Dropped Third Strike

Where in the World is Dontrelle Willis?

I was just reading the list of AL Waiver candidates on mlbtraderumors.com, and noticed Dontrelle Willis' name and had flash backs of the many times he whipped the Mets...

Dontrelle Willis is arguably the greatest pitcher in Florida Marlins history. Rookie of the Year, Cy Young runner-up, and all around good guy - he was a favorite among the 72 Marlins fans that actually went to baseball games.

Last year, in typical Marlins fashion, he was traded along with Miguel Cabrera to the Detroit Tigers for a Grilled Stuft Taco Bell Burrito and a Jeff Conine rookie card (it was actually for 4 minor leaguers...).

After a huge contract and a rough start with the Tigers, Detroit sent him to the Single-A Lakeland Flying Tigers to find himself, and the strike zone. Baseball misses his crooked cap, big smile, and even bigger leg kick.

He was optioned to Lakeland in June, and made one start before he needed his knee examined, as he was still experiencing problems from his injury which landed him on the DL earlier in the year.

Well - he is back pitching again for Lakeland - little did the Detroit Tigers management know that the strike zone in Lakeland is the same as it is in Detroit. Here is a look at his first three starts since his return:

July 17 -3 innings, 4 hits, no walks, 1 K, 1 ER - not bad!
(Here is some footage of him pitching this game, courtesy of the Lakeland Flying Tigers Blog.)

July 26 - 4.1 innings, 4 hits, 3 walks, 3 ER, 2K
73 Pitches - 37 strikes, 36 balls

July 31 - 5 IP, 5 hits, 3 walks, 1 ER, 3K
88 Pitches - 47 strikes, 41 balls

With the amount of money owed to Dontrelle ($29M over 3 years), he probably isn't going anywhere, and Dontrelle is eager to get back to the majors.

In his quest to find the strike zone, he may be losing the leg kick - the trademark of his (formerly) intimidating pitching. It is hard to imagine him living up to the contract he was given - the change in mechanics, control issues, and knee problems seem to make that unlikely, but hopefully he can re-invent himself and get back to Detroit.

You have to pull for the guy - he is a hard worker and a fan-favorite in Florida - and at least he wasn't faking his knee problems (ala Manita Ramirez).

We will keep an eye on him here at DTS, and will attempt to scout him at his next start (if we can figure out when that is, the Lakeland "Flying" Tigers website doesn't offer much info about this.). Check back for updates.

Looking Back at a Few Trades

So now that we are a full weekend series past the trade deadline, I wanted to take a look back and see how some of the big trades that went down are working out. Yeah, I'm aware that it's been 4 days (including today) but who cares, some of them happened before the deadline anyway. So here we go:

Manny - So Manny has been tearing it up so far in LA and Boston fans have to be happy with the production they are seeing from Jason Bay so far. The Pirates - well, who cares about them since they don't really matter for the rest of the year. When this went down I thought the Sox would be hitting some kind of hardship, but it seems that isn't the case. Let's see how long it is until Ramirez is sidelined with knee pain, pinky toe pain, or the biggest ego on the West Coast.

Ken Griffey Jr. - If nothing else, this trade got me to order a new copy of Slugfest for the N64 on eBay (should be here in about a week!) So far he is played in 3 games for the ChiSox while hitting 3/7, scoring  1 run, and driving in 2 (including Jim Thome, not really a point for me pointing that out.) It looks like this trade will work out not too badly for Chicago as long as they don't play him every day in Center. If they do, who knows how long it'll be until he realizes he's got 2 more seasons after this one to mark the 4th decade in which he's played.

Tex to the Angels - Bottom line, not much to write here. Take one of the best players in baseball and add him to the best team in baseball and what's to discuss? The real losers here, the Braves who wasted their time getting him last year.

Nady/Marte - The part that makes this trade go almost no matter what happens is the fact that they grabbed these players for nothing. So far Nady has been ridiculously good batting .385 while belting 3 homers. Marte has been somewhat average, but whatever - Nady makes up for it. This trade is a win-win for the Bombers.

Pudge to NY - Any trade that makes Farnsworth go away is a winning situation for me. In his first few games in the Bronx, he has done a pretty good job including a homer in a big win against the Angels and catching Fatty McLoser (I mean Sidney Ponson) through a pretty darn good game. The only drawback is that Farnsworth is still hurting the Yankees by allowing a comeback win against the Rays.

All right, thats enough premature thoughts on trades. We'll see how they turn out at the end of the year.

IMHO - 8.2.08

Let's see what's going on in the baseball world today -

So it turns out Manny may have wanted to stay in Boston. Apparently Scott Boras told Red Sox officials that Manny would try real hard if they dropped his option for next year - can't say I am not suprised. I wouldn't be suprised either if Manny's behavior issues were all a part of some devious Boras plan to get the Sox to drop him, and let him sign a new big-money contract somewhere else. Boras was not his agent when he signed with the Sox, this is Scott's chance to make a few more bucks. Although I am sure he is all set with the money he stole from the Dodgers when they took Andruw Jones.

