Cecil concerns Jays
Left-handed reliever’s inconsistency a worry for team’s stretch drive
Legendary manager Sparky Anderson used to have a message enscribed on a wooden plaque attached to the wall behind his desk at old Tiger Stadium.
“Every day the earth rolls over on somebody who thought he was on top of it,” read the message.
In other words, never assume today’s success translates beyond today.
Now, there is little doubt that the world has rolled over on Brett Cecil this season. A year ago, he was as close to money as any major league reliever could be.
From June 21 to the end of the season, Cecil appeared in 37 games for the Blue Jays, pitched 31.2 innings, allowed 17 hits, four walks, struck out 44 hitters. In that span, he allowed two runs, neither of them earned. So his ERA over that span was 0.00.
There is an argument to be made that if he had not torn a calf muscle in the second playoff game against Texas in the ALDS, he would have been a major factor against a Kansas City Royals lineup heavy on lefthanded hitters.
As it was, the Jays took the Royals to six games in the ALCS. But Cecil’s status provides a legit case of “What if?”
The above-mentioned Sparky message assumes at least a certain level of arrogance and there is nothing to indicate that Cecil made any rash presumptions about this season, based on last season.
However, it’s hard to explain what has happened to him in 2016. His April was a disaster. In that opening month, he went 0-5 with three blown saves and a 5.79 ERA in 13 appearances. His status as a cornerstone of the Toronto bullpen was erased.
By mid-May, he was on the disabled list with a torn lat muscle.
When he returned on June 30, his next eight appearances showed little improvement. He gave up six more earned runs in 5.2 innings, numbers inflated by a three-run homer given up against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Since that game, Cecil had been in the process of repairing his reputation. In the next 12 games, he allowed just three hits and three walks over 9.2 innings, with 12 strikeouts.
And then, Sunday the world rolled over on him again when he surrendered a two-run home run to Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez that cost the Jays the lead, and eventually, the game.
Therein lies one of the critical problems the Jays face as they head into their final 38 games. They need Brett Cecil to be Brett Cecil.
Maybe this was just a blip but there is no arguing there have been way too many blips this year. This is the time of year when every situation gets magnified out of proportion and the big performers have to deliver in those electrified moments.
More to the point, it is going to become harder and harder for manager John Gibbons to walk to the mound, tapping his left arm in a tight situation, asking for Cecil to come in from the bullpen.
So, is there an alternative to Cecil?
There is still a chance to complete a waiver deal for a player who could be on a postseason roster as long as the deal occurs before Sept. 1. Problem is, no pitchers of quality are likely to be offered up and if they are, there is a likelihood that some other team will block the move by making a claim on the player.
There is one other way that the team could come up with a quality lefthanded bullpen arm.
Come September, with a full bench and enough days off to keep his starters fresh, there is potential for the Jays to move Francisco Liriano out of the rotation and into a key bullpen role if that’s where he’s needed.
Working with Russell Martin, Liriano seems to have overcome the command problems that plagued him in Pittsburgh and he has the kind of stuff that could make him —as one Blue Jay front office person called it — “a weapon.”
Still, the hope remains that “the weapon” will be Brett Cecil’s left arm, but right now there are no guarantees.