CHICAGO - (KRT) - For the second time in three years, Dontrelle Willis, the Cub who got away, is setting an early tone for a dangerous Florida Marlins team.

 

Willis' back-to-back shutouts of Washington and Philadelphia helped Florida's starting pitchers enter the weekend as the talk of the major leagues. He has yielded only eight hits in 18 innings, looking a lot more like the guy who was a 2003 All-Star than the one who went 10-11 last year.

 

Phillies third baseman David Bell said he has never seen Willis with better control than Wednesday night. He threw 21 first-pitch strikes, struck out seven and walked one. His curveball was sharp, his sinker solid and his fastball peaked at 93 m.p.h. in the ninth inning.

 

As was the case two years ago, when Florida took off under manager Jack McKeon to win the World Series, the Marlins' young starting pitchers appear to be pushing each other. A.J. Burnett and Josh Beckett also have had complete games, and Florida went into the weekend with a 1.42 earned-run average from its starters.

 

"You see Josh and A.J. and Al (Leiter) throwing with a lot of confidence, and you feed off of that," said Willis, the 23-year-old left-hander who went from the Cubs to Florida in a 2002 trade for Antonio Alfonseca and Matt Clement.

 

Not since the 1992 Boston Red Sox has a team had four complete games in the first nine games of the season.

 

"Some teams have the whole year go by without getting four complete games," said new first baseman Carlos Delgado, who spent 2004 with a Toronto team that had only six complete games.

 

With Beckett and Burnett healthy and Leiter lending experience, the Marlins have a rotation capable of ending Atlanta's 13-year division run.

 

"They're dominating," catcher Paul Lo Duca said. "These guys can be the best in baseball, and they're proving it right now. If we can score runs, we'll win a lot of ballgames."

 

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews...ts/11412322.htm

To many feel good threads...

 

...getting weird feelings.....

He started out red hott last year too, pitching wise as well as batting wise and he ended up mediocre. Lets just keep watching and hope for the best

Willis has been awesome so far. He looks like a guy determined to repeat his 2003 performance. It'll be exciting to watch. :thumbup

I love that D-Train is doing well...if only I could remember to put him in my fantasy lineup. If it wasn't for the Sox great start this year I'd be out on a ledge somewhere after inadvertently leaving him on the bench for BOTH of his complete games. You'd think I would've learned after the first time.

I love that D-Train is doing well...if only I could remember to put him in my fantasy lineup. If it wasn't for the Sox great start this year I'd be out on a ledge somewhere after inadvertently leaving him on the bench for BOTH of his complete games. You'd think I would've learned after the first time.

745120[/snapback]

:lol

 

I made that same mistake with Pat Burrel.