July 28, 200521 yr MIAMI -- Don't expect the D-Train to go off course because he's had three straight rocky starts. Marlins lefty Dontrelle Willis may have seen his record fall to 13-6 and his ERA rise from 1.89 on July 3 to 3.23 now, but the 23-year-old is not dejected. Willis is eager to take the mound on Thursday against the Pirates in hopes of reversing one of the roughest stretches of his young Major League career. "I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid to fail," said Willis, who has given up 23 runs in his last three starts. "I'm not afraid to go back out there and do my job. I'm not worried. I'm going to go out there to the best of my ability, and when I get hot, I'm a streaky guy." Willis says physically he is fine, but his pitch location has been way off the mark. "Don't make any excuses for me, because I don't need them," the Alameda, Calif., native said. "It doesn't do me any good when I'm on the mound. You can say, 'He's playing bad.' When I'm playing good, say I'm playing good. "Some people have bad years, bad couple of years. I've had a bad three weeks. Not to say that it's OK to struggle. No one wants to struggle. But I'm not down on myself. I'll be worried when these 25 guys stop believing in me. That's when I'll be worried. I don't make any excuses for myself. I don't want anybody else to. I am a man, and I'll take my beatings just as I give them. That's just the way it is." For the Marlins to make a serious second-half playoff push, their top three starters have to step up. That puts a big burden on Willis, Josh Beckett and A.J. Burnett, the subject of trade talks. "The D-Train will get back on track," manager Jack McKeon said. "We need him. We need him, A.J. and Beckett to pick up the slack." A standup team player, Willis says that because he hasn't logged his share of innings as a starter of late, that between starts he was willing to offer relief help. Willis told McKeon and pitching coach Mark Wiley that he was willing to toss a few innings out of the 'pen. But the team has no plans on using Willis in relief. "It's one of those things if I don't throw enough innings, and I put it on the bullpen, then I want to go out there the next day and take it off their shoulders," Willis said. "If I have to go into the bullpen and throw a few innings, I'll do it. That's no problem for me at all. "I'm just going to keep my head up and keep heading out there, taking the ball with the same way until things changes. It has to stop somewhere. I'm just going to go out there and leave it on the field. If I continue to struggle and I'm hurting this team, if I have to go into the bullpen, that's just something that happens. I'm not going to keep hurting this team. If that happens, hey, I'm a man, I'll go into the bullpen."
July 28, 200521 yr 7 innings 2 BB 7 Ks and 2 runs (1ER) That is my prediction. Willis will be back. Home here will help
July 28, 200521 yr 7 innings 2 BB 7 Ks and 2 runs (1ER) That is my prediction. Willis will be back. Home here will help 877829[/snapback] 9 innings 0 BB 27 K's 0 Runs 0 hits 0 errors by defense :o
July 28, 200521 yr 7 innings 2 BB 7 Ks and 2 runs (1ER) That is my prediction. Willis will be back. Home here will help 877829[/snapback] 9 innings 0 BB 27 K's 0 Runs 0 hits 0 errors by defense :o 877842[/snapback] And he hits 4 Home Runs. :whistle
July 29, 200521 yr I think Willis gave his answer to the critics harping on the second half swoon idiocy.
July 29, 200521 yr To quote Mark Twain: "The rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated." 878379[/snapback] :thumbup
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