Brett Cecil blanks the Rangers in Texas
Posted by John Autin on July 25, 2011
Brett Cecil's shutout of Texas earned an 84 Game Score, Toronto's highest this year. He allowed 4 singles and 2 walks in his first-ever 9-inning effort. The Rangers didn't get a runner to 2nd base until the 8th inning, on a fly out.
- It was the first shutout loss at home for the Rangers this year, where they were averaging 6 runs per game. They've been shut out 4 times on the road, where they average just 4 R/G. Texas is 33-19 at home, 25-25 away.
- Cecil has put up 14 straight zeroes. In his last start, he allowed 5 runs in the first 2 innings, but went 5 scoreless from there, and the Jays eventually won it. He had an 18-inning scoreless streak in July 2009, spread over 3 games.
July 25th, 2011 at 1:35 am
Jo Jo Reyes gets DFA, and Cecil steps up with the rotation spot open.
Good on Brett.
July 25th, 2011 at 1:41 am
I don't much like the Rangers ballpark - always felt more like a football stadium to me - and I wish it got a bit more attention as the hitter's paradise it most certainly is. It's turned Josh Hamilton from good player to top-shelf MVP.
July 25th, 2011 at 3:21 am
Josh Hamilton has gotten into his brain (or whats left of it anyway) that he can not hit in the daytime because he has deep blue eyes. That isn't so much of a problem in Arlington, but it seems to mess with him on the road when day games are more frequent.
July 25th, 2011 at 3:45 am
Those day/night splits are mind-boggling. He was fine in 2009, but in 2010 he started struggling in day games, and in 2011 Texas would be far better off if he just sat out the day games.
July 25th, 2011 at 7:25 am
The Rangers' park is definitely one of the more hitter friendly parks in the majors; that said, good for Brett. I believe this makes his 30th quality start -- and at 24, he's quietly turning himself into Toronto's future ace.
July 25th, 2011 at 7:59 am
For Jays fans, it was good to see the velocity - he was throwing 92-93 in the ninth (adrenalin-aided, I'm sure) - after sitting under 90mph early in the year before he was demoted. Cecil doesn't currently have the control to be a "crafty" lefty, he needs the mph to help his offspeed stuff, and because he tends to live up in the zone more than a lot of pitchers. Hopefully he'll lock in a rotation spot in the next few months.
July 25th, 2011 at 8:58 am
Hey JA a little off subject, but I wanted to follow up on a comment you made about Jose Reyes on a previous thread. The comment you made was about Reye's mental mistakes and you gave as an example a Met's announcer saying he gave a soft target at second. I'm going to assume you watch way more Met's games than I do and are correct on Jose's mental lapses from time to time, but from what I've seen he plays a very good SS. I watch games on the computer now and get a chance to listen to all the teams announcers. I am neither a fan nor a hater of the Mets or Yankees, but I have to tell you listening to the broadcasts of the 2 NY teams is way different than any other broadcast. The announcers are super picky and petty, and they seem to be in such a huge competition with each other to catch a player making a small mistake or not use basic fundamentals as they were taught. Some of the crews on the NY teams seem like they are auditioning for something else why they're calling the game, or are insecure that the guy next to them will say something funny before they do. It can be uncomfortable to watch.
July 25th, 2011 at 11:54 am
JA, thanks for the Blue Jays' post.
Cecil's performance was against a very good offensive team, as you pointed out. I hadn't noticed his 14-inning consecutive scoreless innings streak because it didn't involve a CG previously.
If Kyle Drabek can get his head together, the young pitching trifecta of Morrow, Cecil and Drabek could make Toronto a contender into the future.
July 25th, 2011 at 12:10 pm
@2, Zachary: "I wish [Rangers Ballpark] got a bit more attention as the hitter's paradise it most certainly is."
I'm doing my bit, Zachary! 🙂 I rarely miss an opportunity to point out a Ranger's exaggerated home/road splits.
July 25th, 2011 at 12:15 pm
@7, Hi, Timmy. I don't really hear any local broadcasts from outside NYC, but I'm not surprised that there's a noticeable difference in the amount of criticism leveled at the home-town team. It's that way with a lot of things in the Big Apple; that's why Frank sang, "If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere...."
July 25th, 2011 at 2:57 pm
a guy like the White Sox announcer - screaming YES after a good play or cheering for long fly balls to be HRs wouldn't last in NY. Rizzuto was as big a homer as NY ever had, and he does not come close to that guy; MERCY!
July 25th, 2011 at 3:35 pm
@2 @5
Rangers Ballpark Batting Park Factor - 109, Fenway Park - 105, Coors' Field - 118, Yankee Stadium III - 108
I wonder if an extreme batting park effect like that affects the Rangers' chances of winning in post-season play? Batting PF this year is a whopping 119. Why the huge jump over the longer-term number?
