Kuzul

Via Wikipedia:

The Black Aces is a book written by former Major League pitcher James “Mudcat” Grant about the only African American pitchers who have won at least 20 Major League Baseball games in a single season.

For some reason, I have always found the idea of the Black Aces to be very cool, and ever since the day the Yankees signed CC Sabathia, I have hoped that he would eventually become one.

After last night’s win, it looks like it might actually happen. Sabathia has 15 wins through 25 games, which means he’ll have about nine more starts to pick up five more wins to do it.

He would become the 14th pitcher on the list joining Vida Blue, Al Downing, Bob Gibson, Dwight Gooden, Mudcat Grant, Ferguson Jenkins, Sam Jones, Don Newcombe, Mike Norris, J.R. Richard, Dave Stewart, Earl Wilson, and Dontrelle Willis.

Interestingly enough, David Price of the Tampa Bay Rays also has 15 wins, so it is possible that the Black Aces may get two new members in 2010.

Related Stories

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• August 12, 2010—CC Sabathia Makes It Look Easy Against Royals
• August 2, 2010—Yankees Notes: Wood, Berkman, Lowell, and Laird
• July 2, 2010—Yankees Notes: Recap, Moseley, Oppenheimer, Montero, Burnett

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In some recess of his or her brain, every San Francisco Giants fan is thinking the same thing now that Dontrelle Willis has signed a Minor League contract with the club.

Does this mean someone in the current rotation is on his way out?

It’s natural.

Although rookie Madison Bumgarner’s name has popped up on the trade radar, it’s doubtful the Gents would be interested in moving the 20-year-old lefty, given he’s twirled a quartet of blinders since being called up at the end of June.

Plus, he’s cheap and under control for a while as a member of the 2007 draft class.

Even the most cynical skeptic of Brian Sabean has to believe the San Francisco general manager has been impressed with the No. 5 starter and recognizes the cost-benefit analysis weighs heavily against moving the kid.

On the other hand, more of the recent trade gossip has theorized that Jonathan Sanchez—a 27-year-old southpaw with electric stuff who can struggle with his control—would be the centerpiece of any high-profile move los Gigantes might be contemplating.

Well, lo and behold, the team just brought in a 28-year-old southpaw with electric stuff who can struggle with his control.

Granted, paralleling Sanchez’s lack of consistency with Willis’ Rick Ankiel act is a bit like comparing your water-retaining girlfriend to Kirstie Alley (the latter is FAR dumber), but you get the point.

The acquisition of a player who profiles similarly to one who’s been at the heart of trade rumors justifiably sets the fan base’s gears in motion.

Some are excited at the thought because they can almost imagine Corey Hart or Prince Fielder winging his way to the Bay Area, complete with shining white armor.

Others are sickened by the thought if they’re even acknowledging the splinter is there.

It’s there, though, it’s gotta be.

But let’s be reasonable about this before the full-on paranoia hits.

Dontrelle Willis has been an absolute catastrophe in cleats since something went horribly awry in the 2006 season.

The goofy native of Oakland had a career year in 2005 when he won 22 games while posting a 2.63 ERA, a 1.13 WHIP, seven complete games, five shutouts, and 55 walks in 236.1 innings.

He was an All-Star, finished 11th in the National League Most Valuable Player voting, and was the runner-up to the NL Cy Young winner Chris Carpenter.

One more key stat—Willis hit only eight batters in all those frames.

In ’06, some of the numbers still looked pretty good. He notched a 3.87 ERA with four complete games, a shutout, and a 6.4 K/9 (only a tenth off his ’05 rate) in 223,1 IP. But his walks shot up to 83 and his WHIP bloomed to 1.42.

More distressingly, the D-Train side-swiped 19 hitters.

From his Rookie of the Year campaign in 2003 through 2005—a span covering 594 innings—Dontrelle Willis hit 19 batters.

Then he hit the same number during one 162-game stretch.

The wheels were officially wobbling.

They came off in 2007 as the bad numbers went up and the good ones went down. A move to Detroit in 2008 as a throw-in part of the Miguel Cabrera deal didn’t help, and 2009 brought more of the same.

This year started in the same fashion, so the Tigers shipped Willis off to Arizona, where the Diamondbacks experimented for about 22 innings until kicking Willis to the curb.

