Dontrelle back on mound

The good news for Dontrelle Willis was that he didn't walk anybody in his three innings of work for Class A Lakeland Thursday night. The real good news, in fact, was that he threw 26 of 32 pitches for strikes. The flip side is that he allowed a run on four hits.

The article on lakelandledger.com includes a quote from Flying Tigers pitching coach Joe Coleman that gives some insight on what they're trying to do with Dontrelle. From the story:

"Chuck Hernandez and I have been working with Dontrelle to get him to throw the ball to zones rather than trying to hit spots," Lakeland pitching coach Joe Coleman said, referring to his counterpart in Detroit.

"Tonight's outing was a very positive step toward Dontrelle's return to Detroit," said Coleman, who had more good things to say about Reinert.

If your next question is when will Dontrelle pitch again, I don't have an answer for you. The Tigers have been very secretive about Dontrelle's schedule and what they're doing with him, which is what makes Coleman's comments significant.