By the way, here is a nice picture of Andruw and Manny together. I think Manny is telling Andruw, "Don't worry, it's ok that you have underproduced and have been a let-down, once they promise you the money, it doesn't matter! Manny was totally clutch last night, grounding in to a double play with no out in the bottom of the ninth, and down by one run... Maybe he would have beat it out if he had a little more practice running hard to first base in Boston. I still think the Dodgers got a good deal...

Did you see the Rays/Tigers game last night? Scott Kazmir struggled, although he only gave up two runs. Whether or not he can go deeper into games will be a factor down the stretch - the bullpen picked him up last night, but it doesn't always work that way. Trust me, I know, I am a Mets fan. Evan Longoria should be the Rookie of the Year, and if the Rays win the division, he should be considered for MVP.

It is very exciting to be a Rays fan these days... I used to live in South Florida and went to Marlins games - absolutely pathetic. I remember going in 1998, when they were playing the Cardinals, with Mark McGwire. I also went that year during the week Mike Piazza was a Marlin - the park was mostly empty. That's hard to believe. I still go down there every so often to see them play, and it is sad. It's overpriced, quiet, and boring. I went to see the Rays last night, and the crowd is excited, the tickets were cheap ($12), parking is free if you have four people in your car, and it was dollar hot dog night. I like the dome - it is always nice and cool - I kind of hope they don't get a new stadium, I like this one!

Speaking of the Mets. Please move Aaron Heilman to the rotation or move him out. I think he has good stuff, he just isn't consistent in high-pressure situations. I know the Mets think his place is in the bullpen, but as a Mets fan, I cringe when he starts to warm up. He has value as a starter. Other teams have wanted him as a starter in the past - why not the Mets? How about this - send Pedro to the pen, he can't pitch deep into games anymore anyway. I'd like to see them keep Heilman around and try him out as a starter. He's much better than Victor Zambrano, and the Yankees are giving him a chance.

Good for the Twins for dumping Livan Hernandez and bringing up Liriano. They are have a good shot to win the Central, and perhaps their best pitcher is in AAA... What took them so long? Besides, I have been holding Liriano on my fantasy team, hoping this would happen.

Adam Dunn's nickname is the "Big Donkey." Interesting...

Barry Bonds is now like that kid at school that no one would pick for their kick-ball team.

Mark McGwire please come back.

My dad wants me to remind everyone that Pete Rose should be in the Hall of Fame, and in baseball, and not sitting in a Las Vegas hotel signing baseballs for suckers that pay $100 for another man's signature. I agree, I'll sign your baseball for $5.

When I was 11, Mike Piazza gave me his autograph for free (but my brother stole it, and then I think my mom threw it away... by accident of course. But if I had just cleaned my room like she told me too, she wouldn't have had to clean it for me.).

How about some Kansas City Royals news?

That's all.

American League Predictions by Jack

Since we've already got the NL picks up, I figured I'd toss in my picks for the AL.....here we go:

AL East - Tampa Bay Rays

As a Yankees fan, it more than a little bit kills me to say anyone but them will win the division, but it's time for me to accept the reality and hope for the wild card. With the great, young pitching rotation the Rays have put together combined with their great defense (seriously, does Aki ever not turn a double play), I think it will be hard for anyone to knock the rays out of first place. The only fall back will be that they seem to have trouble winning away from the Trop. Even if they don't take the division, at least they're a lock to set their franchise record for wins in a season. Their biggest problem along the way will be the Red Sox. With their run differential being more than double that of the Rays (+89 to +40) they could pose a pretty big problem. Either way, it's great to finally have more people cheering for the Rays at the Trop when the Sox come to town.

AL Central - Detroit Tigers

I'm going with a pretty big long shot here, but I think the Tigers will start producing like they should have been all season. Besides, I just picked up Pudge Rodriguez on my fantasy team, so I'm expecting him to hit another 50 or 60 home runs this year.

AL West - Los Angeles Angels

Really, no surprise here. Despite having who I consider to be the most overrated closer in the game (I'll be posting about that later), the Angels have the best record in the majors and are a virtual lock to make the playoffs (barring a downfall like the 2007 Mets.) With the addition of Mark Teixeira to their already solid lineup, they should do fairly well in October.

Wild Card - New York Yankees

While we can almost all agree that the wild card will come from the AL East, it's pretty tough to pick which teams will be around after September. Realistically, the Sox will be taking either the division or the wild card with the Rays picking up the other spot, but I can't bring myself to say this will be the first season since the Pre-Torre era that the playoffs will start without the Yankee pinstripes. With the impending returns of Phil Hughes and, dare I say it, perhaps Carl Pavano, the Yankees should have some late season pitching help right when they need it - for crying out loud, how long can we put up with Sidney Ponson? Also, the addition of Xavier Nady to help take the place Matsui and Posada should give them a pretty solid nudge in the right direction.

AL Champs - Los Angeles Angels
we can all still hope for the Rays or Yankees though

Also, just a quick word on the NL Central. Is there any way the Cubbies won't win it? I'm going to lean on the acquisition of Rich Harden and their major league best run differential of +118 (compared to Milwaukee's +22) to say that they not only take the division but also fair very well in the playoffs.

Just my thoughts - send me yours in the comments.....