Willis searching for once-promising spark

NORFOLK

Dontrelle Willis walked out of the dugout at Harbor Park and all eyes were on him once again - just as they have been for most of his professional life.

But this was different. The fans weren't there to see him because he is a rising star, but because he is a fallen one - a supernova that once burned brightly but flamed out.

Willis is a member of the Toledo Mud Hens and likely will remain one for the foreseeable future. On Wednesday, in an 8-5 victory over Norfolk, he threw five innings and allowed five runs, three of them earned.

"There will be bumps in the road on his way back," said Toledo pitching coach A.J. Sager.

It's been a stunning turn of events for a pitcher once considered one of the game's best - who only three years ago won 22 games and finished as runner-up in the National League Cy Young Award voting.

Willis is 26, and soon after being traded from the Florida Marlins to Detroit in the offseason, he signed a three-year, $29 million contract. But many wonder if his best days are behind him, especially after he posted a 10.32 ERA in five games with the Tigers this season and was demoted.

"You're a human being having to deal with struggling," said Toledo manager Larry Parrish. "I don't care how much money you're getting paid. That's not easy. This game is built on egos and self-esteem."

With his career in a tailspin, Willis has been searching for answers. His body has changed over the years, and Parrish said the added weight has affected Willis' mechanics. He's 22-28 since 2005, and his performance has steadily declined. Earlier this year, his command disappeared and he "was all over the place," Parrish said. Since then, his kinetic windup - complete with legs and arms jerking wildly - has been modified.

Every movement is less exaggerated. His right knee, which he hyperextended earlier this year, no longer swings as high as it once did. His body does not twist around like a corkscrew.

It's all part of his new approach to pitching. Instead of distracting the batter with spasmodic movements, he seems to be trying to lull them to sleep with a deliberate delivery.

The panache is gone, and on Wednesday, so was Willis' enthusiasm.

His shoulders sagged and the spring in his step was absent in his fourth Triple-A start. He struggled at times, yielding three runs in the third inning when Oscar Salazar, Luis Terrero and Freddie Bynum each produced singles. And his confidence waned when his defense failed him. A pair of errors led to runs for the Tides in the first and fifth innings. By the time Willis departed, his pitching line featured more negative marks than positive ones: five walks, eight hits, four strikeouts, three earned runs and 98 pitches.

"To have to rebuild himself -that's got to be kind of hard on him," said Mud Hens reliever Clay Rapada. "I can't put myself in his shoes. None of us has won 22 games. But when we're all on this field, we're the same."

In reality, though, Willis' past has made him different from the average minor leaguer. He reached the top at a young age, and he's trying to reinvent himself. Dontrelle Willis 2.0 is in its test phase, and Wednesday's performance proved there are still some kinks to be fixed.

"If you're young, you still have time to make some changes and come back," Parrish said. "But it's a lot harder to teach an old dog new tricks."

Rainer Sabin, (757) 446-2367, rainer.sabin@pilotonline.com