That’s a very thorough way of saying the dude isn’t even close to being an option at the moment.

A brief way would be to mention his 56 free passes in 65.2 innings this year.

Nah, if I had to guess, Dontrelle is in the system on a wing and a prayer to see if he can find himself enough to be a help out of the bullpen.

Ever since Dan Runzler went down during that awkward at-bat, the firemen have a decidedly right-handed lean—only Jeremy Affeldt brings it from the south side and he’s been Rickety Cricket thus far.

The Gents are getting desperate for lefty relief and this move hints of desperation.

Maybe the big southpaw has been signed with dreams of reinforcing the starting rotation.

It’s possible, but even so he’d still have to right the ship well enough to be a reliable plan B by the July 31 trade deadline.

In two weeks.

Judging from the last few years, that would be nothing short of a flippin’ miracle.

The Bay Area worked its magic on Pat Burrell, another ballplayer who spent his youth within driving distance of the City.

Perhaps it will do the trick for Dontrelle Willis.

But the odds are too long for this to be a sign of things to come…

Right?

**Click here to learn more about the Paralyzed Veterans of America**

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After being released by both the Tigers and Diamondbacks already this season, the San Francisco Giants have given Dontrelle Willis another chance, signing him to a minor league deal today .

In 2003, a 21-year-old kid with an infectious smile and quirky delivery took the league by storm while helping the Florida Marlins win their second World Series.

That season, Willis struck out 142 batters in 160 innings pitched while going 14-6.  On top of a World Series ring, Willis made his first of two All-Star teams and won the National League Rookie of the Year award.

Willis would have a few more good seasons with the Marlins, but none better than his 2005 season. That year Willis won 22 games to only 10 loses and posted a carrier best 3.09 K/BB rate.

In 2005, Willis posted the lowest walk rate of his career (2.09 walks per nine innings pitched), but he would never again come close to that success.

In 2007, only two years removed from 22 wins and a career best K/BB rate, Willis posted a 5.17 ERA, 1.60 WHIP and his highest walk rate as a member of the Marlins.

It would be his last season in south Florida.

That following winter, Willis was traded along side Marlins teammate Miguel Cabrera to the Detroit Tigers for top prospect Cameron Maybin and five other minor leaguers.

That was when Willis lost his control completely, both with his pitches and his mental approach.

After only 11.1 innings with his new club, Willis had walked 21 opposing hitters and allowed 13 earned runs.

Willis, the pitcher with the infectious smile and quirky delivery, wasn’t smiling anymore and his delivery was more out of whack than ever.

The Tigers then sent him down to single-A, about as far from Detroit as they could get him.

The move was made to allow Willis time to not only work on his control problems, but also to work on his mental state. 

Nothing changed during the rest of his tenure in Detroit as the strikeout rates went down and the walk rates stayed obscenely high.

The Arizona Diamondbacks decided to give Willis a shot, acquiring him via trade.  His time in Arizona lasted for 22.1 innings, 27 walks, 14 strikeouts and 17 earned runs.

Having been released by the Diamondbacks, Willis was free to sign with any team willing to give him a shot.  The San Francisco Giants were that team.

Willis will begin his journey in Fresno, CA, the Giants’ triple-A affiliate.  If the Giants are smart, he’ll be a part of the Grizzlies’ bullpen, not starting rotation.

At this point in his career, Willis has proven that he can no longer stay effective as a starting pitcher. However, he has two things going for him that a team could use to their advantage.

First, Willis is still tough on left-handed hitters.  This season, even with all of his struggles, Willis has struck out 12.86 left-handed hitters per nine innings pitched and held them to a .213 AVG against.  In 86 left-handed batters faced this season, 16 have base hits with only two going for doubles and only one going for a home run.

Second, his velocity should improve in one-inning stints.  In his last outing, Willis’s fastball topped out at 91 mph.  In his first start with the Diamondbacks, Willis topped out at 93 mph.  While he has averaged a fastball around 88 mph, one would have to believe that a one inning “max effort” role would produce consistent speeds in the low 90’s.

There have been plenty of starting pitchers with control issues who have been converted into relievers and found much more success.  One that has current relevance is Arthur Rhodes.

