Dontrelle Willis Career Tracker

It looked awful! Hurry back Dontrelle!

Dontrelle Willis suffers hyperextended knee; what's next for Tigers?
By JON PAUL MOROSI • FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER • April 12, 2008


CHICAGO – The news about the Tigers’ pitching staff is not getting any better.

Dontrelle Willis took the mound against the Chicago White Sox Friday, needing to show improved command after walking seven batters in his Detroit debut.

Instead, he didn’t last beyond the third batter.

Willis has continued to say that his left arm is healthy, but uneven performances since spring training have raised concern. Friday's outing casts even more doubt on his ability to be a dependable starter for the Tigers. He left the 5-2 victory with what the team called a hyperextended right knee.

Willis' night was over after 14 pitches -- and four strikes.

"I thought initially I blew it out, but that's not the case," Willis said. "I'm able to put pressure on it now. As long as they give me a lot of Advil, I can go back out there."

"I was just driving on the mound and the cleat missed and I hyperextended my knee. I feel positive. It just feels stiff right now. After it happened, I tried to continue to throw but my leg just felt numb all the way up. ... I think I just missed (the plant). I got a little long and caught the back of my cleat."

If Willis is unable to make his next start, scheduled for Wednesday in Cleveland, right-hander Armando Galarraga would be among the internal candidates to replace him. Galarraga has won his first two starts at Toledo.

The team has yet to say whether Willis, who has never missed a start in the majors, will require a stay on the disabled list. But at a time when an undermanned bullpen has been stretched thin, club officials may be reluctant to keep a pitcher in the rotation if they have questions about his health.

Even if Willis doesn't go on the DL, his injury could impact the team as early as today, if team officials decide to add a reliever before the first pitch.

Tigers officials had hoped Willis, known for his ability to last deep into games, would ease the burden on the pen. Instead, he has contributed to the unreliability of a rotation that has a 5.51 ERA -- and one quality start -- through the first 10 games.
On Friday, though, the bullpen was there to make the 27-out save.

He walked Chicago’s leadoff hitter, Carlos Quentin, on five pitches. Then he slipped on the wet mound while delivering his first pitch to the next hitter, Orlando Cabrera. That brought head athletic trainer Kevin Rand to the mound.

Willis stayed in the game – but not for long. His third pitch to Jim Thome, a slider, carried well wide of the strike zone and bounced away for a wild pitch.

Rand and Tigers manager Jim Leyland came back to the mound. Willis appeared to say that he wanted to stay in the game, but the discussion was brief. Leyland called down to the bullpen for Aquilino Lopez, who had not even begun to warm up.

Quentin later scored on Paul Konerko’s sacrifice fly. Chicago scored two runs in the first, both charged to Willis.

But the Tigers bullpen held the White Sox scoreless the rest of the game.

Willis is in the first season of a three-year, $29-million contract.

Willis makes first trip to DL; Galarraga will take next turn
Tom Gage / The Detroit News

CHICAGO -- It might not be bad enough for him to be on the disabled list for more than 15 days. But it's bad enough for him to be on it.

And that's something new for Tigers starter Dontrelle Willis.

For the first time in his major league career, Willis is on the DL (because of the right knee he hyper-extended Friday night when his foot slipped on the mound in the first inning.)

"There's no tear, so that's good," he said after undergoing an MRI on Saturday. "Just a little stiffness."

To replace Willis on the roster, the Tigers recalled Ryan Raburn from Toledo, but they also announced that right-hander Armando Galarraga will be recalled when the time comes to start in Willis' turn.

Galarraga is 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA through two starts for Toledo.

"We know Dontrelle is going to miss at least a start," said Tigers president and general manager Dave Dombrowski, "and we don't want to take any chances with it. Really, at this point, we can't.

"He asked us to wait and see what happens, but he's walking gingerly."

Willis not only has never been on the DL before, he's never even missed a scheduled start in the majors.

"Hopefully in 15 days he'll be back," Dombrowski said. "Galarraga has been throwing the ball well at Toledo. (Virgil) Vasquez has thrown well, too, but we think Galarraga is the guy who deserves it at this point."

Ready for it
With Brandon Inge starting at third base and Miguel Cabrera at first, manager Jim Leyland was on the lookout Saturday for the pregame question he sensed was coming.

