This paper is terrible about reporting on the Marlins (well the Florida Today sucks in general anyway). Here's the article link: http://www.floridatoday.com/!NEWSROOM/...storyA3556A.htm

 

Marlins' hurler grabs attention with solid start

 

By Glenn Miller

FLORIDA TODAY

 

 

 

MIAMI -- Dontrelle Willis isn't there yet. He's not quite a national sensation. David Letterman and Jay Leno haven't booked him. Yet. Sports Illustrated hasn't splashed the Florida Marlins' rookie pitcher on its cover.

 

Not yet. The magazine, however, sent a writer to Pro Player Stadium over the weekend to check out the 21-year-old rookie pitching against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Willis didn't disappoint.

 

He pitched five shutout innings Saturday in his ninth career start, allowed only two singles and struck out four in a game called after five because of rain.

 

Willis improved his record to 7-1 and lowered his ERA to 2.38.

 

In his past six starts, he's 6-0 and has allowed four earned runs in 42 2/3 innings. That's an 0.80 ERA. In his previous outing, Willis pitched a one-hitter against the Mets.

 

About 15 minutes before Willis took the mound against Tampa Bay, Bruce Springsteen's "Glory Days" was piped through the stadium. The song includes the line "He could throw that speedball by you."

 

Although there isn't a pitch called a "speedball," Willis has been throwing fastballs and curves past nearly every hitter he's faced. The Devil Rays managed two ground ball singles in the first inning. That was it.

 

But that wasn't it for Willis. It took an hour and 19 minutes to play five innings. After a rain delay of an hour and 52 minutes, the game was called and the new part of Willis' life took over. Nearly 20 reporters crowded around his locker peppering him with questions about the growing attention and media horde.

 

"It's a cause bigger than all the media," Willis said. "It's for the team."

 

The attention is growing while his ERA shrinks.

 

"Never let the attention get too overwhelming," Willis said. "Keep a level head."

 

The Mets, Devil Rays and other opponents have found his unorthodox delivery baffling and his pitches overwhelming.

 

Willis turns his back to the plate during his windup, glances up for a moment, kicks his right knee nearly to his chin, the size 13 shoe on his right knee nearly touching the sky and then unleashes the baseball.

 

His pitches whipsaw and scream to catcher Ivan Rodriguez in a twinkling, leaving hitters blinking and flailing.

 

He's part Luis Tiant, part Mark Fidrych, part Fernando Valenzuela and all Willis, an original.

 

Seven weeks to the day before facing the Devil Rays, Willis pitched his final minor-league game. His big-league debut was May 9.

 

That's when the world began finding out about Willis and his windup.

 

Does the windup bother hitters?

 

"You have to ask the hitters," Willis said.

 

The hitters answer by not hitting.

 

Now, he's being talked about as a candidate for the All-Star Game.

 

"Like I said before, take it one game at a time," Willis said.

 

So, becoming an all-star or National League Rookie of the Year doesn't merit serious thought with Willis.

 

"There's so much stuff that can happen," Willis said.

 

Right now, the stuff happening for Willis means good things for the Marlins.

 

"Every time he goes out it's a victory," Marlins first baseman Derek Lee said.

 

But a 7-1 record? An .875 winning percentage?

 

"I don't think you expect anyone to be 7-1," Lee said.

 

Everywhere he shows up these days, he's the talk of the ballpark.

 

"He's composed out there," said former major-league slugger Andre Dawson, a Marlins' senior assistant to the president. "Always asking. Trying to learn. There are a lot of kids in the game today who are really not quite ready or are not quite seasoned enough to be here. But the fact that he has the mentality of a five- or six-year veteran makes it that more enjoyable to sit down and talk to him and watch him go about what he does."

 

Marlins pitcher Mark Redman has a professional respect for Willis and how he's handled his first two months in the majors.

 

"Poise," he said. "To be able to have poise like that, to have the poise and confidence without being cocky. He's real confident."

 

And smart.