Rhodes started his Major League career as a starter.  One look at his early walk rates clearly show that he had big problems with control as his walks per nine innings pitched were consistently in the five-plus range.

Then, in 1996, the Orioles used Rhodes almost exclusively as a reliever.  The following season Rhodes made 53 appearances, all out of the bullpen.  He struck out 102 hitters in 95.1 innings while only walking 26 and posting a 3.02 ERA.

In 1997, Arthur Rhodes was 27 years old.  Dontrelle Willis is still only 28 years old.

It’s time to stop living in the past.  Yes, Willis was the Rookie of the Year as a starting pitcher in 2003 and yes, he finished 11^th in MVP voting in 2005, but those days are dead and gone.

If Willis goes to Fresno and develops as a shut down left-handed specialist, think of how valuable that could be for the Giants during the stretch run when rosters expand in September.    Starting pitching is not their problem.

It has been a long and windy road for Dontrelle Willis.  However, teams would not continue to give him chance after chance if he didn’t still have some pretty good “stuff”.

Take that pure “stuff,” harness it into a one inning “max effort” role, and maybe, just maybe, Willis can dominate once again.

Well, dominate lefties at least.

Charlie Saponara is the owner/author of fantasybaseball365.com and can be contacted at cs.fb365@gmail.com .  Follow FB365 on Twitter . 

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Alameda native Dontrelle Willis has signed a minor league contract to try to resurrect his career with the San Francisco Giants organization.

The 28-year-old attended Encinal High School, then exploded onto the big league scene as a star left-handed starter for the Florida Marlins. After signing a lucrative, long-term contract, Willis lost his his stuff and his ability to throw strikes.

He went from the Marlins to the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers eventually released Willis, who then signed with and pitched for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Arizona released him and the Giants inked him to a minor league deal after he cleared waivers. The Tigers are responsible for the bulk of the $12 million Willis is owed this season.

Willis will be at the Giants’ training facility in Arizona Monday after signing a Triple-A contract.

The Giants will be in no hurry with Willis. He was sent to the minor leagues by the Tigers in 2008 and 2009, but only pitched 28 innings in each stint before returning almost immediately to the big leagues.

The Giants will try to fix mental and mechanical problems that have prevented Willis from having an ERA of under 5.17 since 2006.

“You’ve got an arm like that, you get him in our system the way we prepare our pitchers, and maybe he’ll have some success,” vice president of baseball operations Bobby Evans told the San Francisco Chronicle. “He’s already accomplished a lot. You never know.”

Willis won 14 games and a World Series ring with Florida in 2003 then won 22 games in 2005.

Evans spoke to Willis and said, “He has the right attitude. I think he’s driven to succeed.”

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From the moment I watched my first game of baseball, I was mesmerized by the importance of the pitcher. To win games you need to have a consistent pitcher, something that Dontrelle Willis wasn’t for the Detroit Tigers or the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Dontrelle Willis was the most exciting lefty pitcher to watch from 2003 to 2007, when he played for the Florida Marlins.

With the Florida Marlins he played magnificently, winning the Rookie of the Year and leading the Marlins to their second World Series title in 2003.

During his five-year tenure with the Marlins, he was by far one of the best pitchers in the game. In 2005 he posted 22 wins, a 2.68 ERA, and completed seven games with five shutouts. He came second in the NL Cy Young race, losing to Chris Carpenter.

In his five year career with the Marlins he posted a 3.78 ERA, won 68 and lost 54 games, and to top it off, he had a 2.20 strike out to walk ratio, demonstrating strong command.

Since his time in a Marlins uniform, he has yet to show his dominant form again, and it’s a true shame.

After a rather sub par 2007 season, the Marlins decided to sell some of their best ball players in the offseason, due to rise in payroll.

Dontrelle Willis along with Miguel Cabrera were dealt to the Detroit Tigers in an eight-player trade. 

The trade was rather upsetting to Marlins fans as they had to say goodbye to one of the best batters in the game, and one of the finest pitchers the Marlins franchise had ever had in a Marlins uniform.

Two weeks after the trade, Willis was inked to a three-year $29 million contract with the Tigers, and sad to say that almost every penny of that contract went to waste.

Dontrelle Willis in a Tigers uniform went through baseball hell, he could not throw a pitch for a strike.

