LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) -Dontrelle Willis reported to spring training last season with high hopes. The Detroit Tigers were expecting even more.
A year later, he still hasn’t won a game for the Tigers. An injured knee slowed him and he wound up going 0-2 in seven games before rehabbing in the minors.
Willis isn’t even guaranteed a starter’s job this season, despite winning 22 games for Florida in 2005. He’s competing with Nate Robertson and Zach Miner for the final spot in a strong rotation that also features Jeremy Bonderman, Justin Verlander, Edwin Jackson and Armando Galarraga.
Willis pitched his first batting practice of the spring Saturday and turned a lot of heads, especially that of prospect Mike Hessman. Last spring, Hessman battered Willis in practice.
When Willis saw that he’d be pitching to Hessman, he knew there was a score to settle.
I won’t give you his name, but I had to get him.”
Willis threw mostly strikes from a revamped and shortened windup in 10 minutes on the mound. He has thrown in the past from a windup that had his elbows and knees flying in different directions like a man trying to dodge bees.
Detroit manager Jim Leyland said he wanted Willis to be more compact in his delivery and he showed it Saturday.
“Dontrelle looked really good,” Leyland said. “This is the best he’s been since he came here. He has that big strong arm and I don’t know if I have ever seen him pitch with this kind of velocity.”
Willis said he isn’t looking back to 2008.
“I am not even thinking about last year,” he said. “I made some adjustments and I will never be content. I get paid to throw strikes and that’s the plan for this year. If you dwell on the past you can’t improve your future.”
If Willis stays solid, he’ll give Leyland a real headache when it comes to picking a fifth starter. Leyland said he is bringing 12 pitchers north and at least eight of them are set. After the four starters already penciled in there are the three main candidates for the fifth spot, with minor league phenom Rick Porcello and long shot Ryan Perry also in the mix.
oel Zumaya appear to be locks along with Bobby Seay. Veterans Juan Rincon and Scott Williamson are also possibilities.
Willis said he isn’t thinking about anyone but himself as he preps for what could be a make-or-break season. “I am doing my own thing this year.”
Notes: As of Saturday morning there was still no word on whether P Justin Verlander or CF Curtis Granderson would play for the United States in the World Baseball Classic. … Perry pitched his first batting practice of the season but was shaky and had a hard time getting the ball over the plate. Leyland said he expects big things from Perry in the future, but it would be hard for him to crack the Tigers’ rotation this season. He was the team’s first pick in last year’s June draft. … The temperature at dawn was 36 degrees in Lakeland. Asked if he would change anything because of the unseasonably cold weather, Leyland said: “We have to play in Detroit this April, so we won’t do anything different. By the time we get to Detroit it will be snowing and we’ll be used to the cold weather.” … Leyland said that although Gerald Laird and Matt Treanor have the two catching spots locked up, there’s plenty of room for a third catcher if someone shines this spring. “We are only one foul tip away from needing someone and I like what we have behind the top two,” he said.
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