Dontrelle Willis

At this point last year, the Orioles were one of the league's biggest surprises and expected to be big-time buyers before the trade deadline. They held a dwindling lead over their big-spending and hard-charging brethren in the American League East, and with injuries mounting, reinforcements were clearly needed. However, after a long flirtation with the Florida Marlins about pitcher A.J. Burnett, the Orioles' big-time trade deadline addition was outfielder Eric Byrnes. The Orioles fell out of first place in late June and never got it back and several players cited the perceived front office inactivity as a key factor in the club's eventual collapse.

Dontrelle Willis (1-1, 3.99 ERA) appears to be all the way back for the Tigers. He froze Justin Morneau with a well-placed 94 mph fastball Tuesday, when he retired 12 straight Twins in one stretch. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire called Willis' stuff "good, really good." He faces the Yankees on Monday. … The Mariners' Ken Griffey isn't the only old hand whose popularity and production is an issue for an AL West front office. The A's are dealing with the same thing involving Eric Chavez, who is turning the designated hitter spot into a powerless wasteland.

PHILADELPHIA - Dontrelle Willis is having the time of his life, and who can blame him? Certainly not the defending World Series champion Florida Marlins, who have ridden his talented left arm - and surprising bat - into first place in the National League East. Certainly not their fans, who embraced him when he showed up at Pro Player Stadium last summer and played a major role in the team's amazing midseason turnaround. Everyone seems to agree that the animated 22-year-old left-hander has every right to flash that brilliant smile after getting off to another dynamic start in his second major league season.

DONTRELLE WILLIS, while no mall rat, does like to sample the shopping in South Florida. So Monday, a day after shutting out the Mets at Shea, he strolled through Aventura Mall. His experience was, to use Willis' word, "weird." Shoppers shouted at him. They wanted him to know he should start the All-Star Game on Tuesday in Detroit. "I say, `Thank you, man. I appreciate it,'" said Willis, somewhat embarrassed by the attention. They should keep shouting, though, loud enough for St. Louis and National League manager Tony La Russa to hear them.

MIAMI - Dontrelle Willis needed only one run of support last night. He did that all by himself. Willis had a two-run single in a six-run eighth inning to help the Florida Marlins stop the Washington Nationals' modest two-game winning streak with a 9-0 victory before a crowd of 19,327. Willis was nearly perfect on the mound, allowing just five singles and one walk in the complete game shutout. It was the third of his young career. No runner reached even second base against Willis until the ninth inning, when the Nationals put two runners on. That ended in one of the Marlins' four double plays on the night.

JUPITER, Fla. - Dontrelle Willis faced the following situation during Saturday's Grapefruit League finale against the Mets: Mike Cameron at the plate with a full count and a man on. Faced with a similar scenario against any number of equally adept hitters last season, Willis had one option. "I'm just throwing a fastball," he said. That was the rookie's solution to being behind in the count and reluctant to put another runner on with no outs. On the cusp of his second season, Willis would handle things differently.

WASHINGTON - He has always had one of baseball's smoothest, most efficient deliveries, and his arm, at times, might as well have been made out of rubber. And when Livan Hernandez stood on the mound, his right hand dangling by his hip, he looked every bit like an Old West gunslinger. But for whatever reason, greatness, at least the sustained variety, has eluded him during his career. At least until this season, anyway. Hernandez pitched 7 1/3 solid innings for the Nationals last night, giving up only two runs, helping his team defeat the Toronto Blue Jays, 5-2, in front of 39,881 at RFK Stadium.

New York -- Already forced to accept that they no longer were pennant contenders, the Orioles had to digest another nugget last night. They will end the season with a losing record. Again. Catcher Jorge Posada homered twice off Orioles left-hander Bruce Chen, including a three- run shot in the sixth inning, and the New York Yankees completed their four-game sweep with a 7-6 victory at Yankee Stadium. Gary Sheffield added a bases- empty homer off reliever Aaron Rakers in the seventh, as the Yankees won for the 10th time in 11 games.

Outfielder Jai Miller , who has been shelved for several days because of tendinitis in his right knee, may be able to play in Monday's night game against the Pirates. Miller, who is out of minor league options and is fighting for a bench spot, hasn't played since March 20. "It's something I've been dealing with, but it just got to the point where it got pretty bad and I needed some time off to let it heal," Miller said. "I'm pretty close to being in the lineup. " Miller said the tendinitis stems from an old basketball injury and occasionally flares up with continual stress on the leg. "I know how it goes.