Dontrelle demoted… win - win
The Tigers probably wanted to do this a long time ago, but they needed a complete melt-down to pull it off successfully. This afternoon they optioned Dontrelle Willis to Lakeland; Donetrelle agreed (or declined his right of refusal). This is a win for both sides.
For Detroit:
- They have a chance at winning every fifth start, which couldn’t happen with Willis on the mound
- They won’t kill their bullpen arms, especially with the fragile Fernando Rodney and Joel Zumaya returning soon
- They won’t piss off their fan base — who would pay to see Willis pitch right now?
- They won’t piss off the team. Nothing says “we don’t care about winning” by trying to hide a player who everyone knows can’t play. If the return of Zumaya can help ’spark’ a team, having Dontrelle sit near them can’t be good. In a league full of superstitious players.. Dontrelle is not a guy to have around
Why its good for Dontrelle:
- He’s out of the spotlight. He’s had issues over the last year or two; now he can get them worked out on his own time. He’ll be rich either way.
- Detroit has $29million reasons to help him out and support him. No other team would care. They would sign him, give him a chance, and spit him out when it didn’t work. Detroit has world class facilities in Lakeland, and every reason to let him work there every day for the next three years.
Its sad, but it had to happen. If Dontrelle was the only problem with Detroit this year, we’d be in good shape. Now we just have to tackle the other roster issues (zoom in on Gary Sheffield…)