Philadelphia Phillies Release Dontrelle Willis

Well, they gave him a shot.

The Philadelphia Phillies have officially released Dontrelle Willis Friday morning, announcing the move via Twitter very plainly.

The 30-year-old lefty signed a non-guaranteed contract with the team back in December worth $850,000 over one year with the hopes of competing for a spot in the bullpen this spring. This in itself may have been hard for him to swallow after spending all nine of his big league seasons as a starter.

Unfortunately, in three appearances this spring, Willis allowed five earned runs on five hits with four walks in just 2.2 innings. Yikes. The good news is he will receive $139,000 in severance pay.

So what happened to the D-Train? Remember when he was kinda awesome? The 2003 National League Rookie of the Year made two All-Star appearances with the Florida Marlins and even finished second in the NL Cy Young Award voting in 2005. Those were the days cause it's pretty much been downhill from there. He tried a career revival back in 2010 with the Cincinnati Reds too, after lasting just 33 days with the Arizona Diamondbacks, but I think it's safe to say it's over buddy.

Who knows, maybe he didn't take enough protein supplements or something. Hopefully this whole ordeal doesn't trigger his anxiety disorder again... There's always Mexican baseball. Or coaching little league. Those who can't do, teach!

[USA Today]

Philadelphia Phillies Boggle Our Minds, Sign Dontrelle Willis to One-Year Deal

Monday's signing of Dontrelle Willis by the Philadelphia Phillies for one year, $1 million is a bit surprising. In fact, we don't see the point in it whatsoever.

The 30-year-old lefty went 1-6 with a nice, round 5.00 ERA last season with the Cincinnati Reds, who saw just about enough of that. I mean, really. Willis is going to round out their pitching staff? It's like they're just making it rain to show off at this point.

Apparently he is expected to pitch out of the bullpen for the Phillies, which should be interesting considering he's enjoyed just three relief appearances in nine career seasons. It's not 2005 anymore guys. So not only is Willis happy to be signing with a contender of all things, he's more than likely thrilled to be pitching at all.

[ESPN]

Back on the D-Train

We've returned from a much-needed three week vacation to the news that yet another (sucker of a) team has agreed to give Dontrelle Willis a shot at reviving his once-promising career.

The Cincinnati Reds have agreed to a minor league deal with the lefty, who has struggled, to say the least, over recent years.

Happy Trails, Dontrelle Willis

Arizona Diamondbacks interim general manager Jerry DiPoto's first order of business? Get Dontrelle Willis the hell out of Arizona.

After continuing to experience the same old pesky control problems, Willis has been designated for assignment. Yeah, he lasted all of 33 days in the desert.

What's That Sucking Sound?

Oh, it's just the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Coming off the worst road-trip in franchise history with an 0-9 record capping a 10-game skid, the team managed a walk-off home victory Friday against the Colorado Rockies.

And it's not like this is the first time they've sucked all season. The D'Backs 20-34 start marked the second-worst in the team's 13 years in the league, one-upping only the 17-37 record that kicked off their inaugural 1998 season. Those were the days.

D-Train Derailed Again

The Detroit Tigers announced on Sunday that lefty Dontrelle Willis had been placed on the disabled list with an anxiety disorder. So they sent him to Detroit. I don't know about D-Train, but that's the one city in this country that makes me the most anxious. Scary.

Medically speaking, there are six different kinds of anxiety disorders, but Willis said Monday that he's not sure which one he has. He actually isn't even sure if he has an anxiety-related mental illness, something that many Americans (who aren't big league pitchers) suffer from -- and recover from -- every day.

Job Posting: Detroit Pitching Coach

It was announced Monday after the 8-2 debacle against the White Sox that the Detroit Tigers' pitching coach Chuck Hernandez, and bullpen coach Jeff Jones, have been canned like last year's harvest.

When asked to comment what new voice could reach the pitchers, the ever direct Leyland replied dryly, "I would have to say, at least one of the apostles."

Good one, skipper.

The pitching rotation experienced difficulties from the beginning. After spending $29 million on a 3-year contract with Dontrelle Willis, he walked 21 batters in 11 1/3 innings in his second start after coming off the DL with a hyper-extended left knee. Ouch.

D-Train Derails Again

Dontrelle Willis sucks so bad right now, that the Detroit Tigers have sent their once-possible ace down to the Class A Lakeland Flying Tigers, in search of a little something called control.

This is what happens when you surrender eight earned runs and five walks in just 1.1 innings against the division rival Cleveland Indians, who are also horrible right now. Except Cliff Lee, who is the American League's first 10-game winner.

This is not, however, the way things were supposed to go down for the lefty after he was signed to a three-year, $23 million deal last December. Specifically, unacceptable shenanigans such as walking 21 batters over 11.1 innings have kept him from gaining any fans in the Motor City. Willis finished this stint in the majors with an 0-1 record and 10.32 ERA.

[Detroit Free Press]

Willis Takes the D-Train to Injury Town

The Detroit Tigers placed Dontrelle Willis on the 15-day disabled list Saturday after an MRI revealed a hyper extended right knee.

The newest lefty to the Tigers rotation hurt himself mid-delivery during the first inning of Friday night's game against the Chicago White Sox.

