Dontrelle Willis has pitched in 205 major league games, starting 202 of them. He was Rookie of the Year in 2003, going 14-6 in 27 starts as a Florida Marlin. Now the nine-year big-league pitcher is in San Francisco's minor league camp —and being given foul ball gathering duties.
But "D-Train" seemed to be having fun on the mound on Saturday, pitching a hitless inning in an intrasquad game. He forced three ground balls with his soft offerings — a combination of a sinker and a curveball — and showed some spark making a hustling play to first on a swinging bunt from Travious Relaford. The sinker was mid-80s while the curveball was right around 78. If Willis can keep the sinker down in the zone where it belongs, he could earn time in Fresno, either as a back-end starter or a long reliever.