July 25th, 2011 at 5:56 pm
Hotter weather? The team gets more homesick when traveling this year? Facing a preponderance of crappy rookies at home? Who knows. The most likely answer is "small sample size," but it's always possible there are some real factors at play.
July 25th, 2011 at 5:57 pm
the young pitching trifecta of Morrow, Cecil and Drabek could make Toronto a contender into the future.
Oh, Neil, when will you ever learn. Didn't Toronto's last couple pitching trifectas all get hurt? Why would you expect any different this time?
I really thought Dustin McGowan was going to be awesome....
July 25th, 2011 at 6:02 pm
Right after he gave up those 5 runs, Farrell had an animated chat with him on the bench. I wonder what he said.
July 25th, 2011 at 6:09 pm
@2 Josh Hamilton is the best hitter in baseball, and if he gets an advantage from hitting in Arlington, I doubt it's significant. He's done almost as well on the road this year. Josh is hitting .271 lifetime against lefties. Lance Berkman is .261 against lefties lifetime, and he of course is a switch hitter. Does Hamilton have a screw loose? Maybe, but let's hope he stays on the straight and narrow and lives to tell about it. As far as home park advantage, has anyone looked at Granderson's spray charts? I love the kid from Blue Island but he is going to town on the short porch.
July 25th, 2011 at 6:16 pm
Speaking of Berkman, as the Cardinals sit in a 3 way tie of first with Pujols having missed time and being slightly off this year, and Holliday being hurt a lot, and having an average staff, I would say Berkman is the NL MVP.
July 25th, 2011 at 6:26 pm
@11 That might be true about Ken "Hawk" Harrelson, and I'm sure it bothers the fans of the other team, but watching the Yankees or Mets broadcast is like watching a hostage video demanding ransom! It's so tense, and my god Keith Hernandez has the biggest ego in NY. Phil Rizzuto was a native NYer, the guys they have now are not from NY, the jocks anyway, and seem to be trying way too hard.
July 25th, 2011 at 6:31 pm
As far as home park advantage, has anyone looked at Granderson's spray charts? I love the kid from Blue Island but he is going to town on the short porch
How do you figure? He's hit more HR on the road in fewer games, and most of his Yankee Stadium HR would have been out in most parks.
July 25th, 2011 at 6:50 pm
@19 I'm looking at the spray charts for MLB.com and to looks like 10 of Granderson's HR at home just cleared the short porch.
July 25th, 2011 at 7:57 pm
Can you give me a link to that? I haven't seen MLB's charts before. I was looking at hittracker (plus my visual impression that he hasn't been loading up on cheapies). I'll come back to this later.....
July 25th, 2011 at 9:29 pm
OK, here's a silly frivolity I thought of when I saw Brett Cecil pitch for Toronto in one of those "home games" in Philadelphia last year. Take a name that has been the last name of multiple major league baseball players. Then find another major leaguer whose first name is the first name of one of the players with the selected last name and whose last name is the first name of one of the other players with the selected last name.
I had a trading card for a Milwaukee Braves pitcher named Cecil Butler when I was young. The name always stuck with me, even though he played few enough games to qualify for inclusion in the Rob Trucks book featuring guys who appeared in fewer than 50 big league innings. And then there was Brett Butler (who, like Robin Roberts, has been overshadowed in recent years by a female T.V. personality with the same name), who was a decent outfielder in the 1980s and 1990s.
So my personal nickname for Brett Cecil is "Double Butler".
July 25th, 2011 at 9:30 pm
OK. Show of hands, Who actually WATCHED this game? Here's something that might shock those who didn't, it was a night game. So I don't get where the sudden jump to the "Hamilton can't hit in day games" junk. Yes the splits have been enormous for him but that's nothing new and had nothing to do with this game. Yes Hamilton is a quirky player with an uncommon past. Here's another shocker, Arlington is a launching pad. It has been since they modified the architecture about the time A-Riod moved there. But those were pretty far from the reasons Cecil shut out TEX.
Her's a couple reasons:
Adrian Beltre is on the DL. For some reason Washington decided to put Mike Young at 3rd and DH Chris Davis; a player who everyone including his mother concedes is a AAA player.
TOR was running this crazy shift against all TEX power lefties where they put Bautista in short right and pretty much left the rest of the infield in position. This robbed a couple of Hamilton hits over the weekend. It didn't matter in any game except Sunday. Maybe Saturday if you want to split hairs.
And isn't being the ace of the Toronto staff like being the hottest chick in Nebraska? Who the hell cares?
July 25th, 2011 at 9:43 pm
I poked around the MLB site, which I'm not overly familiar with, and I'm not seeing the spray chart.