On the very first pitch to Orlando Cabrera, Chicago's No. 2 hitter, Willis' right leg gave out and he slipped off the mound. He stayed in the game however, but walked Cabrera and followed that with a wild pitch to Jim Thome.

Off to a horrendous and surprising 2-9 start, the Tigers have been bombarded with injuries. Center fielder and leadoff hitter Curtis Granderson is out with a broken hand, scary reliever Fernando Rodney has a sore shoulder, Gary Sheffield's finger is still bothering him, Cabrera has a tender quadriceps muscle, and first baseman Carlos Guillen missed Saturday's loss to the Sox after straining a hamstring running to first Friday night.

The club will recall outfielder Ryan Raburn from the AAA Toledo Mud Hens to fill Willis' spot on the roster and then call up righty Armando Galarraga to take his rotation slot.

D-Train is expected to miss at least one start.

[Detroit Free Press]

D-Train to Stick Around Motown

Dontrelle Willis and the Detroit Tigers agreed to a $29 million, three-year deal Thursday, just two weeks after he was acquired in the biggest swap of this winter. And man, is he pumped.

"I'm so amped up about being here and knowing I'm going to stay here," Willis said.

The 2003 NL Rookie of the Year and 2005 runner-up for the NL Cy Young Award went 10-15 with a 5.17 ERA, starting a big league-high 35 games. The 25-year-old, two-time All-Star is a career 68-54 with a 3.78 ERA in 162 starts over five seasons.

Willis joins a terrifying rotation that already includes veteran hurler Kenny Rogers, and young talent in Justin Verlander, Jeremy Bonderman and Nate Robertson. As Tigers skipper Jim Leyland put it, whoever pitches each night is their #1. So, considering their potent batting order, be ready for total domination on both sides of the baseball in Detroit for 2008.

[Detroit Free Press]

Tigers, Marlins: it's a Whopper!

The Detroit Tigers and Florida Marlins made a big splash Tuesday evening, reeling in the biggest trade of the Winter Meetings thus far.

Tigers skipper Jim Leyland, sans cigs and smoking jacket, approached a Marlins executive Tuesday morning and simply said, "We want [Miguel] Cabrera."

Now, the Motor City Kitties have acquired the 24-year-old slugging third baseman along with once-awesome pitcher Dontrelle Willis, whose value went down considerably after a rough 10-15 season with a 5.17 ERA.


The Marlins, who can barely afford new rosin bags, received two of the sweetest prospects in the league in sweet-swinging Cameron Maybin (20) and promising lefty Andrew Miller (22). The deal also has four other players heading to Forida: catcher Mike Rabelo, reliever Eulogio de la Cruz and starting pitchers Dallas Trahern and Burke Badenhop.

So, the Tigers are pretty much out of young kids for their future, as they traded away outfielder Gorkys Hernandez and starter Jair Jurrjens, to acquire shortstop Edgar Renteria from the Atlanta Braves earlier this offseason.

But, now they can pride themselves on having one of the most intimidating lineups in baseball...

Curtis Granderson
Placido Polanco
Miguel Cabrera
Magglio Ordonez
Gary Sheffield
Carlos Guillen
Edgar Renteria
Ivan Rodriguez
Jacque Jones
Marcus Thames

Scary stuff.

[SI]

D-Train Wreck

What the hell is wrong with Dontrelle Willis? Seriously.

He was pounded like a Vegas hooker once again last night, this time by a St. Louis Cardinals 6-0 shutout. Kip Wells... shutout... my head hurts.

D-Train gave up six runs on 11 hits in just three innings, drawing boos from his home crowd for the second straight start.

The Florida Marlins star walked two last night, bringing his season total to 55 with 84 strikeouts.

Willis (7-9, 5.13 ERA) hasn't snatched a victory in his past nine starts, marking the longest winless streak of his career. His last win came on May 29th against the Chicago Cubs and he hasn't won at Dolphin Stadium since April 23rd, going 0-6 at home.

Terrible.

Willis had a mediocre season in 2006, going 12-12 with a 3.87 ERA in 34 starts, although he did hit a grand slam. His best season came the year before, when he ended the 2005 season on a 22-10 note with a 2.63 ERA - also in 34 starts - and was runner-up to NL Cy Young Award winner Chris Carpenter. He also won the Warren Spahn Award that year, handed out to the best lefty hurler in the league.

"I'm working hard," Willis said. "I'm leaving my heart on the field. If they boo or not, I don't have anything to hold my head down about. I can look in the mirror."

What could be causing this landslide?

[Fishstripes]

Squeeze Play: Marlins @ Braves

Dontrelle Willis will look to continue his April dominance as the Florida Marlins open a three-game series against Mark Redman and the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field tonight at 7:35pm ET.

Willis is 11-1 with a 2.40 ERA in 17 career April starts, and will attempt to improve to 3-0 in three starts for the third time in his career. Redman will look to help the Braves bounce back after a tough 2-0 loss to the Washington Nationals (2-8) yesterday.

The Braves, who had scored 24 runs in their previous four games, had not been shut out since last September, when they lost 8-0 in the second game of a doubleheader against the New York Mets. The Marlins are coming off a tough Wednesday, where they lost both games of a double-header against the Milwaukee Brewers, ending a three-game winning streak.

[MLB]