 

"He can throw anywhere from 89 (mph) to 97," Redman said. "He knows he can throw 97, but he doesn't try to throw 97 unless he has to."

 

Willis' next start may be Thursday in Shea Stadium. Willis has never been in New York City.

 

"I think all the hype will slow down," Marlins manager Jack McKeon said.

"He can throw anywhere from 89 (mph) to 97," Redman said. "He knows he can throw 97, but he doesn't try to throw 97 unless he has to."

97 MPH?

 

DAMN!

 

I wanna see him hit 97 just one time in a game, right after he throws a curve or change... See what the batter does...

I saw him get to 94...when I was at the A's game against Lilly.

I've seen him hit 95 on several occasions, but never higher...

isn't the Florida Today in Daytona? That ain't exactly Marlin territory. They are claimed by the Fish and D-Rays, but until recently had a Braves radio Network Affiliate there.

Florida Today is not Daytona. We are a county south of there...Brevard County. (Melbourne, Cocoa Beach, Rockledge, Titusville). We are Central Florida....but still in the state of Florida (FLORIDA Marlins).

 

But, Brevard County was for the longest time, home to the Marlins spring training site (at Space Coast Stadium in Viera) and the single A team Brevard County Manatees.

yes i know, but the area had stronger ties to the braves. i know you guys up there can't watch the fish on cbale because Time Warner/Bright House doesn't carry FSN. That sucks! You need a Dish in order to get them, while TBS is available to every household in the cable system.

So? I guess we have ties to the Cubs and Sox too. I guess almost everywhere in this country has strong ties to the Braves since TBS is everywhere.

 

And we do have a Marlins affiliate radio station (920 AM WMEL out of Melbourne....on turtlemound road). No Braves affiliate. No Devil Rays affiliate. You tell me where the affiliation is.

 

There is a connection between Brevard County and the Marlins. First of all, the Marlins arent just for South Florida. 2ndly, they played their spring games here for 9 years (Viera 8 years, Cocoa 1 year) before moving down to Jupiter. The Brevard County Manatees also play here, and were the Marlins affiliate for 9 years (Edgar Renteria, Josh Beckett, Luis Castillo, etc. all came through there).

 

I dont really know what you are trying to prove. Are you trying to discredit the article or paper? Everyone here knows the paper sucks, but it has a right to cover Marlins.

Daytona Cubs up I-95. Braves Spring Training in Orlando. I don't say you are not Marlins fans. I do not say your paper doesn't have the right to cover the Fish, i wish the oppisite. The media up in central Florida doesn't cover them enough.

 

Braves used to be on

FLORIDA

Market - Station - Frequency

Crestview - WAAZ-FM - 104.7

Crestview - WJSB - 850

Ormond Beach - WELE - 1380

Panama City - WLTG - 1430

 

I know Brevard is not big on the braves, but other areas of central florida are. By the way guys, spoke to someone at NBC6 and they say as news media covering with the Fish they will allow other NBC stations in Florida to pick up reports seen locally in Miami and Ft. Myers (WBBH) on the team. So expect more marlins coverage from WESH and WPTV.

So what exactly are you trying to say?

Central Florida's Media doesn't cover the Marlins as well as say the Braves or other non local teams. They use wire reports and box scores as Sports Reporting on the team. They need to get some sources that follow the team and put in depth articles.

 

By the way does WMEL air alot of Marlins games or not? Our Marlins affiliate WWCN airs only selected games and has no schedule. (Wake up WWCN, you're owned by WQAM stop airing the Yankees!)

By the way, the same article appeared in yesterday's Fort Myers News-Press, so it a wire story. I just checked the paper.

Sports Illustrated hasn't splashed the Florida Marlins' rookie pitcher on its cover.

 

Please God, no. Then a safe will fall on his head or he'll slip in the shower and break his arm or something.

Glenn Miller is a Fort Myers New-Press Columnist who covers the Marlins for the Newspaper. He has been with the paper since 1987.

