The other half of the rumor was that they would trade Willis to the Mets, who share a division with the Fish. I think he was refuting both parts of the rumor.

I don’t think that would count as trading within the division.

Are we awaiting the triumphant return of THE Kyle Farnsworth?! I would have mixed feelings on him, as I’m still blinded by his great half a year with the Tigers.

MLBtraderumors.com also speculates on its own of guys from the Jays and Yankees the teams could’ve been scouting: “Possible Yankees being watched: Scott Proctor, Kyle Farnsworth, Bobby Abreu, Melky Cabrera, Luis Vizcaino. Vizcaino and Cabrera played in the game, though they are the least likely of the group to be dealt.

Possible Blue Jays being watched: Scott Downs, Matt Stairs, Troy Glaus. Stairs is probably the Jay most likely to be traded; he’s hitting a strong .282/.348/.544 in 206 ABs. He’s known for his ability to hit righthanders well.”

I’m not sure about Willis making an awesome closer. This year, he’s striking out about 2% (K/Total Batters Faced) more then Todd Jones and only getting about 6% more ground balls (which becomes a substantial amount only because I’m comparing a starter to a closer, for just the sake of discussing the idea). All in all, I think Dontrelle Willis is the most overrated “great” pitcher that the media/people revere for whatever reason. Probably because he’s very energetic and charismatic — which comes across well in a television driven sports era.

And Buck O’Neil not being in the Hall of Fame, to me, is the biggest blemish on Bud Selig’s record right now. There is no reason he shouldn’t be in there. He wasn’t voted in and then they asked him to speak on the people from the Negro Leagues that were voted in to the HOF last year and he graciously accepted and delivered a wonderful speech. I think it’s the worst omission of a player from the Hall of Fame in baseball today, ahead of Pete Rose. Way ahead.

To Joe Posnansky’s Book: Very Good, I bought it months ago at amazon. Great read

Buck O’Neil is mentioned at the Blog: It’s a shame, that he wasn’t inducted last year at Black History Month as 16 (17) Negro Leaguers where inducted without Buck and Minnie Minoso. At this time Buck O’Neill was still alive. Soon after he passed away

And Posnanski is the best sportswriter in America. If I was in Detroit, I’d definitely pick up the book and talk some baseball with him. The blog billfer linked to is fantastic.

I think you can count that as just that — rumor — in fact, Jayson Stark was probably just “spicing up” up the rumor page with random ideas today (slow day at the office??)… Florida has said they won’t trade within the division, and the Tigers don’t need help with their starting rotation. Unless, of course, he’s implying the Tigs would convert Willis to relief?

In any case, I agree with your assessment.

Um, count me out of that race, please. Especially at the thought of paying Florida’s price (which in a terrible pitching market this year, would be very steep) for a guy who in the 2nd half of the season his ERA is a half run higher, and his strike outs drop DRAMATICALLY (402 K, 175 BB in the 1st half, 293 K, 137 BB in the 2nd half) from his first half numbers.