The Cecil Question
Zaun said he saw Cecil's thumb on the ball in a way unlike he's ever seen any pitcher throw a pitch, indicating that this guy is trying absolutely anything to try to get something to work for him.
He looks uncomfortable on the mound, he looked down and answered questions tersely and said "Nothing. Absolutely nothing" when asked if there were any positives out of his performance.
John Farrell says that Cecil is getting out of his delivery when he is trying to hump up his velocity, meaning he is carrying the velocity question with him from Florida. The delivery issue means he loses command, leaves pitches up and doesn't throw strikes.
All of this points to the fact that Cecil doesn't have confidence in his stuff. Ideally, velocity shouldn't matter as much location, feel, movement. AJ Burnett has one of the biggest fastballs in the game, and Jose Bautista found it plenty tasty before he deposited it into the seats on Tuesday night.
“The game is not about how hard you throw,” Arencibia said. “Guys that throw hard get hit just as hard as anybody else. It’s all about location.”
From Cecil himself: “I don’t care about velocity,” he said. “I can pitch at this level with what I have. It’s a matter of getting the ball down.”
Liar. Cecil might be telling himself this, but his body language and his issues with his delivery indicate that the velocity bee is buzzing in his ear.
It's a chicken and egg situation. Is Cecil not confident because he is pitching like shit or is he pitching like shit because he isn't confident?
Brandy Halladay became my favourite all time WAG (sorry Posh) when I read the story of how she helped her man when he was down. Doc had been successful his entire playing career until he wasn't and he was complete lost and bereft at what he was supposed to do and if he wasn't a pitcher, what would he be? Brandy went to the bookstore and bought every single book on pitching she could find. She also got two journals for her man: one just for notes on pitching (what to who, when, results etc) and one just for how he felt. His anger, his disappointment and his frustration went into that book. One of the books became Halladay's guide : The Mental ABC's of Pitching. It's plainly written and talks about things like channeling aggressiveness into throwing strikes, to adjust, to focus and how to face adversity. I think this book should be absorbed by every struggling pitcher, including Cecil.
Now, I may sound mystical to some of you, but the truth of the matter is, while all of these dudes seem like decent sorts, I just want them to throw strikes. And I'll get behind anything that seems like it can help them do that.
Breaking News: Brett Cecil has been sent to AAA. Take the book.
He looks uncomfortable on the mound, he looked down and answered questions tersely and said "Nothing. Absolutely nothing" when asked if there were any positives out of his performance.
John Farrell says that Cecil is getting out of his delivery when he is trying to hump up his velocity, meaning he is carrying the velocity question with him from Florida. The delivery issue means he loses command, leaves pitches up and doesn't throw strikes.
All of this points to the fact that Cecil doesn't have confidence in his stuff. Ideally, velocity shouldn't matter as much location, feel, movement. AJ Burnett has one of the biggest fastballs in the game, and Jose Bautista found it plenty tasty before he deposited it into the seats on Tuesday night.
“The game is not about how hard you throw,” Arencibia said. “Guys that throw hard get hit just as hard as anybody else. It’s all about location.”
From Cecil himself: “I don’t care about velocity,” he said. “I can pitch at this level with what I have. It’s a matter of getting the ball down.”
Liar. Cecil might be telling himself this, but his body language and his issues with his delivery indicate that the velocity bee is buzzing in his ear.
It's a chicken and egg situation. Is Cecil not confident because he is pitching like shit or is he pitching like shit because he isn't confident?
Brandy Halladay became my favourite all time WAG (sorry Posh) when I read the story of how she helped her man when he was down. Doc had been successful his entire playing career until he wasn't and he was complete lost and bereft at what he was supposed to do and if he wasn't a pitcher, what would he be? Brandy went to the bookstore and bought every single book on pitching she could find. She also got two journals for her man: one just for notes on pitching (what to who, when, results etc) and one just for how he felt. His anger, his disappointment and his frustration went into that book. One of the books became Halladay's guide : The Mental ABC's of Pitching. It's plainly written and talks about things like channeling aggressiveness into throwing strikes, to adjust, to focus and how to face adversity. I think this book should be absorbed by every struggling pitcher, including Cecil.
Now, I may sound mystical to some of you, but the truth of the matter is, while all of these dudes seem like decent sorts, I just want them to throw strikes. And I'll get behind anything that seems like it can help them do that.
Breaking News: Brett Cecil has been sent to AAA. Take the book.