For all the potential frustration from fans about a quiet offseason, the Blue Jays’ braintrust has had some small victories recently when it comes to building the bullpen. Getting J.P. Howell and Joe Smith added some much needed depth to the relief core, supplementing 2016 holdovers Roberto Osuna, Jason Grilli, and Joe Biagini. The Blue Jays bullpen […]
Tag: Brett Cecil
Southern Comfort: Assessing the Blue Jays at American Thanksgiving
The Blue Jays are often bought and sold as “Canada’s Team.” That’s completely acceptable; their run of success has given them inroads to capturing the hearts and minds of a whole new generation of baseball fans across the country. Even on the rare occasion that a Blue Jays game gets picked up for an American […]
On Brett Cecil, Ignorance, and the Illusion of Happiness
There is a famous French novel from the revolutionary period written by Claire de Duras titled Ourika. It deals with, among many other themes, the question of whether ignorance truly is bliss. Ourika is a black woman who was brought to France at the age of two from Senegal where she was orphaned and destined to become […]
Brett Cecil is Enjoying Playing Meaningful September Baseball
TORONTO – It took 22 seasons for the Blue Jays to make the playoffs after winning it all in 1993. For every player that played in the interim, meaningful baseball in September was merely a myth. For a fan base, that’s an eternity. For players, that’s the length of a career, and then some. None […]
Should the Blue Jays Bring Back Brett Cecil?
Much has been written about the Blue Jays’ impending offseason and the fate of the team’s big name free agents: Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion. Among the team’s second tier free agents, consensus appears to have Michael Saunders and R.A. Dickey likely departing alongside the aforementioned sluggers. One forgotten free agent to be is Brett […]
Why Brett Cecil is Not Getting Good Results
Brett Cecil has been with the Blue Jays organization since he was drafted in the supplemental 1st round in 2007. After struggling to stick as a starter, Cecil has carved out a nice career as a high-leverage, power reliever. However, he’s still had his share of bumps along his road to stardom. Perhaps the past two […]
Recap: Blue Jays 2, Mariners 0; Happ Shuts Out Seattle For Six, Salvages Series Finale
The Blue Jays and Mariners had a pitcher’s duel early on in the game, with J.A. Happ and Wade Miley tossing up zeroes in the first few innings. The Jays broke through against Miley in the fourth inning and added another in the sixth on the way to a 2-0 victory. Though the Jays have […]
The Blue Jays “Stuff” Report – Volume 3
The Blue Jays Stuff Report will be appearing in this space every two weeks. The metric was created by Dr. Mike Sonne, who has a PhD in biomechanics from McMaster University. For his work on pitcher fatigue, injury, and other baseball related research, please visit his website over at www.mikesonne.ca. Every two weeks, we take an […]
Artificial Turf Wars Ep. 10: Jonah Keri and Wish Lists for Winning Streaks
Jonah Keri of Sports Illustrated, CBS, and Sportsnet stops by to talk about writing for a living, analytics on the Blue Jays broadcast, and fighting the steroid stigma. The boys also discuss booing Brett Cecil, the recent walkoff wins, Drew Storen’s resurgence, 8-man bullpens, and the brewing position battle between Ryan Goins and Darwin Barney. […]
What’s Wrong with Brett Cecil?
To put it nicely, Brett Cecil has had a rough start to 2016. Coming off of an absolutely dominant second half in 2015, Toronto Blue Jays’ fans were probably expecting something better from their elite left-handed reliever. Instead, he’s been downright pedestrian. Through the second half of 2015, Cecil’s OPS-against was .326. This season, Cecil’s OBP-against […]