Since I’ll be out at something called “Beerfest” tonight, and won’t be able to watch the game, I thought I’d give y’all something to discuss amongst yourselves tonight.
Last night Dontrelle Willis left the game with a hyperextended knee. His performance this year has been, umm, pretty terrible to say the least — two games, five innings (he left in the first last night), just one hit given up, but 4 runs, all earned. How does one give up 4 runs on 1 hit you might be asking yourself? I would counter by saying, “With nine walks.”
He hasn’t been anywhere near himself since the 2005 season, when he won 22 games, struck out 170 and was named to the National League All Star team. But was that the Dontrelle that we should’ve come to expect?
In his first year in the majors, Dontrelle was a dominant force on the mound. He was a good pitcher with a confusing delivery. It’s something that worked for Hideo Nomo and other Japanese pitchers coming into the league for the first time. But in Major League Baseball, that only works for a year or so. After that, you need to be a real pitcher with real pitches. I don’t know that I’d say Dontrelle Willis had that problem. He seemed to have some good movement on some of his pitches, and pretty good control over his delivery.
But his second season would be a rough one, going just 10-11 with an ERA just over 4. Some wondered if he was just another pitcher with a high leg kick, and if batters had figured him out. The 2005 season would put an end to that discussion, but only temporarily. Over the next two years, Willis would pick up 22 more wins — the same amount as in 2005 alone — and watch his ERA hit an abysmal 5.17 by the time the 2007 season ended.
In the beginning of his problematic 2007 season, I was one of those people hoping to see him traded to a different team. I wasn’t a Marlins fan, per se, but I did want to see them better themselves. And at that time, Dontrelle’s value was still pretty high. When the Fish finally decided to trade Willis before this season, he hadn’t much value left.
The Marlins would wind up trading the D-Train, along with Miguel Cabrera, to the Detroit Tigers for Andrew Miller, Cameron Maybin, Mike Rabelo, Eulogio de la Cruz, Dallas Trahern and Burke Badenhop. While Cabrera, whose career path should eventually lead him to the Hall of Fame, was the focal point of that trade, the Tigers were hoping to get the Dontrelle Willis of old…
…which brings us to Friday night. Willis walking off the mound, his posture looking like that of a man who hasn’t caught a break in, oh, almost 4 years. And well, he hasn’t. But what’s wrong with Dontrelle? Is it just an injury? A problem with his delivery? Is he just not that good? Should the Fish have tried to move him sooner?
A friend who works in the Dolphin Stadium offices once told me that Dontrelle Willis was the nicest guy in the world. A guy who would come in just to hang out with them and watch tv. He’d point at the screen during MTV Cribs and tell everyone how he was at that person’s house, all with that big goofy grin on his face. He always seemed like a guy out there just looking to have fun. Hopefully, he gets back to his old ways. Seeing one of the happiest guys on a baseball diamond look the way he did when he walked off Friday night? It was a sad thing to watch.
I’ll let you all discuss what you think of the D-Train and the seeming derailment of his career in the comments section.
Have at it folks. I’ll see y’all tomorrow with a recap of tonights action.
(And for any errors in this post, please feel free to let me have it in the comments. I didn’t have time to proofread anything since I’m already late for my drunken festivities. You’ll forgive me? This would probably be why I dont claim to be insightful that often.)
AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh
