Dontrelle Willis Career Tracker

We traded Miller for THAT??

SoulRat wrote:

We traded Miller for THAT??

He was worse than Miller last year.... oh this is a good trade

Oh yippe

Well he better be good in 08 or I quit.

Other stats of note:

ERA+ in 2007: 83, career ERA+ of 110.

ERA+ of 127, 102, 151, 112 in previous seasons.

It looks like he goes good season, mediocre season, great season, mediocre season, bad season.

Does that start over then this year? An ERA+ of 127 this year would be fine by me...Verlander's career best is 126.

We got Willis!

Look at it this way:

Let's say Willis stays 2007-eque. Yeah, he wasn't very good, BUT he did toss 205.1 innings. Tigers leaders in IP in 2007:

1. Justin Verlander - 201.7
2. Robertson - 177.7
3. Bonderman - 174.3
4. Durbin - 127.7
5. Maroth - 78.3

I'll take 205 below average innings from Willis over 175 below average innings from someone else - that saves the bullpen 30 innings!

Willis will be better with a more offensive mnded club behind him. He may end up winning a BUNCH of 9-8 games!!

20 of THOSE, I will take!!

He also goes DEEP into games, a very positive thing for a pitching staff.

Dontrelle Willis reacts after getting the last out complete game 8-0 win over the Atlanta Braves in 2005. Willis finished the 2005 season with five shutouts and seven complete games.

Dontrelle Willis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dontrelle Wayne Willis (born January 12, 1982, in Oakland, California), nicknamed "The D-Train", is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher for the Detroit Tigers.

Baseball career

Willis attended Encinal High School in Alameda, California, where he played baseball for four years. He was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 8th round of the 2000 Major League Baseball Draft.

On March 27, 2002, the Cubs traded Willis (then a minor leaguer), fellow pitchers Julián Tavárez and José Cueto, and catcher Ryan Jorgensen to the Florida Marlins, in exchange for pitchers Matt Clement and Antonio Alfonseca.

In 2003, Willis was named the National League Rookie of the Year. He went 14-6 with a 3.30 ERA in 27 starts after earning a call-up from the Double-A Carolina Mudcats. During the postseason, Willis showcased his remarkable (for a pitcher) hitting ability by going 3-for-3 with a triple while scoring a run during Game 4 of the 2003 National League Division Series, which the Marlins won 7-6 over the San Francisco Giants to advance to the NLCS. The Marlins then went on to defeat the New York Yankees in the 2003 World Series.

In 2005, he led the Major Leagues with 22 wins while posting a 2.63 ERA.

On January 15, 2007, Willis signed a one-year contract with the Marlins for $6.45 million, avoiding salary arbitration.

On December 4, 2007, the Marlins traded Willis along with fellow All Star Miguel Cabrera to the Detroit Tigers for Andrew Miller, Cameron Maybin, Mike Rabelo, Eulogio de la Cruz, Dallas Trahern and Burke Badenhop.[1]

Playing style

He is known for his very exaggerated, high leg kick in his pitch delivery, a trait that has drawn comparisons to Hall of Famer Juan Marichal and former Cy Young Award winner Vida Blue, a player Willis idolized as a kid.

He bats and throws left-handed, and is considered one of the best hitting pitchers in the majors; in 2005 Willis batted .261 in 92 at bats. He holds Alameda Little League's home run record, hitting 15 at the age of 12.

Willis can reach 95 mph with his fastball, but his usual range is 91-93 mph. He also throws a sweeping slider and a changeup. All of Willis' pitches benefit from the deception inherent in his high-kicking delivery.

Willis has traditionally been known to get off to a very fast start but break down as the season goes on. He has trouble finishing off seasons, often struggling after the all-star break.

Accomplishments

• On September 27, 2006, named the Florida Marlins Hometown Hero
  
• National League Rookie of the Year, 2003
  
• National League All-Star, 2003 and 2005
  
• Runner-Up, National League Cy Young Award 2005 (Won by Chris Carpenter)
  
• On September 3, 2005, beat the New York Mets, to earn his 19th win of the season. With that win, Willis passed Carl Pavano's franchise record for wins in a season, established the previous year, when Pavano won 18 games.
  
