DownSwinging.com

The Detroit Tigers have placed their struggling southpaw, Dontrelle Willis, on the 15-day DL with a supposed anxiety disorder. Willis, who is 1-4 with a 7.49 ERA on the year, has struggled since his arrival from Florida almost 18 months ago. He has had his peaks in his 6 year career, such as the 2003 NL Rookie of the Year award, and his 22 Wins in 2005. However, despite those successes, Willis has always seemed a bit fragile to me. No matter how well he has performed, I have always been waiting for a collapse. He has been paid like an ace, and for some of his career he has performed like an ace. However, I can’t help but acknowledge the fact that he does not have ace stuff. Dontrelle works almost solely on deception. His rocking body action before he, literally, jumps off of the mound, had been very confusing to major league hitters upon his arrival. The question that has now arisen, and which always arises in situations like these, is whether the problems are mental or mechanical. While I personally think that Dontrelle’s violent and unorthodox delivery is to blame, the Tigers feel otherwise. Or do they?

While Dontrelle has struggled significantly since joining the Tigers, he even spent time in class A ball last year to work on his mechanics, he still thinks that its a small problem that just needs some tinkering. This could just be ‘glass half full’ Dontrelle, but either way, there are more significant problems that need to be clarified. But the Tigers’ decision to put him on the DL in this fashion has made me wonder. They do not want to send him down to the minors, as they could risk losing him altogether, and they can’t have him on their 25-man roster, as he clearly is not in a position where he can perform. So they put him on the DL with “anxiety disorder that he’s had since spring training” according to Tigers Trainer Kevin Rand. Curious, I must say.. If Willis, has been experiencing this for so long, why didn’t you look into it sooner? Everyone knows that if a pitcher’s head isn’t right, there is a legitimate possibility of him getting shelled.

Willis also seemed rather perplexed at this announcement stating “I’ve talked to everybody and I don’t feel like I have any nervousness out there, I’ve got so many moving parts that if one’s out of whack from time to time it happens.” Again, this seems like a very optimistic pitcher, but, then again, you have to be optimistic when your career is on the line. Bottom line is that the Tigers want their potential number-two starter to figure things out, to improve their ballclub in the longterm, even if it means lying about his mental stability. The Tigers should have made sure they had the D-Train on board before making this public.