Here is his chart on hittracker: http://hittrackeronline.com/detail.php?id=2011_9&type=hitter
I think the site could be designed a lot better. Anyway, I'm not sure which "short porch" you are referring to. There is the 314 right down the line, and it's possible Granderson's gotten the advantage on a couple HRs which would have hooked foul in a 330 park. There's also the right-center area which is probably ~15' shorter than the old park, and which has scooped up a lot of HR over the past 3 seasons, but it doesn't look like Granderson has dropped more than 1 or 2 in there. Of his 13 home HR, 9 of them would have been out in more than half the parks. He's second in the AL in "no doubt" HR and only 4 of his 27 have been "just enough."
July 25th, 2011 at 10:29 pm
@14
Johnny T., hope springs eternal in baseball as in life! 🙂
July 25th, 2011 at 10:41 pm
@23
Frank, what is the burr in your saddle? I watched the game, between two major league baseball teams. And I care more than watching a Red Sox-Yankees or Phillies-Braves game.
If you discredit Cecil's performance and the Toronto defence for winning Sunday's night game, then was it Texas's skill that lucked out Saturday night's win?
Give credit where credit is due. A four-hitter against the Texas lineup, even without Beltran, is nothing to sneeze at.
July 25th, 2011 at 10:50 pm
@23, TLFK -- Gee, my memory's a little hazy, but it seems like the last ace of the Toronto staff was pretty hot stuff, even if he was from Denver, which is pretty close to Nebraska....
July 25th, 2011 at 10:54 pm
Go, Neil!
July 25th, 2011 at 10:57 pm
But you know, maybe TLFK has a point -- it's not like the Rangers are capable of scoring 20 runs in a home game or anything, what with Beltre being out.
July 25th, 2011 at 11:05 pm
Speaking of Texas's offense and Arlington being a launching pad ....... poor old Minnesota tonight.
Texas by three converted touchdowns tonight? If there is a nightly recap, 25 hits (and counting) has to break a few records.
July 25th, 2011 at 11:08 pm
@28
Ah, JA, don't egg me on. 🙂
I've determined to be nice to people always in BBRef, even though I thought #23 was rather an insulting post.
July 25th, 2011 at 11:10 pm
Neil, @8 you mentioned Toronto's "young pitching trio" of Morrow, Cecil and Drabek. Any reason you don't count Ricky Romero (age 26) as part of that future? -- or were you just talking about the guys who still have to prove themselves?
July 25th, 2011 at 11:28 pm
@32
No, Romero is maturing nicely, JA, into the closest thing to an ace Toronto has. Just don't let him take the mound against Boston.
But yes, the other three still are building their resumes. It is a little surprising at the poor quality of Blue Jays' pitching this year, particularly the walks, given that John Farrell is a former pitching coach.
Are the Cardinals really desparate enough to consider picking up Jo Jo Reyes?
July 26th, 2011 at 4:00 am
@ 29, and thereafter, A-HEM......
After the CLE-DET disaster, that was MN's golden chance, to make a race out of it this year........nothing to cure that, like an early afternoon Happy Hour break. The warm summer sun.....the sweet smell of the ocean.....ahhhhhh :). Saw that the CHI-DET game was on....oh, that's nice. DET is losing....well, ok, cool, whatever. Wonder what MN is doing?? Oh, cool, they are on the TV next to the CHI game.......uh.......OMFG.
Seriously. Not many folks there, that time of the day- but there were a couple girls, not 'the most attractive girl in Nebraska', but actually legit decently cute chicks, and they were, like, horrified......."Oh, god. How did that happen(direct quote)?"
I don't have TV here, and the last game that I walked in on, was when LA was winning, 15-0........it was only 14-1, this time, BUT IT WAS THE 4TH INNING.
At least Cuddyer pitched a scoreless 9th. He consistently hit the upper 80's!! (But the defense did their best to try and piss that away, as well.)
No more posts. I'm just bitter and rambling, lol......
July 26th, 2011 at 4:01 am
Neil, don't let 'em hate on you.........you rode the roller coaster down, now enjoy the ride back up 🙂
July 26th, 2011 at 9:52 am
@23 Hey I'm from Wahoo Nebraska, and I can tell you the women in Nebraska are beautiful! Even the ones that haven't reached market size yet.
July 26th, 2011 at 5:30 pm
@26
Neil,
I don't discredit Cecil for taking care of business, he did. And I do hold it against TEX that they only had him at 80 pitches through 6. When they face a pitcher that they think they are going to rake against the TEX lineup couldn't tell you when BP ended and the game started. They just hack away. I blame that on the loss of Hurdle to the Buc's. And I think it will be their downfall in October.
And the final inning on Saturday was played perfectly by TEX and horribly by TOR. The hit that won it should have been an out any day of the week. TOR had that game in hand all the way to the top of the 9th. The crazy shift worked and the pitching held TEX in check. Two bad plays at crunch time lost it for them.
And I stand by my point about being an ace from TOR. It doesn't matter how good you are until you make it out of there and into the states.
July 26th, 2011 at 7:29 pm
Yeah, Blue Jay pitchers get a big advantage from facing all those International League lineups.