Salvage Dontrelle Willis in a different light

[Kingdom]

It's certainly not a new approach but maybe because he can't find the plate ever anymore and that they always throw him on the D.L. for "anxiety", why not .....convert him to a hitter and find a place to stick him in the field? I don't think Willis could convert to a closer or reliable MR, doesn't seem to have that stuff anymore. But he used to be a pretty good hitter for a pitcher and seems athletic enough like Rick Ankiel to maybe he could be something salvageable. Although that's no guarantee he could make the switch, but there's a precedent set by past major league pitchers who just lost the ability to be a major league pitcher that were converted in the minors to be a hitter.

Before Willis went to the A.L. he had 8 career homeruns, 5 triples, 35 RBI, and 21 walks. So it's something that is plausible. The biggest hurdle for this is Detroit would have to swallow it's pride, openly admit that his contract was a mistake, and move on with a new venture. Perhaps that would be the most difficult thing to get around. They do keep chugging him out there, giving him another opportunity. He responds really well, 63 walks in 57 innings in two years. That's impressive, even Oliver Perez smiled.

Could he do it? Is it time to just say **** it, let's get something out of Willis and he did like hitting when he was in the national league, so maybe there's something..

[nick]

he HAS no future. O_O

[catman]

I'm not really sure what to think of Willis. Several years ago, when he was a hot, young pitcher, I said that I did not like his mechanics. They were too hard on his body and did not lend themselves to being easy to replicate. Its really tough for a coach to spot flaws when little is consistant. He got by on uniqueness and by throwing the ball past people. The Marlins made a great trade when they moved him to the Tigers. Rick Knapp has worked with him quite a bit and will continue doing so. Perhaps they could put him on the 60 day DL and send him to their extended spring training complex just to work on his mechanics?
All of this said, I think he might be done as a pitcher. Not sure if he can stick as a hitter in the AL, either. Maybe make him into a corner outfielder?

[ljshorty89]

Trade him to the Mets. At this point, he could play 1B and bat cleanup for us.

.....of course, once coming to the Mets, he'd undoubtedly end up back on the DL.....

[Kingdom]

He could probably hit better than the cheap knock off Reyes they're using, o_O

[ljshorty89]

Zito, you could hit better than Our-HEINOUS(Argenis) Reyes.