• On September 8, 2005, became the first Marlin ever to win 20 games in a season with a 12-1 victory over the Washington Nationals. He became just the 12th African American pitcher to win 20 games in a season, joining the "Black Aces," a club that also includes one Black Canadian (Ferguson Jenkins). He was also the first African American pitcher to win 20 games since Dave Stewart won 22 in 1990.
  
• In 2005, became the third player in modern baseball history to win 20 games and collect 20 hits in the same season.
  
• On September 22, 2005, batted seventh in the Marlins' lineup. No other pitcher had batted seventh since the Montreal Expos' Steve Renko did against the San Diego Padres on August 26, 1973. [1]
  
• Warren Spahn Award, 2005 (presented to the best left-handed starting pitcher in the league) [2]
  
• Named a starter for Team USA in the inaugural World Baseball Classic. However, both of Willis' starts in the WBC were considered subpar as the USA exited the tournament in the 2nd-group stage.
  
• First pitcher to hit a grand slam since Robert Person in 2002 when he hit one off Jose Lima of the New York Mets on July 7, 2006.
  
• Hit two home runs in one game against the Mets later in 2006 (September 20). Oliver Perez and Roberto Hernandez were the pitchers taken deep by Willis.

Personal

• Nicknamed "D-Train".
  
• On December 8, 2006, Willis married the former Natalee Vitagliano. They had their first child, a girl named Adrianna Rose, on April 24, 2007.
  
• On December 22, 2006, Willis was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving and was later released on $1,000 bond. He has since pleaded not guilty.

Will Leyland let him throw a CG?

GO WILLIS!

tigersaint wrote:

Willis will be better with a more offensive mnded club behind him. He may end up winning a BUNCH of 9-8 games!!

20 of THOSE, I will take!!

He also goes DEEP into games, a very positive thing for a pitching staff.

The guy on ESPN (Olney I think) says he thinks he'll win 18 games with a 5.5 ERA!

The ERA sucks but oh well!

I predict 18-9 with a 3 :67 ERA!

GO DONTRELLE GO!

bobrob2004 wrote:

He looks like a Tiger now!

Dontrelle Willis MySpace page

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=162711324

gogetemtigers wrote:

Dontrelle Willis MySpace page

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=162711324

Doesn't look like that's updated all that often. I wonder if that's really his. Can you confirm that he actually runs that from somewhere. I kind of doubt he and "his agent Matt" run it. I mean read this about me (I'll bold questionable grammar/spelling/punctuation):

What up fan This is Dontrelle Willis of the pitcher for the Florida Marlins. Most of you guys know about me on the field. But this page, will give what going on with me on and of the field. This page is run by me and my agent Matt. I will try to respond to most of the fans mail and I try to comment you back. So if you aint got me on your Firends list you know what to do ADD ME. and Holla at ya boy

===================
I'm a science major yet this paragraph wants to make me puke.

• It should read what up fans? not fan. There should be a ? at the end of that sentence.
  
• The sentence of the pitcher for the Florida Marlins should read pitcher for the Florida Marlins (remove of the)
  
• But this page, is an improper way to start a sentence. Starting sentences with words like because, but, and other conjunctions (I think that's what they're called) is dicey and requires a clause (forget the exact name).
  
• "will give what going on" should read what IS going on
  
• the word off generally needs two f's, not one
  
• Proper English says you should not say me and ___ but rather _____ and I.
  
• fans should say fan's since it's possessive (or something)
  
• ain't (although not technically a word) requires an apostrophe
  
• the word friends does not need to be capitalized
  
• The penultimate sentence should be combined with the last sentence or the last sentence should get rid of the word and to start it.
  
• End punctuation is required at the end of EVERY sentence (even the last sentence of a paragraph).
  
• Holla at ya boy...... (I suppose people talk like that though so this is fine if written properly although on an official page I doubt Dontrelle would talk this informally).
  

While I wouldn't be surprised if Dontrelle makes some errors in his writing (I mean who doesn't?) but if this site is really run by him AND his agent, I'd be willing to bet someone would look this over once and anyone with even a basic knowledge of English would see this paragraph is f***ed.

GO WILLIS!

