Willis shrugs off trade rumors

The Cy Young runner-up is more concerned about getting himself and his Marlins team back on track.

 

 

 

MIAMI -- A wide smile pops out among the handful of baseball players standing in the Florida Marlins dugout three hours before game time on a recent afternoon.

 

To the outside world, some might wonder why anyone playing for the Marlins has reason to smile. Especially when that smile belongs to the team's struggling star pitcher.

 

Dontrelle Willis captured the nation's attention as a charismatic 21-year-old rookie who pitched for the 2003 World Series champions. He progressed in 2005, finishing second in the National League Cy Young Award voting with a franchise-record 22 victories (and 10 losses) and a 2.63 ERA.

 

This season has been a different story. While his enthusiasm and work ethic remain intact, he admits his performance has been streaky. With the Marlins idle on Monday, Willis has a 3-6 record and a 4.39 ERA.

 

Speculation that the Marlins might trade Willis -- once the face of the franchise -- continues to permeate newspaper sports pages.

 

In one season, the Willis hype has become hope -- hope that he'll wear a Marlins uniform next year and take the franchise to another World Series before he becomes a free agent in 2009.

 

The chatter doesn't fluster Willis. It amuses him.

 

"This is the first time I've been at the top of the trade talk," said Willis, who is scheduled to pitch today against Baltimore. "Usually it's guys like the caliber of Barry Bonds. It's kind of funny to me. It doesn't bother me at all."

 

He has come to rely on his humor and charm in a trying season where the Marlins have a 29-37 record. Sunday's 4-1 victory against Toronto, however, continued a turnaround for the team.

 

The Marlins have won eight straight, two on the road against San Diego, six at Dolphin Stadium and Willis' complete-game June 7 marked his first back-to-back wins this season.

 

Willis isn't lacking confidence, but the Marlins eight-game surge can only help.

 

After Marlins' management held a fire sale of the team's top talent during the offseason, jettisoning almost everyone with a seven-figure salary, Willis, in his fourth season in the majors, was left carrying the weight of the team's future.

 

A.J. Burnett's trade to the Toronto Blue Jays made Willis the second-most tenured pitcher on the roster next to Brian Moehler, who has been in the majors since 1997. None of the Marlins' other active pitchers -- Ricky Nolasco, Scott Olsen, Josh Johnson -- has more than two years experience in the majors.

 

Willis doesn't say he's felt the pressure, but pitching coach Rick Kranitz has sensed it at times.

 

"I think sometimes he feels like he has to be more than himself," Kranitz said. "He's hard on himself. He's a perfectionist."

 

Kranitz said that seemed evident earlier this season when hitters tagged Willis for 22 runs during a three-game stretch, spiking his ERA to 6.22. But since May 11, he hasn't given up more than two runs in five starts. He gave up four earned runs June 14 in a no-decision start against the Atlanta Braves.

 

Kranitz said he's worked on cutting back his pitch count and maintaining the same release point, but said things are simply clicking more for Willis now.

 

"I think he's throwing OK. He's just had a couple of rough outings,"

 

Kranitz said. "[He doesn't get too down on himself] and guys feed off that. He's invaluable to the ball club and the pitching staff."

 

So valuable that Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria has grown tired of the Willis trade speculation.

 

Willis signed a one-year, $4.35 million contract in arbitration to make him the highest-paid player on the Marlins roster. Until he becomes a free agent in 2009, he's eligible to have his salary increased each year or be signed to a multiyear contract.

 

The Marlins typically don't sign players to multiyear deals, and this year is no different. No one on this year's roster, including the team's standout hitter, Miguel Cabrera has a multiyear contract.

 

The Marlins have the lowest payroll in Major League Baseball. Their philosophy of yearly contracts, poor attendance rates and history of dumping salaries -- they failed to hang onto their top stars after both of their World Series championships -- leads to speculation that the Marlins will trade Willis because they can't afford him.

 

"They are so unfounded as to be ridiculous," Loria said told the Miami Herald in April. "We are not shopping players. We're rebuilding a team here."

 

Willis and his agent, Matt Sosnick, insist that he plans on making Florida his home. Sosnick said Willis signed a contract with Lojo Sports, a marketing firm affiliated with the Marlins, on June 1 and recently purchased a home in Miami with his fiancee.

 

"He doesn't want to leave Florida," Sosnick said.

 

But no one, not even Willis, can guarantee what his future holds. Whatever it is, he'll probably be smiling.

A.J. Burnett's trade to the Toronto Blue Jays made Willis the second-most tenured pitcher on the roster next to Brian Moehler, who has been in the majors since 1997.

:blink:

 

Good article but bad information.

A.J. Burnett's trade to the Toronto Blue Jays made Willis the second-most tenured pitcher on the roster next to Brian Moehler, who has been in the majors since 1997.

:blink:

 

Good article but bad information.

 

 

It was written by Shannon Owens.....I shouldn't make a joke out of that by Holly could have written a better article.

A.J. Burnett's trade to the Toronto Blue Jays made Willis the second-most tenured pitcher on the roster next to Brian Moehler, who has been in the majors since 1997.

:blink:

 

Good article but bad information.

 

 

It was written by Shannon Owens.....I shouldn't make a joke out of that by Holly could have written a better article.

 

good catch was gonna post on that too heheh