Willis wants Wiley Back

by craig on Oct 19, 2007 7:45 AM EDT in News and Rumors

Dontrelle voiced his preference as to who the next Marlins pitching coach should be.

The Marlins are expected to interview Wiley about their pitching coach vacancy after the World Series. Wiley, a Boca Raton resident, is a scout for Colorado.

Wiley was Florida's pitching coach in 2005 when Willis had his best season, winning 22 games and finishing second in the Cy Young Award voting.

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"He's a great coach, a great motivator and he's honest,'' Willis said Thursday during a conference call to publicize a charity event he is hosting this weekend.

"I've been very blessed to be around a lot of honest people because I like people to shoot from the hip. If I'm terrible, just tell me and we'll work from there. He's been the same (way). It's not a knock on Krannie. The Marlins decided to make a move. But Wiley is great.''

Willis said he hasn't heard any rumors since the season ended about whether the Marlins will trade him. He expects to return to the Marlins, but he could make at least $7 million in arbitration, money Florida might not want to spend.

While Dontrelle is being his usual diplomatic self with respect to Kranitz, I can think of several things to "knock" him on. But there is no reason to do so now, since he is gone. And if the Orioles want to rack up a ton of frequent flyer miles on trips between Baltimore and Birmingham, that's their business.

Should the club decide to bring Wiley back he would be a much needed breath of fresh air. And actually, he would probably be the best man for the job.

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Mandate

Craig wants Wiley.
I want Wiley.
And now Dontrelle wants Wiley.

What more do you need Larry?

by dan 2.0 on Oct 19, 2007 1:13 PM EDT reply actions

I want Wiley, too.

So it's official.

But let's not be so quick to pile on Kranitz. It seems Dontrelle's the only one who didn't prosper under his guidance. (Well, Olsen certainly took a step back, but then again, he's half out of his gourd.)