NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: MARLINS v CUBS

October 10, 2003

Dontrelle Willis

DONTRELLE WILLIS: No, not at all. It's another game, and I'm just excited to face a good team. And hopefully we play well against them.

DONTRELLE WILLIS: He was just real proud of the way I've carried myself, and he was just congratulating me and what have you. It was one of those things where he was sad to see me go, but happy with the way I've progressed, so it was a pleasant conversation.

DONTRELLE WILLIS: Just a real competitive, good manager. He was in San Francisco, and I was a big fan of his. They loved him over there. I was happy with the way he conducted himself. And he's doing the same thing over in Chicago, so he's very successful. Interacting before I played ball, there wasn't much.

DONTRELLE WILLIS: Yeah, give or take. It was one of those things where baseball is a funny thing in that aspect. I think teams do a good job of making adjustments. And then I was able to make some and baseball is just a game of adjustments, and just going out there and trying to execute.

DONTRELLE WILLIS: I'm a team player, I've always been like that. And I only pitch once every 5th day. We're going on streaks of 7 games and what have you, and it's just a team. There's 25 guys going out there playing hard every day. Everyone took a part in us getting in the situation we're in now. So when people are saying that, it's semi-upsetting, because you've got 24 other guys over there playing just as hard, if not harder than I was. I just want to give credit and I always do give credit to my teammates, because they're part of my success.

DONTRELLE WILLIS: I just go out and pitch, whether it's 5,000 or 65,000. You have a job to do. And it's your job to get the Big League hitters out. It's fun to see people come out and support your team. But you always think that it's for us, it's not just for one guy, it's for the team.

They're coming here to see the Marlins, not the name on the bat.

DONTRELLE WILLIS: He would be important in anyone's lineup. He's one of the hardest working guys I've seen. Just in Spring Training alone, getting rides with him at 6, 7 in the morning, and we don't have stretch until 10. That says a lot about his character. He wants to win, and he never let's up on his work. He's kind of hard to keep up with, but he tends to make you elevate your game, so he's good to have.

DONTRELLE WILLIS: The trade, you know, was kind of weird how it happened, it was four days before Spring Training broke out. Everyone kind of got their teams together and knew where they were going as far as Minor Leagues. My first initial thought was just, why me? What did I do wrong? But that's just me being naive to the system. It's a business as well as it is a game. Unfortunately I had to part with the team I was drafted with. But it played out well. I'm happy to be a Marlin, and hopefully I'm a Marlin for a long time.

DONTRELLE WILLIS: I talk to them frequently, like twice a week. Great family. It was a great experience staying over there. They took care of me like I was their own. Kane County is a great place. They treated us like we were the Cubs. Hopefully I get to go back.

DONTRELLE WILLIS: He just lets us go out there and play, basically go out and work hard and prepare yourself every day, and just leave it out on the field. He's the guy that tells us try to get it done, if you don't, hats off to the opposing team, and that's it.