All-Stars are all starry-eyed; Willis: 'It's a dream come true'

Cabrera, Willis thrilled by trade

December 6, 2007
BY JOHN LOWE
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

No matter how thrilled fans are about the Tigers' acquisition of Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis, they probably can't be more thrilled than Cabrera and Willis.

Both repeatedly used the word "excited" as they spoke on a media teleconference call Wednesday night.

Cabrera was asked how he felt about joining an organization in which he knows several people, including first baseman Carlos Guillen.

"I feel excited now," Cabrera said. "My relationship with Carlos is good because he lives in the same hometown in Venezuela as me. ... I'm excited to be part of that team."

A moment later, Willis made his first comment:

"(The Tigers) are a very talented team that loves to hit as well as defend. They have some power arms in the bullpen as well as starting. They are a complete ballclub," he said."I know a lot about them. And after meeting (Curtis) Granderson this off-season, it has to be a phenomenal clubhouse. I'm excited to go there."

Cabrera, a four-time All-Star, and Willis, twice an All-Star, addressed nagging questions. With Cabrera, it's his weight. He'd gotten bulky by the end of last season but confirmed he's slimming down.

"I heard about (weight), so I said, 'I want to be ready for (next) season -- I want to be in the best shape of my life,' " Cabrera said. "So I'm working right now in Miami and Venezuela. I don't want to hear about that stuff."

In each of his two seasons since becoming a third baseman, Cabrera has hit at least .320 with at least 26 homers and 114 RBIs. As research through baseball-reference.com. makes clear, rarely do third basemen hit like that. As unbelievable as it may seem -- given Mike Schmidt and Alex Rodriguez have been third baseman -- Cabrera is the first third baseman with more than one season in which he hit at least .320 with at least 25 homers and 110 RBIs.

Willis' pesky issue is his 2007 numbers. He had the highest ERA (5.17) and most walks (87) in his career.

"I battled through some injuries," said Willis, a 22-game winner in 2005. "I was trying to go out there and still pitch. And sometimes you have to tip your cap to the league for making good adjustments.

"Toward the end, I started to feel better and get my command back. I'm feeling well as far as my arm strength this off-season."

Willis is reunited with Pudge Rodriguez, his catcher on the 2003 World Series winners.

"He's a very fiery guy and very emotional guy," Willis said. "I'm the same way. He's a very positive guy. He expects a lot out of his staff, and I expect a lot out of myself.

"I'm excited to work with him, not only because of (our) history but his experience with hitters."

Cabrera, like Willis, was a rookie on that '03 Marlins team. Like Willis, he senses this trade puts him in range of another World Series.

"Like Dontrelle said, we can't wait to be part of a great clubhouse and be part of the Tigers," Cabrera said. "I want to play with these guys. Right now, it's a dream come true."

Well they seem excited!

Call me crazy, but I'm excited, too!


HURRY UP March 29 (Dodgers-Red Sox @ the Coliseum...opening day is 2 days later)!!!

If I was in charge, today would be 12/24, tomorrow 12/25, the next day 3/29, and the next day 3/31

Oh, April Fool's Day can go to hell, too. What kind of sick joke is it to give us a day off on 4/1?

Well they seem excited!

Call me crazy, but I'm excited, too!


HURRY UP March 29 (Dodgers-Red Sox @ the Coliseum...opening day is 2 days later)!!!

If I was in charge, today would be 12/24, tomorrow 12/25, the next day 3/29, and the next day 3/31

DONTRELLE WILLIS: 'I've always been a Pistons fan ... I'm a huge Rasheed fan'


December 6, 2007

Doug Karsch and Scott Anderson of 97.1 FM talked with Dontrelle Willis Wednesday. Here is the Q & A.

Welcome to Detroit, what do you think?

I’m excited man, very excited. I’ve already been welcomed with open arms, I’m just ready to go out there and do my thing.

When are you coming up north?

As soon as I can get back in the states, I guess. I’m excited to get back I haven’t got word about when I need to get back, but hopefully the sooner the better. I’m very excited and this is big time. Me and Miguel [Cabrera] are very excited to come up there.

Have you talked to Miguel?

Yes I have. I talked to him on a regular basis. He actually was calling me when I was in Mexico, and I didn’t know if anything big was going on. He’s actually the one who told me. He’s also a huge Pistons fan.

