The Tigers removed Nate Robertson from their rotation on Friday, and the only surprising thing about it is that they waited this long to pull the trigger. Robertson has been nothing short of awful this year, posting a 6.09 ERA that includes a "perfect" 9.00 ERA in seven starts since the All-Star break.

Now that the Tigers have an opening, will they finally bring Dontrelle Willis back up from the minors? Fat chance. As Jim Leyland told the Detroit Free Press, "The answer, as we speak today, is 100% 'no.' "

Willis has posted a semi-respectable 4.28 ERA in five starts for Triple-A Toledo, but lurking under the surface is an unsightly 1.68 WHIP, thanks largely to his continued lack of control (he has 14 walks to go along with 20 strikeouts).

Will a trip to the bullpen for Robertson and more minor league starts for Willis really help these two lost pitchers re-discover their form? For Dave Dombrowski's sake, I hope it does.

Dombrowski gave Robertson and Willis each a three-year extensions this past winter (I'll admit it, I was actually in favor of Robertson's deal), a collective $50 million investment which has yet to pay any dividends. And because of those extensions, both Robertson and Willis are now completely untradeable, which should make things difficult if ownership demands the payroll be slashed this winter as speculated.