe Coleman to iron out severe control problems that have plagued the 2005 NL Cy Young Award runner-up since Spring Training.

Tigers manager Jim Leyland said he will monitor the reports from Lakeland.

"We'll see what happens," Leyland said Sunday afternoon. "That's far, far down the road."

Willis came to Detroit in the December trade that also included Miguel Cabrera. The Tigers then signed him to a three-year, $29 million contract. Willis went on the disabled list for the first time in his career in April after hyperextending his right knee.

He made five appearances this season, with four starts and the first regular-season relief outing of his career. Willis pitched a total of 11 1/3 innings, during which he walked 21 batters.

Scott McNeish is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

The 6:00 pm Lakeland/Daytona game in which Willis pitched 2 innings ( 7th & 8th innings) is still going on at 11:55 pm!!!

They are now in the 20th inning still tied 2-2. No runs have been scored since the 9th inning!

Lakeland
Player	IP--	H-	R-	ER-	BB-	SO-	HR-	ERA
Below	6.0	1	0	0	2	4	0	3.58
Willis	2.0	1	1	1	3	0	0	4.50
Sborz	1.0	1	1	1	0	1	0	2.03
Witt	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	3.05
Martin	2.0	1	0	0	1	1	0	3.82
Garcia, R	3.0	1	0	0	0	6	0	5.40
Mieses	2.1	2	0	0	3	1	0	7.20
Simons	1.2	0	0	0	0	3	0	2.86

Mota, with the Daytona Cubs, is pitching and is not even a current pitcher, he is now a SS! It is that bad, all their pitchers have pitched.

Lakeland wins in the 20th inning 3-2 on an error! Wow.

I would be surprised if Willis gets back to Detroit THIS season.

GoGetEmTigers wrote:

Lakeland wins in the 20th inning 3-2 on an error! Wow.

Way to go Flying Tigers!