I look forward to seeing Dontrelle Willis pitch in the World Baseball Classic. Do you think there is a good chance Willis will be the opening game starter for Team USA?

-- Linda D., Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

 

For himself and the Marlins, it would be great publicity to see the D-Train take the ball first for the United States in the WBC. Manager Buck Martinez has a difficult decision. Realistically, if everything was equal, the most deserving choice unquestionably would be Roger Clemens, arguably the greatest pitcher ever. For all the Rocket has done for the sport, he should have first choice.

 

That said, a strong argument could be made for Martinez to start Willis in the first game. Why? Forget for a minute the emotional issue of fans wanting their favorite players. Willis' production early in seasons shows that he would be an ideal candidate. Clemens was bothered by a hamstring problem late in the 2005 season, so you wonder if he is fully healthy.

 

Willis, on the other hand, just turned 24 and he's in the best shape of his life. He follows a rigorous workout program in the offseason, and he's throwing three bullpen sessions a week. Hitters typically lag behind pitchers early in Spring Training and the regular season.

 

The strongest argument to start Willis first is his career numbers. For his career, in the month of April, Willis is 5-0 in five starts with three complete games. If that's not impressive enough, toss in a 1.29 ERA in April (five earned runs in 35 innings) and a 25-6 strikeouts-to-walks ratio.

 

The big stage won't bother Willis, either. He's a two-time All-Star, pitched in the World Series and is a former NL Rookie of the Year. He's also pitched in international competition, going to Japan as part of the MLB squad after the 2004 season. The numbers suggest Martinez wouldn't go wrong handing the ball first to Willis.

 

http://florida.marlins.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/...t=.jsp&c_id=fla

Isn't the projected U.S. rotation very righty dominant meaning Willis is likely to be sandwiched between two right-handers?

 

Regardless, it's a tremendous honor and achievement that he's considered one of the three or four best American starting pitchers.

That would be awesome! See Dtrain get the opening nod!

I doubt that would happen, although I admit it would be exciting.

 

One could make pretty strong arguments that Clemens, Pettite and Halladay will get the 1st 3 starts.

 

Clemens, Pettite, Halladay, Willis, Hudson could be a very interesting rotation. R,L,R,L,R