In his first two outings of the 2008 season with the Tigers, he had already walked nine batters and struck out none.

Later on that season, he was placed on the Disabled List with an injured left knee, and after his DL stint, manager Jim Leyland tried to use him in a relief role, but that came with no success.

After his struggles, the Detroit management decided to send him down to single A ball where he could practice and get control of his pitch command.

Willis was called back to the Tigers during the September roster expansion, where he recorded one loss and two no decisions leaving some possible hope for a comeback next season. 

The comeback never took place.

In March 2009, Willis was placed on the DL with an anxiety disorder, which left him inactive until mid-May when he was placed back on the active roster and made a few starts, but with poor results.

After his abysmal May, he was then reinstated to the Disabled list, with the same anxiety disorder, leaving him away from baseball for the rest of the 2009 season.

To start the 2010 season, he was placed in the starting rotation where he showed many improvements especially in command, but it still wasn’t enough for the Tigers leaving them no options left.

After a lot of thinking, the Tigers made the bold decision of designating Willis for assignment.

On June 1, the Arizona Diamondbacks traded starting pitcher Bill Buckner for Willis.

In his arrival to Arizona, he decided to switch his jersey number back to 35, thinking that maybe changing his number could help him find success back in the National League. 

He had one good start with the Diamondbacks, where he pitched six shutout innings, but he couldn’t remain consistent and still didn’t have command of his pitches. 

So on July 4, the Diamondbacks new management made the decision to designate Dontrelle Willis for assignment. 

Dontrelle Willis is a player who has gone through so much, and he has yet to find success. 

It is sad to see this happen to Willis and he needs to find solutions to his command problems. 

Right now I hope that the Marlins will give Willis a try, and let him find himself where he last had success.

If he does find success it definitely won’t be in the starting rotation, it would probably be in the bullpen as a left specialist where he could reinvent himself.

Willis was the best and he has the raw talent to return as a top lefty pitcher, and I hope that he can get on the right track so we don’t see his talent go to waste.

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Dontrelle Willis was a young phenom with the Florida Marlins in 2002. Now, he is turning into a journeyman in the MLB.

Willlis was like Stephen Strasburg when he made his debut. He had a marvelous rookie year and was the ace of the Marlins’ pitching staff.

In 2005, Dontrelle had 22 wins, but didn’t win the National League Cy Young. He should have won though.

Then in 2007, Willis wanted to be traded from Florida. After that season he got his wish and was traded to the Detroit Tigers.

Willis wasn’t like he was in Florida with the Tigers. During his tenure with Detroit he was demoted to the minors at one point. Some people in Detroit wanted Dontrelle to be traded after his first year.

The Tigers kept Dontrelle, but it turned out to be the wrong choice.

Throughout 2008, Willis was horrible for the Tigers. In a game against Cleveland, he walked nine batters.

Then in 2009, he took a blood test and was tested positive for anxiety disorder. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list to get treatment for that. Upon returning from the DL, he started nine games, and he was horrible again.

Once again, Willis was put on the disabled list with the same issue of anxiety. 2009 turned out to be one of the worst years of his career.

Dontrelle Willis made his first start for Detroit this year and he look improved. He went six innings, allowed two runs, and had a no decision. After that start though, Dontrelle went back to his old self.

On May 30th, Willis was sent down to the minors. Two days later Dontrelle had to pack his bags.

Turns out, Willis was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks on June 1st.

In his Diamondbacks debut, he pitched six scoreless innings. It looked like Dontrelle was rejuvenated and back to his great self when he was with Florida.

I think Dontrelle Willis will be let go by the Diamondbacks after this season. Look for him to be back to his inconsistent self and be a journeyman in the MLB for the rest of his career.

I hope Dontrelle improves, but he hasn’t done it yet.

Dontrelle Willis had all of the hype to be one of the best pitchers of the decade, but he couldn’t live up to the expectations.

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The San Diego Padres are not only in first place in the National League West at 31-20, but they also have the best record in the National League by a full game over the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals.

It’s not exactly where most people and experts thought they would be at this point in the season. Yet, the Padres have gone from potential cellar dwellers and “sellers” at the trade deadline to buyers and possibly being able to take on salary above their $38 million payroll.