"Cabrera's playing first and Inge is playing third, period," he said. "Next question."

When one of the next questions was on the same subject, Leyland made a louder point with his reply.

"Don't start talking about him playing first base," he said. "I just told you, Cabrera is playing there today. His leg is sore, it's wet weather, he was questionable, so I played him at first. Don't start projecting that he's going to be there if Carlos Guillen is out for a while.

"Miguel Cabrera was signed to be our third baseman and that's what he's going to be. So don't get into all this silly stuff. That's just what I was afraid of. Forget all that. Don't beat your brain up trying to figure it out.

"No, we're not moving Cabrera to first. Guillen (sore right hamstring) can't play. So that's what it is today."

Watch out
With the way his pitches move, Justin Verlander knows he's going to hit a lot of batters in his career. But that doesn't make it easier to see one go down when hit in the head -- as Orlando Cabrera was in the eighth inning.

"For some reason, even though the weather didn't change the entire game, the baseballs got cold in the eighth," Verlander said. "They'd been damp all game, but in the eighth they were cold, too.

"I couldn't feel the ball. When you can't feel the ball, guys get hit. It's scary, it's not what you want to do -- and by no means did I mean to do it. But like I said, I didn't have a feel for the ball that inning.

"I was glad to see he was all right."

Verlander, at 0-2, is winless in three starts, but thinks he's pitched better than his 6.52 ERA indicates.

"The numbers don't show it," he said. "But if I keep pitching the way I have been, things will turn around."

Around the horn
Guillen's sore right hamstring caused him to miss Saturday's game, and could force him to miss a few more, but he doesn't think at this point he'll have to go on the DL.

. . . A.J. Pierzynski , with a double and two-run single, is now a .320 (8-for-25) hitter with 10 RBIs against Verlander -- but his eight hits include three doubles and three home runs.

04/14/2008 7:18 PM ET
Willis dealing with first trip to DL
D-Train sidelined with hyperextended right knee
By Jason Beck / MLB.com

DETROIT -- Dontrelle Willis says that he is not a patient person. His first Major League stint on the disabled list is going to be an exercise in patience.

"I'm not a patient dude," Willis said.

Not only has he never been on the disabled list since breaking into the big leagues in 2003, he hasn't missed a scheduled start. He'll miss at least a couple of those with the 15 days' absence.

But it's not just the missing starts that can be a test. It's working out while the team is preparing to play, or dealing with the slow progress when he is working out or taking the extra days to make sure he's all right when he does start feeling fine.

He isn't really in pain, but his knee is stiff.

"I don't like it. I don't like it at all," he said. "I don't like being hurt. Nobody does, but I've never been on the DL before, so it's all new to me. I got hurt two or three days ago, and I'm trying to get back on the field right now."

That isn't going to happen. Though there's no firm timetable, manager Jim Leyland reiterated head athletic Kevin Rand's belief that the team has to be cautious with Willis, because the hyperextended right knee is part of his plant leg. And that was clearly expressed to Willis.

Willis isn't naturally patient, but he has an appreciation of their standpoint.

"When you have an injury, especially a lower-half injury, you don't want to do something to try to overcompensate with your upper half," Willis said. "I think that's what the biggest concern is. They don't want me to put more strain on my arm, and then my arm blows out as opposed to my leg.

"You do the best you can, because you know that their best interest is exactly what your interest is. They want you to be on the field, and I understand. But I'm always used to playing if I feel like I can go out there."

This won't be much of anything he's used to experiencing. His only DL stint came at the tail end of the 2002 Minor League season, when he had a left shoulder strain, so he didn't have a season to try to get back to that fall.

For now he's going to try to be a cheerleader in the dugout, but even that can be difficult for him. He'll join the club on the road later this week in Cleveland and Toronto, but when his teammates take the field, he'll have work to do.

"I'm almost like a kid at the playground," he said. "Everybody else is having fun. I want to shoot the ball, too."

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

geez! we're falling like flies!

Dontrelle Willis pleads guilty to reckless driving charge that was downgraded from drunken driving
FREE PRESS STAFF AND NEWS SERVICES • April 16, 2008

Tigers pitcher Dontrelle Willis pleaded guilty to reckless driving in a South Florida case that was downgraded from drunken driving, the Associated Press reported. The former Marlin was arrested in December 2006 in Miami Beach. Accepting the lesser charges means Willis can keep his driver's license, but he must pay $761 in fines and fees, do 50 hours of community service and be on probation for six months.