 

The SI curse is real, don't give in D-Dub. Why would Leno and Letterman want to book him now? We've been to LA already, so he couldn't be on Leno till after the season. Maybe he could see Letterman in NYC, but I doubt it.

Here is the entire article from the original source along with his email so you can drop him a word.

 

Baseball world abuzz about Marlins rookie

 

21-year-old rookie 7-1 with 2.38 ERA

 

By GLENN MILLER, gmiller@news-press.com

 

 

MIAMI ? Dontrelle Willis isn?t there yet. He?s not quite a national sensation. David Letterman and Jay Leno haven?t booked him. Yet. Sports Illustrated hasn?t splashed the Florida Marlins? rookie pitcher on its cover.

Marlins starter Dontrelle Willis delivers a pitch against the Devil Rays during the fifth inning of Saturday night?s game at Pro Player Stadium. MARC BEAUDIN/news-press.com

 

Not yet. The magazine, however, sent a writer to Pro Player Stadium on Saturday to check out the 21-year-old rookie pitching against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Willis didn?t disappoint.

 

He pitched five shutout innings in his ninth career start, allowed only two singles and struck out four in a game called after five because of rain.

 

The Marlins beat Tampa Bay 2-0, Willis improved his record to 7-1 and lowered his ERA to 2.38.

 

In his last six starts he?s 6-0 and has allowed four earned runs in 42fl innings. That?s an 0.80 ERA. In his previous outing, Willis pitched a one-hitter against the New York Mets.

 

About 15 minutes before Willis took the mound against Tampa Bay, Bruce Springsteen?s ?Glory Days? was piped through the stadium. The song includes the line ?He could throw that speedball by you.?

 

Although there isn?t a pitch called a ?speedball,? Willis has been throwing fastballs and curves past nearly every hitter he?s faced. The Devil Rays managed two ground ball singles in the first inning. That was it.

 

But that wasn?t it for Willis. It took an hour and 19 minutes to play five innings. After a rain delay of an hour and 52 minutes, the game was called and the new part of Willis? life took over. Nearly 20 reporters crowded around his locker peppering him with questions about the growing attention and media horde.

 

?It?s a cause bigger than all the media,? Willis said. ?It?s for the team.?

 

The attention is growing while his ERA shrinks.

 

?Never let the attention get too overwhelming,? Willis said. ?Keep a level head.?

 

Like the Mets and other teams, the Devil Rays apparently found his unorthodox delivery baffling and his pitches overwhelming.

 

Willis turns his back to the plate during his windup, glances up for a moment, kicks his right knee nearly to his chin, the size 13 shoe on his right knee nearly touching the sky and then unleashes the baseball.

 

His pitches whipsaw and scream to catcher Ivan Rodriguez in a twinkling, leaving hitters blinking and flailing.

 

He?s part Luis Tiant, part Mark Fidrych, part Fernando Valenzuela and all Willis, an original. Seven weeks to the day before facing the Devil Rays, Willis pitched his final minor-league game. His big-league debut was May 9.

 

That?s when the world began finding out about Willis and his windup.

 

Does the windup bother hitters?

 

?You have to ask the hitters,? Willis said.

 

The hitters answer by not hitting.

 

Now, he?s being talked about as a candidate for the All-Star Game.

 

?Like I said before, take it one game at a time,? Willis said.

 

So, becoming an all-star or National League Rookie of the Year don?t merit serious thought with Willis.

 

?There?s so much stuff that can happen,? Willis said. Right now, the stuff happening for Willis means good things for the Marlins.

 

?Every time he goes out it?s a victory,? Marlins first baseman Derek Lee said.

 

But a 7-1 record? An .875 winning percentage?

 

?I don?t think you expect anyone to be 7-1,? Lee said.

 

Hours before Willis took the mound Saturday, he was the talk of the ballpark.

 

?He?s composed out there,? said former major-league slugger Andre Dawson, a Marlins? senior assistant to the president. ?Always asking. Trying to learn. There are a lot of kids in the game today who are really not quite ready or are not quite seasoned enough to be here. But the fact that he has the mentality of a five- or six-year veteran makes it that more enjoyable to sit down and talk to him and watch him go about what he does.?

