D-Train Still D-Railed
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Well, This Hasn't Worked Out Particularly Well...Dontrelle Willis returned to the mound in Detroit tonight for the first time since spring training. He surrendered eight hits in 4.2 innings, walking four and failing to record a strikeout. This is not how it was supposed to be.
Willis was not supposed to sign for three years and $29M back in 2007 only to spend most of the following season in the minor leagues. He wasn't supposed to come into 2009 and languish through camp only to be shipped back down to the minors and then placed on the DL for an anxiety disorder. No, this is not how the fairytale script was supposed to unfold.
I won't go through the D-Train's history and rapid ascension to a place where many considered him one of the top, if not most promising, young pitchers in the game. Bottom line, Willis was a guy I was always rooting for, a guy I hoped would succeed and do so wildly. There was just an "it" factor to Dontrelle. He was a kid you couldn't help but root for - unless he was pitching against your team. Amiable, energetic and always smiling, Dontrelle was good for the game.
During his early years in Florida, I hated when my Mets faced Dontrelle. If nothing else, he competed. Willis would come up at you, throw hard and knew the game. He was intense and seemed to live and die with each pitch. He also seemed to just flat out love playing the game of baseball.
Willis also reminded me of Doc, although there were virtually no similarities in style or physical attributes, and I think that's another reason I've always rooted for him. With his 22 wins in 2005 and 2.63 ERA (at age 23), there was no reason not to think D-Train was only getting better. I also loved the fact he was a West Coast-born African-American starting pitcher in the Major Leagues, in a time and era where African-American major leaguers was continuing to decline -- and at a position where they were all but completely extincy. All of those things played a role. For these reasons, I wanted Dontrelle to be a breakout star.
Unfortunately,the D-Train has run astray from the route to stardom. Like his unorthodox motion, nothing is smooth right now in Willis's game. Due to earn $7M this year and $10M in 2010, Dontrelle Willis last won a Major League game on September 27, 2008. Before that, you'd have to go back to April of last season to find his next (and only other 2008) win. It seems the smart money, and plenty of pundits, thing the D might stand for done -- and not just in Detroit. I hope Willis can find it. I'm pulling for the D-Train to get back on track, for himself, for the Tigers and for baseball.
Willis was not supposed to sign for three years and $29M back in 2007 only to spend most of the following season in the minor leagues. He wasn't supposed to come into 2009 and languish through camp only to be shipped back down to the minors and then placed on the DL for an anxiety disorder. No, this is not how the fairytale script was supposed to unfold.
I won't go through the D-Train's history and rapid ascension to a place where many considered him one of the top, if not most promising, young pitchers in the game. Bottom line, Willis was a guy I was always rooting for, a guy I hoped would succeed and do so wildly. There was just an "it" factor to Dontrelle. He was a kid you couldn't help but root for - unless he was pitching against your team. Amiable, energetic and always smiling, Dontrelle was good for the game.
During his early years in Florida, I hated when my Mets faced Dontrelle. If nothing else, he competed. Willis would come up at you, throw hard and knew the game. He was intense and seemed to live and die with each pitch. He also seemed to just flat out love playing the game of baseball.
Willis also reminded me of Doc, although there were virtually no similarities in style or physical attributes, and I think that's another reason I've always rooted for him. With his 22 wins in 2005 and 2.63 ERA (at age 23), there was no reason not to think D-Train was only getting better. I also loved the fact he was a West Coast-born African-American starting pitcher in the Major Leagues, in a time and era where African-American major leaguers was continuing to decline -- and at a position where they were all but completely extincy. All of those things played a role. For these reasons, I wanted Dontrelle to be a breakout star.
Unfortunately,the D-Train has run astray from the route to stardom. Like his unorthodox motion, nothing is smooth right now in Willis's game. Due to earn $7M this year and $10M in 2010, Dontrelle Willis last won a Major League game on September 27, 2008. Before that, you'd have to go back to April of last season to find his next (and only other 2008) win. It seems the smart money, and plenty of pundits, thing the D might stand for done -- and not just in Detroit. I hope Willis can find it. I'm pulling for the D-Train to get back on track, for himself, for the Tigers and for baseball.
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