Your agent said this earlier:

Dontrelle’s Agent Matt Sosnick:

He is a huge Rasheed Wallace groupie.

You have a Rasheed Wallace jersey don’t you?

(Laughs).
I’m gonna’ fire his butt. (Laughs). I’ve always been a Pistons fan. And I’ve gone and checked them out a few times when they played the Heat and stuff. I’m a huge Rasheed fan. They're always real good to me as far as saying hello. I actually got a chance to see those guys play when I was at home visiting Oakland against the Warriors. And they all came by and said what’s up to me.

Have you though about pitching in the AL?

I got a chance to throw against those teams in interleague and throw the ball fairly well against teams. Again, you just have to make adjustments and its great to be around guys who have experience like [Gary] Sheffield, and Pudge Rodriguez and Magglio [Ordonez].

What does it mean to be pitching to Pudge Rodriguez?

Hopefully a good one, hopefully a positive one. He will help us win games. He’s a player that demands a lot from his pitchers and obviously you see that. He’s a guy that has a lot of respect and has earned a lot of respect.
He is very knowledgeable about hitters and he could do wonders for me. We went out there and won the World Series in 2003 and hopefully we have some of that magic again.

Does not being the No.1 starter take some of the pressure off you?

I don’t really think of it in that sense. I just know that this team is good and they are established. I just want to go out there and play as well as I can and not do too much and just be myself. Jim Leyland does a great job of going out there and expecting a lot from his players and they respect him in the clubhouse for that.

Do you think the Tigers acquired you for your big left-handed bat?

(Laughs). No. I’m gladly sitting on the pine. I love to hit. But I more so like to win.

Talk about the approach of a pitcher when your everyday lineup has so many big hitters.

For me as a pitcher, you know, I’m not that complex of a guy. I just try to go out there and shut down the opposition. The hitters will go out there and do their damage because they are very talented. I’m just trying to get us out there and get goose eggs on the board.

What do you know about Comerica Park?

It’s beautiful. The fan base is wonderful, Detroit is a great sports town and they have a lot of history. They are one of the oldest teams in baseball. The park is gorgeous. The ball flies out everywhere with the guys they have hitting there.

catbox_9 wrote:

Well they seem excited!

Call me crazy, but I'm excited, too!


HURRY UP March 29 (Dodgers-Red Sox @ the Coliseum...opening day is 2 days later)!!!

If I was in charge, today would be 12/24, tomorrow 12/25, the next day 3/29, and the next day 3/31

Oh, April Fool's Day can go to hell, too. What kind of sick joke is it to give us a day off on 4/1?

You can say that again! Oh wait, you did!

Someone find me some Miller comments on this.... please? I've been looking and have found zilch

Willis's agent on Dontrelle's future in Detroit and the lefty's 'man crush' on 'Sheed

December 6, 2007

Dontrelle’s Willis’s Agent Matt Sosnick appeared on WDFN Wednesday. Here were the highlights from Q & A.

What was your reaction, this trade came out of nowhere?

We were both really excited. We’re out here with like Freddy Sanchez and Josh Hamilton and all of our wives and we had a big celebration dinner. It was great.

Two years ago they would have had a funeral dinner, not a celebration dinner if a player like Dontrelle Willis was traded to Detroit.

Yeah but you look at two things: One, he’s going to a team that is perennially competitive. And he is coming from a team that has $10 million in salaries. The second thing is he’s friends with Jacque Jones, he’s friends with Curtis Granderson, Todd Jones, and you know he’s got a lot of buddies on the team. It’s a young team where he’s coming in; he’s not the No.1 guy. And I just have a feeling that for him he feels like he’s going to a team that’s one of two or three favorites to win the World Series. And you know he’s going to a city he likes. He liked going to the All-Star game in Detroit, and he’s a huge Pistons fan.

How did he become a Pistons fan?

He lived with me for a couple years, and we’re both big basketball fans and I’m a huge Chauncey Billups fan. And he loves [Rasheed] Wallace. It got to the point where we got him tickets on the floor for the Warriors-Pistons game. He went with [C.C] Sabathia after he won the Cy Young. And the entire day he was walking around singing, “I’m going to see Rasheed.” He has a man-crush on Wallace. It’s embarrassing.

