Dontrelle Willis: 'I lost confidence in myself'
by Kurt Mensching on Jan 24, 2010 6:22 PM EST
in Detroit Tigers News
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PrintTigers pitcher Dontrelle Willis says he lost confidence in himself. Not just lost confidence, but has a "serious lack of confidence," the Freep's Drew Sharp reported.
Willis has a solution for that, and it comes from an unlikely source.
"There was an old lady, a Yankees fan, in my neighborhood where I live," Willis recalled, "who told me that I needed to have fun playing again and I should -- how can I say this without my grandmother getting mad at me for swearing -- get my head out of my back pocket, if you will."
Well, it doesn't take a Yankees fan to tell Willis to get his head out of his ... back pocket.
But beyond that, what will Willis do to ensure 2010 is his first successful one in a Tigers uniform?
"I guess you can only beat yourself down so much. My mind-set was in the wrong place (last year). This is a backyard game. If you're not having fun, then what's the point? I think you're going to see a different person this year."
If only it were that easy.
The frustrating thing is that for one glorious game last season, Willis seemed to have a better player inside him somewhere. Against Texas last May, he gave up just one hit and two walks while pitching into the seventh inning. But maybe that was just the Rangers' batters doing him a favor. He followed that up with four walks and seven hits allowed to Colorado an appearance later, and it went downhill from there for the next month before he was once again shelved for the year.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
Fool me three times?
I want to root for Willis. He's an affable guy, a larger-than-life personality.
But at this point, dreams of Willis from his Marlins' peak are way too much to ask. With the Tigers' margin for error razor thin, I'm afraid giving him a chance to prove himself in the regular season could turn out just as poorly in 2010 as it did in 2009.
I suppose he'll get a chance to prove himself in spring training just as much as the next guy. But if -- somehow -- he were to crack the rotation and stumbles yet again, the Tigers' brass needs to pull its head out of its back pocket before it's too late.
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It's impossible not to like Dontrelle.
I’d love for him to do well…but I really don’t see it happening. But hey, we could really use a great surprise this season.
You gota root for this guy....
…..I hope he gets that 5th spot……Go Dontrelle.
by BennieBladesFan on Jan 24, 2010 6:55 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
It's a good thing Dontrelle has confidence himself
because I sure don’t have any confidence in him………
Not many of us do....
……but you gota love the guy……he loves the game and not many do more then he does.
by BennieBladesFan on Jan 24, 2010 7:05 PM EST up reply actions
i agree with you
he just isn’t the player we traded for. I don’t think he can regain that form, at least not while he’s in a tigers uniform.
I Like Pie
Yup....
……but that doesnt mean ya dont root for him does it?
by BennieBladesFan on Jan 24, 2010 7:36 PM EST up reply actions
Oh of course,
He’s a great guy, and he’s been nothing but humble and apologetic about all this. There’d be no happier Tiger fan than I if he puts together a solid season.
Stephen Tyler said it best
It’s the same old story, same old song and dance, my friend.
by Trysdor on Jan 24, 2010 7:33 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
Regardless of how likable he is, I've already written him off forever
… just like everyone else has. If he can somehow secure the #5 spot and give the team league averages back there, the Tigers will win the division. But I’m not holding my breath.
You heard it here first… on the 24th of January.
Ok....
……all im saying is go Dontrelle.
by BennieBladesFan on Jan 24, 2010 7:51 PM EST up reply actions
See
With Dontrelle, all the problems are mental and very few are physical (if any). So if he does come back… he won’t be a fifth starter.
President, Vice President and Secretary of the Casey Crosby Fanclub.
by David Tokarz on Jan 24, 2010 8:02 PM EST up reply actions
are you saying.....
…..that if hes over the mental part he stil wont be the 5th starter?…..Just trying to figure out your comment.
by BennieBladesFan on Jan 24, 2010 8:09 PM EST up reply actions
I think he means he'd be better
I could be wrong, but if that’s what he’s saying I pretty much agree. Physically, he should still be the same guy, just a little older.
I think you're right
But I’d prefer not to jinx anything.
