Why did Dontrelle Willis fall apart?

Czerka

Czerka

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yseJ said:
big+long contracts in general are a bad idea overwhelming majority of the time in baseball
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they are much worse for pitchers though. a hitter should still have a higher chance of performing at a worthy level for the first few years even if you have to overpay at the back end, which is expected. and its more predictable since pitchers dont follow the aging curve like hitters do. and for some teams big contracts dont matter as much anyways
 
Texas2step

Texas2step

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He never threw hard. I dont even think he was throwing in the 90's and if so then it was low 90's. I think he injured his shoulder and never was the same again
 
tru_m.a.c

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tru_m.a.c

tru_m.a.c

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But no one knew what it was. No one knew why the kid who high-kicked like Juan Marichal and won 22 games in 2005 suddenly couldn't find home plate even if Monk, the quirky TV detective, were standing alongside him on the mound. Willis was a phenom in the flesh -- going 68-54 in five seasons for the Florida Marlins before being traded to Detroit, whereupon he went 0-2 (9.38 ERA) and 1-4 (7.49) in 2008 and 2009.

Willis walked nine White Sox batters in his first two outings with the Tigers, then hyperextended his left knee, an injury that was partially blamed for his subsequent struggles.

When later appearances produced similarly numbing results, well, no one knew why. In March 2009, Willis was placed on the 15-day disabled list with an anxiety disorder. He was activated in May and made seven abysmal starts before returning to the DL, again with anxiety disorder, for the rest of the season.

Funny thing, though: Willis displayed none of the typical symptoms. Going to the mound didn't cause him to freak out. The thought of perhaps hitting a batter didn't paralyze him. The anxiety didn't prevent him from pitching. He just couldn't throw strikes to save his life. Instead, the Tigers said an abnormality was discovered in his blood that prompted the diagnosis. Willis told The Detroit News: It is "not something where I'm too amped up, I don't know where I'm at, and I'm running sprints up and down the parking lot."
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Detroit Tigers pitcher Dontrelle Willis deserved more help from baseball, Roy S. Johnson writes - ESPN
 
yseJ

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itsyoung!! said:
:wtf: he just had a game with 0 ER and 7k lights out..

He had an inning where he threw 3 pitches!
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lincecum wasnt lights out in that game and in general has been struggling last two years.

he was demoted to bullpen during playoffs...

dudes clearly on decline and hes done as a giant after this year.
 
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Like others have said he couldn't locate the strike zone anymoe. And when those hitter figured out that delivery of his it was a wrap.
 
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