Nick Cafardo had a couple of Tigers-related items in his Sunday Notes column for today's Boston Globe. First, some talk from a scout who's seen Dontrelle Willis's newly simplified delivery:
In the words of one scout, "No more herky-jerky, but hitters are getting good swings on his fastball. He's not very confident in it right now. He's throwing more breaking stuff and off-speed stuff. It's too early to write him off, but he'd have to show marked improvement for me to consider him a factor for the Tigers."
What the D-Train may have gained in control, however, he may have lost in deception. Opposing hitters will reveal the ultimate verdict on that.
The same scout also offered an opinion on Gary Sheffield, saying Sheff "got some good swings on the ball" and "looks really determined to have a great year."
Back in January, you might recall, Cafardo circled Sheffield as a player who could have a big comeback year.