They’ve gotten great pitching from young starters like Mat Latos and Clayton Richard, as well as solid veteran pitching from Jon Garland and Kevin Correia.

But what if you could add one more arm that might solidify the rotation and turn this team from a “contender” to outright favorite to win not only the division, but the National League?

I’m talking, of course, about Detroit Tigers’ left-hander Dontrelle Willis who was designated for assignment a few days ago. Signing Willis wouldn’t be expensive either. In fact, they could sign him to a minor league deal and not have to trade any of their players away to get him.

That is, if the Tigers don’t trade him to another team first.

The Arizona Diamondbacks already have interest in him, but I can’t see Willis going to a team that’s already 11.5 games back in the NL West. He has said that he would prefer to play in the National League and for a team out west.

Hearing that, I would narrow his choices to three teams: The Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants and the aforementioned Padres.

At this point, I can’t see the Giants signing Willis on top of already having Tim Lincecum, Barry Zito, Matt Cain and Jonathan Sanchez.

The Dodgers might be a candidate to add Willis to a rotation that already boasts Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley and Hiroki Kuroda. The once-dominant left-hander could definitely give the Dodgers a boost.

What might keep the Padres from bringing Willis on board is already having a set rotation with Garland, Correia, Latos, Clayton Richard, and Wade LeBlanc. What do you do with Willis if, in fact, you do sign him, and who becomes the odd man out?

The other question becomes, what happens when Chris Young comes off the disabled list? If Dontrelle doesn’t mind coming out of the bullpen, I’d add him in a heartbeat. But I doubt he’d be open to that.

As it stands now, the only thing we do know is that Dontrelle wants to be back in the National League and he wants to play for a team on the west coast. That being said, we saw how things worked out for John Smoltz when he left Boston for St. Louis and when Brad Penny also left Boston for San Francisco.

Could Willis become the dominant pitcher he was in Florida by returning to the National League? He still has a lot left to offer a team, so whoever signs him is taking a risk that could pay off huge.

As it stands now, and if you’re asking me, I believe the Padres could be the biggest benefactor by adding Dontrelle, especially for a fly ball pitcher in a ballpark where fly balls go to die.

He could definitely help them pull away from the rest of the pack and be a contender come playoff time.

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It’s no secret that Dontrelle Willis is struggling. That’s why it came as no surprise when the Detroit Tigers decided that he wasn’t worth what they were spending on him—they designated him for assignment on May 30th.

However, there may be a perfect situation for him in St. Louis.

The Cardinals, who through Sunday were 29-22, could be looking for some pitching help, with starters Brad Penny and Kyle Lohse on the disabled list.

The biggest reason the Cardinals and Dontrelle could have mutual interest is the Cardinals’ famed pitching coach, Dave Duncan.

The Willis case could be seen as similar to that of another former Detroit Tiger, 2006 reclamation project Jeff Weaver. After posting a 3-10 record with a 6.29 ERA in Anaheim, he was designated for assignment on June 30.

Weaver won important games to help the Cardinals win the National League Central Division, and then was a rock in the playoffs, helping to deliver the Cardinals a World Series Championship.

However, Dontrelle Willis is even more promising than Jeff Weaver was. Willis has gobs of talent, which he proved during his years in Florida, where he won the 2003 Rookie of the Year and finished second in 2005 National League Cy Young Award voting behind Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter.

Willis would be one of the most talented pitchers ever to play for Tony LaRussa and Dave Duncan, so he should be an easier reclamation project than say, Joel Piñeiro.

Another reason to pounce on Dontrelle is that he could come very cheaply. Now that he has been designated for assignment, the Tigers have three options. They can trade him, pass him through waivers, or, if he isn’t picked up by another team, give him his outright release. With Willis’s recent performance, the Tigers might be willing to part with him for chump change.

However, his salary for the upcoming season is $12 million. That’s an issue for the Cardinals, who are already strapped for cash. So for a trade scenario, the Cardinals would need money to cover Willis’s salary. It’s hard to imagine that scenario.

It’s more likely that Dontrelle will pass through waivers and be released, where the Cardinals can sign him to a cheap deal and the Tigers will be forced to cover the rest of his salary.