President, Vice President and Secretary of the Casey Crosby Fanclub.
by David Tokarz on Jan 24, 2010 8:42 PM EST up reply actions
Yes
Nor do I want to jinx anything,b ut i think you hit the nail on the head. His problems don’t seem to be physical in nature, which makes it harder for me to believe that he just “lost it” physically. I think if he “comes back” (and by that, I mean can consistently fill a starter spot AT ALL), he won’t be worse than 3rd starter.
Sure...
… sign us up for the team where Dontelle Willis is able to replicate his 2005 Cy Young form. I just think there is a better chance of Armando Galarraga winning 15 games in 2010 (and I don’t mean in Toledo).
I feel bad for always forgetting about him
except when the subject of money comes up and then I hear myself groaning. because like everyone says, I feel for him, and he’s such a great guy. reading this makes me sad, I wish I had more confidence but we’ll see.
I hope against hope that he can put it back together.
He’s a great person and it’s so sad to see him not have confidence and not perform because of his mental issues … I guess we’ll see what happens.
"While there's life, there's hope." --Cicero
My love for Dontrelle is no secret.
I used to always trade for him in baseball video games because I loved watching him pitch. Dontrelle returning to useful form is a major long shot but I really hope he regains some of his form. If that long shot is even half-way successful, well, there’s a 4th starter.
Well im a huge fan....
….as well as many of you guys know….Im hoping as well…..just want to see him do well.
by BennieBladesFan on Jan 24, 2010 10:58 PM EST up reply actions
Agreed.
It says a lot about his personality and character that the Tigers are willing to give him another shot. I don’t think it’s all about the money at this poiint.
Baseball Geek
by StorminNormanCash on Jan 24, 2010 10:23 PM EST reply actions
I agree, but I'm not sure the organization does
It’s easy for me, as a fan, to write off Dontrelle as a lost cause (as much as I don’t want that to be the case). Eat the salary (no choice), but give yourself the best chance to win games, even if that means he doesn’t have a roster spot.
From the organization’s standpoint, though, (and I think it’s partially the same with Guillen) sometimes the need to see if something else is there overcomes statistics when dealing with multi-million dollar contracts.
After last year...
…we’ve proven that every game is too important to give a guy a few charity starts.
The world's greatest wiffle ball tournament! TheFatty.com
by rings on Jan 24, 2010 11:16 PM EST reply actions 3 recs
Well Of Course....
……If hes back he will start if hes not he wont….Pretty simple.
by BennieBladesFan on Jan 25, 2010 9:46 AM EST up reply actions
Have Fun?
If he wasn’t having fun out there, then he knows how we felt watching him. A lot of respect for the guy but throw YOUR pitches or go away, its that simple. And he wasn’t having fun? Every time I saw him he was smiling or doing something that resembled fun. Just pitch okay? You are overthinking it AGAIN! Don’t worry about your mindset. You will have fun if you pitch well. That should be your mindset. So pitch or go away and hope you don’t end up on top ten list of bad contracts or epic fails. After all, we know you are having fun with your money, we may just want to leave it at that.
by SOCAL TIGERS FAN on Jan 25, 2010 1:35 AM EST reply actions
ERA
If my ERA was around 7 I’d lost confidence too.
by Kman23 on Jan 25, 2010 5:57 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
It's a business. . . but
The Tigers Organization (as well as all the others) uses fan passion and emotion to help sell their product. I believe that if DD had been able to work a trade, any trade, even one where we paid half of his contract or more, he would have traded Dontrelle and most fans would have happily seen his problems off to some other organization. Truly, we’re stuck. Our only option was to release him. Since we had to pay him anyway, I agreed with keeping him around. Living in Florida, I saw quite a few Marlins games on TV his last year there. I thought then that the Marlins were overusing him. His pitching got worse and the fans, looking for a person to blame, got on him really hard. I could never understand why DD gave him that big contract. Now here we have another story about Dontrelle, designed to tug at our heartstrings. Well, I am not buying it. I say send him to Toledo for a while and see if he has really returned to the old 2003 form. Rick Ankiel re-made himself after several years but Dontrelle is not the athlete Rick Ankiel is, and Ankiel, while given a big signing bonus, was not given the kind of money Dontrelle was when we got him. Ankiel wanted to stay in baseball, realized his mental block wouldn’t let him pitch, and decided to start over. I don’t believe Dontrelle’s mental block is gone.
My hope
is that he magically becomes a semi-useful every 5th day starter for a couple of months and that we can trade him for something; anything.
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