In a nutshell, what went wrong with Willis last year?

I would say it was just him having a real crummy year. He made 35 starts threw over 200 innings. He felt a great responsibility to not miss a start, to not rest his arm. He tried to lead by example when the season was falling apart. There’s a lot of stuff that seems like this year will be a good formula for him.

He still has arbitration doesn’t he?

Yeah. We’re hoping to do something long term in Detroit and have him get a house there and set up. He wants to be in Detroit as long as they will have him.

Boy, Marlins more upset to lose Willis than Cabrera!


One-stop shopping is a wonderful concept in most areas of life.

Who among us doesn't appreciate the ability to cash a check, buy groceries and have our eyes tested all under one roof?

How sweet it is to be able to fill your gas tank, grab a 50-ounce soda and get your dry cleaning done at the same roadside convenience store.

Too bad the same doesn't apply to baseball wheeling-and-dealing.

The saddest aspect of this latest Marlins trade isn't so much that they parted with Dontrelle Willis along with longtime running mate Miguel Cabrera. Willis, purely due to economics, probably had no more than another half season left in his distinguished Marlins career.

Rather, it's that they decided to toss Willis into the same deal with Cabrera, delivering them both to the Detroit Tigers' doorstep like some sort of holiday care package.

(Hey, honey, check out this cheese wheel your parents sent! And wait, what's this? We got a box of pears, too!)

Sure, the Marlins came away with six cheap replacements, raiding what remained of the Tigers' gutted farm system. And it's entirely possible that young center fielder Cameron Maybin and kid lefty Andrew Miller will blossom into Marlins All-Stars in due time.

But considering how much time and effort the Marlins spent over the past three weeks attempting to deal Cabrera — and Cabrera alone — the combo move was a stunner.

And, in a rarity for this Marlins administration, not particularly wise.

There's a huge gap between those two showpieces the Marlins got and the other four guys in this trade. In fact, the gap is so large, Larry Beinfest would have been better off had he dealt Cabrera to the Angels for one discussed package that included future batting champion Howie Kendrick, young catcher Jeff Mathis, pitching prospect Nick Adenhart and scrappy center fielder Reggie Willits.

That would have given the Marlins and rehired pitching coach Mark Wiley another eight months to rebuild Willis' value.

Better still, it would have bought them more time to see if a new stadium package could be pushed through in time to save Willis from the trading block. Maybe at that point they might have even found the courage to push a multiyear offer across the table toward the most popular player in franchise history.

"I always felt like the Marlins couldn't get rid of Dontrelle while they were having the stadium debate," baseball economist Vince Gennaro, an Indians consultant, said recently. "It would weaken their case dramatically. At minimum he needed to stay around, I don't think it's fair to say as window dressing, but in terms of, 'Here's a commitment level to spend.'"

Commitment? How about a $15 million payroll for the second time in three years? Does that qualify?

Didn't think so.

By tossing Willis into the same deal now, not only were the Marlins selling low on a former 22-game winner, but they also limited their options severely.

Quite simply, there aren't any franchises out there — Marlins aside — with enough cheap young talent to offset the staggering value of two proven championship commodities still in their mid-20s.

Just to be sure I wasn't crazy, I called Jim Callis, the executive editor of Baseball America. Nobody knows more about prospects and farm systems, and that goes for people working in the game as well.

"If you traded those two guys separately, you could have gotten more," Callis said. "You split 'em, like blackjack. It's like the Marlins had a pair of 10s and the dealer had a six and they just stuck instead of splitting."

Granted, things apparently turned toxic with the Angels at some point last week. It's never a good sign when one team's owner (Arte Moreno) goes public with his frustrations in dealing with another club, and it's even worse when he claims they keep trying to weasel an extra player out of the deal.

But there were still plenty of other places Cabrera could have landed (Dodgers, White Sox, Rangers) while still keeping Willis around, both for future discussions and psychological reasons.

Instead, the Marlins went one-stop shopping with their $20 million tag team as bait.

Doesn't exactly call for one of those Wal-Mart smiley face stickers, does it?

Mike Berardino can be reached at mberardino@sun-sentinel.com