Lap's Comment: DID HE NOT LEARN FROM THAT NEAR-FATAL CRASH A FEW YEARS AGO???!?!?? APPARENTLY NOT!!! and those "penalties" are a slap on the wrist to a multi-millionaire!

Why do all of the stars do stuff like that? I mean, I know the answer, but I find it totally dumb. If you know you are going to get caught and its going to hurt your image, Dont do it!!!

laprimamirala wrote:

, but he must pay $761 in fines and fees

This is a joke. They should calculate that based on his salary. Don't you do that in the U.S.?

swiss_tiger wrote:

laprimamirala wrote:

, but he must pay $761 in fines and fees

This is a joke. They should calculate that based on his salary. Don't you do that in the U.S.?

I wish!

laprimamirala wrote:

swiss_tiger wrote:

laprimamirala wrote:

, but he must pay $761 in fines and fees

This is a joke. They should calculate that based on his salary. Don't you do that in the U.S.?

I wish!

We do that here. Not a bad thing i think. So you can 'hurt' even people with very high salaries.

I am glad they do that somewhere--just wish it was here!
Can I come over there to live?

laprimamirala wrote:

I am glad they do that somewhere--just wish it was here!
Can I come over there to live?

Natürlich kannst du das!

I agree, should definitely be based on salary, to some that amount is nothing, to others it's a fortune.

iluvpudge7 wrote:

I agree, should definitely be based on salary, to some that amount is nothing, to others it's a fortune.

I think for most of us the latter applies!

LOL....dropping.

whatever.

Dontrelle Willis to Make a Rehab Start in Toledo on Friday!
Detroit Tigers' starting pitcher Dontrelle Willis will be making a rehab start with the Mud Hens on Friday, May 2 at Fifth Third Field. The Mud Hens will be taking on the Rochester Red Wings at 7 pm. Friday's game will also feature the first post-game fireworks show of the season.

Purchase tickets to Friday's game by clicking the link or calling the Mud Hens box office at 419-725-4367.

Dontrelle Willis, in his first season with Detroit, was acquired in a blockbuster off-season trade with the Florida Marlins. Willis was the 2003 Rookie of the Year and is a two-time All-Star. He won a World Series with the Marlins in 2003. In 2005 Willis finished second in NL Cy Young Award voting after posting a 22-10 record and a 2.63 ERA.

Willis hyperextended his right knee on April 11. He may make an additional rehab start for the Hens later in the homestand. Check www.mudhens.com often for updates on a potential second start.

Willis: 'I would boo me, too' after dismal performance against Cleveland
BY JOHN LOWE • FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER • June 10, 2008

In his previous few starts, Dontrelle Willis usually had managed to pitch around his wildness.

Of his 14 walks in those starts, only three had scored.

That ability to overcome his walks deserted him Monday night.

Willis pitched 1 1/3 innings and walked five -- and all five scored.

Willis gave up eight runs and lost to the Cleveland Indians, 8-2, in an outing at Comerica Park in which he heard several boos.

"I would boo me, too," he said.

The Tigers fell a season-high 11 games behind the American League Central leading White Sox, who arrive at Comerica Park tonight for a three-game series.

It would be a good time for the Tigers to: a) win their first series since April against someone other than Seattle; b) improve their 7-19 record in the Central. They have the majors' worst division record.

Willis, who never had allowed so many runs in such a short outing, answered multiple questions from reporters. Here's what he said:

"Today was a day where I didn't do anything right. Sometimes I try to be too fine. I was throwing my secondary pitch, my slider, better than my fastball.

"My rhythm was off today. Baseball is rhythm. I'll work on that before my next start.

"I watched the tape, and I was flying open too early (in his delivery). I'll do a lot more work on driving to the plate."

As for how he pitched around the walks in his other starts but didn't Monday, he said, "Rhythm -- the key is to repeat your motion and throw the ball down in the zone with conviction and get the big outs and get the big strikes. I wasn't able to do that."

Manager Jim Leyland said: "Dontrelle had trouble throwing strikes, and then he let up to get the ball over the plate."