Picking up Willis could give the Cardinals options with the starting rotation. If Willis performs anywhere near his 2003 Rookie of the Year form under Duncan’s tutelage, they could plug him into the rotation, and shop around Kyle Lohse, whose 4-year/$40 million dollar deal is the only black spot on the Cardinals’ payroll.

If Willis continues his dismal performance, St. Louis could trade Willis, simply cut ties with the erstwhile southpaw, or put him in the bullpen, where he could be very effective as a reliever.

Whatever the Cardinals decide to do, they should remember one of baseball’s most consistent truths: One team’s trash is Dave Duncan’s treasure.

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You can’t say they didn’t try.

Dontrelle Willis and the Tigers did everything they could to make it work. They put him on the DL and gave him a mental vacation.

They changed his mechanics, and then changed them back.

They gave him every opportunity to earn a job this spring, and when it appeared he was up to the task of pitching in the majors, they essentially gave away Nate Robertson.

But when Willis returned this month, just as Max Scherzer pitched his way back to the majors, that was the final straw. For the Tigers to contend in 2010, they simply couldn’t keep running Dontrelle out there every fifth day.

The short-term implications for the Tigers are pretty severe. It means Scherzer and Armando Galarraga are being counted on to give the Tigers quality innings at the back end of the rotation. It also means that if one of them is not up to the task, the Tigers will be in the market for starting pitching later this summer.

Willis ends his tenure in Detroit with a 2-6 record and 6.86 ERA in 101 IP, with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 0.74.

His disastrous career in a Tigers uniform over, some may now lament that the Tigers ever traded for him; I won’t. In fact, Willis joined the Tigers in a trade that seems likely to go down as one of the best in franchise history.

That’s because Willis was merely a throw-in to help facilitate the Tigers’ acquisition of Miguel Cabrera, the young slugger seemingly destined for Cooperstown who puts his greatness on display for Tigers fans just about every night.

Trading for Willis wasn’t a mistake. The same can’t be said for signing him to a three-year, $29 million extension before he ever threw a pitch in a Tigers uniform.

If his 2007 season had been anything like the 2005 campaign that saw him win 22 games with a 2.63 ERA, the extension would’ve been justifiable. However, Willis was coming off a terrible year that saw him post a 5.17 ERA and his WHIP climb for the third consecutive season.

Inexplicably, Dave Dombrowski and the Tigers simply took a leap of faith with Willis, investing heavily in him before it was clear if he was worth investing in or not. A more prudent approach would’ve been to allow Willis to prove he was headed in the right direction, and then signed him if it appeared so, even if it meant potentially losing him on the open market.

It’s a sad day for both Willis and the Tigers, but hardly as sad as June 9, 2008, when he walked five and gave up eight ER against the Indians before a national audience, or his final start of 2009, when he walked eight Pirates and didn’t make it out of the fourth inning.

In short, it had been clear for some time this wasn’t going to have a happy ending. Short of a Cy Young award or maybe winning the seventh game of the World Series, nothing Willis did this season was going to change his legacy in Detroit.

As forgettable as his time in Detroit was, it’s hard for me to harbor too much resentment towards Dontrelle. He came across as a humble, down-to-earth guy who seemed genuinely appreciative of the Tigers’ support and regretted that he had not lived up to expectations.

For the D-Train, this is certainly a bump in the road, but I find it hard to believe his baseball career is even close to being over. In fact, I think he’s an ideal reclamation project candidate.

For all the talk of an alleged anxiety disorder, I personally saw Willis’ issues as being more mechanical than anything. Earlier this year on MLB Network’s MLB Tonight, Tom Verducci broke down video of Willis that saw him throw from three different release points over the course of a few innings. You don’t have to be a pitching virtuoso to know there’s something wrong there.

Additionally, he seemed to struggle switching from the windup to the set, which hardly did him any good either.

There is clearly work to be done, but nothing I think is beyond a pitching coach like Dave Duncan to figure out (coincidentally, the Cardinals suddenly find themselves short on pitching). Whether it’s St. Louis or one of the other 28 teams, Willis will catch on somewhere.

In the meantime, you can’t help but think of what could’ve been. If he’d been anything close to the pitcher who won the hearts of fans all over South Florida, Dontrelle could’ve been the King of Motown.

