By Lesley Van Arsdall

I met Dontrelle Willis during Spring Training.

He’s such a likable guy, has lots of charisma. Still, from the very start of spring training you could see he was in pain. The huge ice pack he wore daily like a uniform.

Today, the Phillies released Willis, the enigmatic left-hander who came in to camp attempting to revive his career as a reliever. However, he was plagued by ineffectiveness and arm soreness during the first four weeks of camp.

That, despite only three Grapefruit League appearances, was enough for the Phillies to pull the plug on the experiment.

Charlie Manuel says he liked him, but as he put it, “needed to show more.”

I have to say, he would have been fun to have in town and definitely good for a sound bite or two.

So it looks like D-train will not be making a stop in Philadelphia this season, just passing though.