Many pitches Willis threw weren't close to the strike zone. He walked the second and third batters of the game on a combined nine pitches. Then Ryan Garko hammered a 3-1 pitch to leftfield for a three-run home run.

Willis walked the first batter of the second inning, then fell behind, 1-0, to Kelly Shoppach. At that, Leyland marched to the mound. As he approached the mound, Leyland waved away the infielders so he could privately tell Willis to avoid letting up to throw strikes. "Sometimes you're fighting it and everyone is around you (encouraging you), and that makes it a little more difficult," Leyland said.

Three pitches after Leyland's visit, Shoppach homered to left on a 2-1 count. It was 5-0. Moments later, Willis was gone after a single and two walks loaded the bases with one out. All three runners scored, and the Indians led, 8-0.

Rain stopped play in the top of the fifth with the score 8-2. Play resumed after 57 minutes, and Cliff Lee came back to pitch the fifth, which he needed to do to qualify for the victory, his league-high 10th.

Contact JOHN LOWE at 313-223-4053 or jlowe@freepress.com.

Get Willis out. I feel bad for him, but I would feel better if I felt bad for him in some other city.

gdennis59 wrote:

Get Willis out. I feel bad for him, but I would feel better if I felt bad for him in some other city.

I know exactly how you feel though.

gdennis59 wrote:

Get Willis out. I feel bad for him, but I would feel better if I felt bad for him in some other city.

:haha: Yeah.

Dontrelle was nothing that we expected him to be. We got the crappy end of the trade.

Dontrelle's last start:

Ain't that the truth!

laprimamirala wrote:

Dontrelle's last start:

Yup, pretty much describes everytime he comes in to pitch

laprimamirala wrote:

Dontrelle's last start:

omg

Its true Lap.

Bye, bye Dontrelle. Have fun in Lakeland...

laprimamirala wrote:

Dontrelle's last start:

I hope nobody got hurt in that accident there.

yeah, me too. I probably should've found a less "realistic" wreck.

Friday, June 13, 2008
Rob Parker
Willis deal makes no sense

DETROIT -- Dave Dombrowski has made a lot of good moves as general manager of the Tigers.

Signing Dontrelle Willis to a three-year, $29 million contract extension, however, wasn't one. It may, in fact, turn out to be one of the worst moves by an executive in this town in a long time.

The blockbuster deal with the Florida Marlins for Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis made sense. Dombrowski looked at it as production over potential in dealing promising prospects for proven veterans. Dombrowski's goal was to win the World Series.

Huge mistake

Cabrera's deal made sense -- even at eight years, $152 million.

Willis' pact? No way, no how.

Dombrowski rewarded the left-hander on merit? A 10-15 record and 5.17 ERA last season in Florida?

That was a huge mistake.

And it's glaring now that Willis (0-1, 10.32 ERA) has been sent to the minors to work on his control.

On Monday, Willis walked five and allowed eight earned runs to the Indians in 1 1/3 innings. He has allowed 21 walks in 11 1/3 innings.

No one is sure when -- or if -- Willis will be back. Sadly, Dombrowski might have just given up all that loot for nothing.

"Anytime you don't have performance, you're not happy about it," Dombrowski said before the 2-1 victory over the White Sox on Thursday. "If it's Dontrelle's case or someone else's, you don't want to say you have regrets. I don't want to be flippant about that.

"But it's a situation where realistically, you make a lot of decisions and thought it was the right decision at the time."
What's the rush?

In reality, Dombrowski should have waited.

He should have made sure Willis was back to the form he showed in 2005 -- 22 victories.

But it was obvious in spring training Willis still was struggling.

"The reality of the situation is that when you trade for him, you make the decision that you're comfortable to give him a long-term deal," Dombrowski said. "We wouldn't have traded for him if we didn't feel comfortable to give him the deal.

"Even with all the inspection that we had -- we were aware of all the statistics -- when we watched him pitch, we felt he was throwing the ball better in September."

Dombrowski basically has written off Willis in the near future.

"My philosophy is more so, I want to get him where he can for sure help us in 2009," Dombrowski said. "And if he comes back before that, it's a bonus."

For all Dombrowski has done right, he has shown a tendency of prematurely giving guys long-term deals before they have actually earned them.

Willis' pact might go down in dubious history.