No matter how futile it seemed, I wanted to keep believing in this guy. So did the entire Tigers organization.

It seemed like such a perfect match at first; that charismatic young pitcher with the million dollar smile coming on board to help lead the Tigers to their first World Series win in a quarter century.

The 2008 season just didn’t work out as expected; neither did Willis’ time in Detroit.

Clearly, some things just aren’t meant to be.

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It was far from anything the Tigers fanbase and organization had expected three years ago.

Entering this year though it became a matter of when it would happen.

That day came Sunday morning.

Dana Wakiji of FOX Sports Detroit says that the Detroit Tigers will designate Dontrelle Willis’s contract for assignment, ultimately ending his three-year stay in the Motor City.

“We just felt at this point we were going to give (Armando) Galarraga the ball,” Tigers President Dave Dombrowski said. Also being called up will be Max Scherzer, who was acquired this offseason from the Arizona Diamondbacks in a three-team trade, which sent Edwin Jackson to Arizona and Curtis Granderson to the New York Yankees.

The Tigers received Phil Coke, Daniel Schlereth, Austin Jackson, and Scherzer.

“Unfortunately, too, in Dontrelle’s case, he recently has not pitched quite as well as he did early in the year,” Dombrowski said. “We just felt that we were ready to make the change.”

Willis’ contract will be placed on waivers starting tomorrow, and if he passes through waivers, the Tigers will try and find a suitor for Willis within the following 10 days. If they fail to do so, they will release him from his $12 million contract.

With Galarraga and Scherzer returning to the rotation, the Tigers will throw out to the mound Verlander, Porcello, Bonderman, Galarraga, and Scherzer, likely in that order.

With the recent news that Astros pitcher Roy Oswalt wants to be traded to a team that has a chance for a World Series title, the Tigers could look to put Bonderman in the bullpen, which is already strong, and acquire the Houston ace.

However, the chances seem unlikely.

Willis was part of a blockbuster 2008 winter meeting trade that sent him and Miguel Cabrera to the Tigers in exchange for prospects, including Andrew Miller and Cameron Maybin. Cabrera was able to meet Detroit’s needs right out of the gates, but Willis had problems.

He was sent down to Triple-A affiliate Toledo after being diagnosed with “anxiety issues.” It wasn’t something that Willis believed he had, but he agreed to go down to Toledo and work on his pitching.

“I just applaud his efforts since we’ve had him,” Tigers skipper Jim Leyland said. “It’s been kind of a long road back. As Dave said, we felt that the consistency wasn’t there.” He worked on changing his mechanics while with the Mud Hens, and when he was called up in the 2009 season, it was clear that he still had problems.

This time, he was getting rocked in the bullpen.

Willis was given one last chance this year, and he was off to a good start, not allowing as many runs over a small portion of innings, collecting strikes along the way. It was recent though when Willis had lost control of his pitches again, and had put runners on the bases.

When Detroit acquired Willis, they were anticipating the 20-win, NL Cy Young winner that came from the Marlins. Instead, they received a man who went 2-6 during his time here.

There is a silver lining, though. This is a league where pitchers can find their stride and become a reliable pitcher again.

The perfect pitcher to look at is Barry Zito, who has had a huge year.

Zito signed a seven-year contract with the San Francisco Giants in the 2006 off-season, expected to be part of a feared bullpen. Zito was rocked his first three years in San Francisco, his ERA above 4.00, giving over 90 runs each of those seasons, 103 runs in 2008 and did not have a winning season.

This year he has turned things around from thin air, posting a 2.94 ERA and has a 6-2 record.

“I feel like I’ve been through death and back,” Zito told USA Today . “I took a lot on my shoulders when I signed it. I found myself wanting to satisfy every fan, every San Franciscan.

“…I learned the hard way.”

Willis’ soon-to-be former catcher Gerald Laird believes he will be back with a team.

“I definitely see some changes in him from last year to this year,” Laird said. “I think he’s close. He’s got a ways to go, I think, but for the most part I thought he went out there and battled and gave us all he had. I commend him for that.”

There will be a ball club that will look at Dontrelle and see past his woes in Detroit, sign him, and perform well again. 

“I know he’s going to be OK. He’s going to come out of this thing and he’s definitely going to make another ball club better.”

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