 

Marlins pitcher Mark Redman has a professional respect for Willis and how he?s handled his first two months in the majors.

 

?Poise,? said the 29-year-old Redman, who at 21 was pitching for the Fort Myers Miracle in the Class A Florida State League. ?To be able to have poise like that, to have the poise and confidence without being cocky. He?s real confident.?

 

And smart.

 

?He can throw anywhere from 89 (mph) to 97,? Redman said. ?He knows he can throw 97, but he doesn?t try to throw 97 unless he has to.?

 

Willis? next start may be Thursday in Yankee Stadium. Willis has never been in New York City.

 

?I think all the hype will slow down,? Marlins manager Jack McKeon said.

 

That depends on how Willis does against the New York Yankees on baseball?s biggest stage.

 

If he does well there, the hype will shift into overdrive.

The Florida Today doesnt cover the Braves any better

They use wire stories and box scores right? I know, it's the same in many places. I think that is what needs to change. The newspapers have to provide better coverage of the local teams. The Orlando Sentinel is owned by Tribune, parent of the Sun-Sentinel and they don't publish every marlins story they could. Central Florida is fish and d-ray territory, treat the people there like fish fans and d-ray fans. Not like people who have no local team and rely on distant wire stories of national teams.

they do now. There was a time (ahem 97 and before), there was some sort of mention of the Marlins on the front page...even if it was a teaser to look inside to read the recap of the game. And there is more coverage on the Marlins than any other team in the paper. There are articles like this that are making the front page, along with articles (although sometimes negative) on the pitching staff, injuries, Pudge, etc.

 

Unfortunately, the paper blows. Bottom line: its a liberal Yankee pinko fishwrap of a paper.

 

Oh, and the high school sports coverage is a joke. Barbara Caywood's "Out on a Limb" column every week picking the high school games are hardly "out on a limb"...pick Palm Bay and Rockledge everytime, and when they play each other, she picks the wrong team. Never mention any of the smaller schools (2A does have good football ya know!). Hardly mention programs that are getting better and will be competing with Rockledge soon (Cocoa, who has the talent, and now the coach, bringing former Merritt Island High and New Smyrna High coach Gerald Odom--son is the defensive coordinator at Eastern Carolina now, and was the linebacker coach at Florida), etc. I hate the paper is the bottom line.

wow another fellow conservative in furmangator? :mischief2

The News-Press cover our local Minor League teams more than the major teams. They cover the Marlins, Devil rays, Dolphins, and Bucs well enough for being 100 miles+ from each team. They give an article every week or so that is in depth.

 

By the way does WMEL air all the games or a select few like our miserable WWCN?

sigh...WMEL is a joke. They dont play all their games. Sometimes I have to listen through the static 560 QAM. It satisfies the Marlins fix.

you couldnt tell I was conservative from my sig?

Sorry i don't read the signatures much. Gotta like yours though.

 

You can take a boy out of ole Dixie, but you can never take ole Dixie from a boy." That si very true LOL

Lynyrd Skynyrd...gotta love em! RIP Ronnie!

sigh...WMEL is a joke. They dont play all their games. Sometimes I have to listen through the static 560 QAM. It satisfies the Marlins fix.

At least you get WQAM. We can't because the signal doesn't make it here at night, so i have mlb gameday audio (i like it because it was $20, but i get every game frome very team in clear audio- no static).

 

What's so sad is that during Yankees Radio Network Station ID team they use the ID that says "this wwcn sportsradio 770 north fort myers florida. SW Florida's home to the Florida Marlins and Sunday Night Baseball" Then after the id you hear "Welcome back to the New York Yankees Radio Network..Matsui at bat...."

 

WWCN is owned by WQAm but has no loyalty to the Marlins or Panthers.

yah, at least we dont get Yankees on WMEL...we get local baseball games/football games/Brevard Blue Ducks games along with stupid talk shows mixed in with the occasional Marlin game.