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Interviews An Interview with Brett Cecil
Brett Cecil talked with Batters Box just over a week ago, the day before his second start.  Cecil has had two very good, albeit abbreviated, starts since then.  Cecil will build up his stamina over the next month and if things go well Cecil could be in AA in mid-season.  One of the interesting answers in this interview is that Cecil became a closer in college because he threw the hardest of the pitchers.  That's a simple way to pick your closer.

BB. First of all, How is your arm?

BC. I had a little problem during spring training and it set me back a little bit but I got a cortisone shot in the back of my shoulder and ever since then it has been feeling great.  They have me on a low pitch count, just to be safe, but I am looking forward to my start on Sunday.

BB. How many pitches were you limited to in your first start?

BC. 35 and I threw 33.  It will be 45 for my next start.

BB. At the start of this year, before the injury, did you have any specific goals for this year?

BC. Nothing specific, just stick to the mechanics.  They want me to speed up my wind-up motion which is understandable because it is kind of slow I guess.  I was a closer in college and when you are a closer you can be a little more deliberate in your delivery.  When you are starting you need to keep everyone in the game and get things moving and that's understandable so I am working on that.  I threw a bullpen yesterday and that went real well, I threw the last half of it from the wind-up, I sped everything up and was able to keep the ball down low.  That was made one of my goals recently to work on that and keep the ball low so I hope it goes well.

BB. Are you working on or adding any pitches this year?

BC. I was talking with BJ Ryan, we are fortunate to have him down here with us.  I was trying to throw a cutter, and I already have a slider which is kind of like the cutter, so I am going to stop working on the cutter and focus on the slider.  I have been trying to throw the slider backdoor to righthanders, so I spoke with him about it, said I couldn't really do it, told him I could only throw it inside to righties and outside to lefties.  So he said take a bit off and float it in there to the outside corner to righties.  He helped me out a lot.  That's another goal of mine to keep working on that pitch and hit the outside corner with it.

BB. It's always good to talk with other lefties.

BC. Yes, especially BJ Ryan.  He is a real cool guy, down to earth.  And he played in Baltimore which is where I am from so I got to see him play a lot. So it's good to have him down here.

BB. Did you know on draft day that you were going to become a starter?

BC. From what my agent said before the draft most teams saw me as a starter.  I think it's for the best, I like starting, I like being able to use all my pitches and I like being out there for more than one or two innings.

BB. How did you get to be a closer?

BC. I was always a starter in high school and I went to college as a starter and to play first base.  But it is tough to go both ways in college, you have to be a real athlete to do it, not saying I am not an athlete but it is a lot of hard work.  We had a new pitching coach my sophomore year in college and he came in and said whoever throws the hardest will be the closer and that happened to be me.  It was kind of weird at first, because we had to get to those innings, and our team was struggling at first, but it worked out well, the starters stepped up and we had a good real setup man in Seth Overbey who is with the Blue Jays in AA.

BB. When you started pitching in pro ball did you notice a big difference?

BC. Yes I did, obviously you have to hit your spots in both college and pro ball but if you hit your spots it is easier to pitch inside in pro with the wooden bats.  If you get inside on someone you break bats whereas in college they hit little pokes over the infield.  You get away from all tose duck-fart hits, it is a big difference.

BB. I know you have only had one start but have you noted any difference in the hitters here compared to Auburn?

BC. Yes definitely.  Especially in my first start although I did throw three times in spring training.  I noticed the hitters are a lot more patient at the plate, they don't swing at as many balls out of the zone.  It helps me as I have to hit my spots a little better, try to focus more on hitting inside and outside of the plate.  I think it will help me.

BB. Were you expecting to go to Dunedin to start the year?

BC. I talked with some of the older guys and they told me I was going to Dunedin.  I don't expect anything, I take what's given to me, and I go with that.  I am happy to be here in Dunedin and from what the older guys said in Lansing the hitters are pretty similar to Auburn so it's not as big a jump.  Being in Dunedin is more of a challenge so I am happy to be here.

Batters Box thanks Brett Cecil for talking with us.

Posted by Gerry on Monday, April 21 2008 @ 09:00 AM EDT.
An Interview with Brett Cecil | 7 comments | Create New Account
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Thomas - Monday, April 21 2008 @ 09:37 AM EDT (#183153) #
Nice interview, Gerry. Thanks to Brett for taking the time to speak.

It's interesting to hear that he's been successful so far while being only able to throw his slider effectively to one half of the plate. While I'm sure the scouting reports aren't as detailed in college and the low minors, it shows how strong the pitch is if batters can zone in on a location and still not hit it.
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Mike Green - Monday, April 21 2008 @ 09:47 AM EDT (#183154) #
"Duck-fart hits" is not in the glossary of phrases approved by Crash Davis in his interview manual for ballplayers, but I like it.  Brett Cecil was a favourite of mine from draft day, and he's doing nothing but making me feel good about it.
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CaramonLS - Monday, April 21 2008 @ 11:57 AM EDT (#183169) #

BB. Are you working on or adding any pitches this year?

BC. I was talking with BJ Ryan, we are fortunate to have him down here with us.  I was trying to throw a cutter, and I already have a slider which is kind of like the cutter, so I am going to stop working on the cutter and focus on the slider.  I have been trying to throw the slider backdoor to righthanders, so I spoke with him about it, said I couldn't really do it, told him I could only throw it inside to righties and outside to lefties.  So he said take a bit off and float it in there to the outside corner to righties.  He helped me out a lot.  That's another goal of mine to keep working on that pitch and hit the outside corner with it.

Found this tidbit a little interesting.  I guess that is true, but I think he should really consider adding another pitch, like a change that moves (inside a little to lefties and outside to Righties - ala Marcum).  But, the Cutter is always useful, unless your slider really is something special - good thing BJ told him to stop backdooring.

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ChicagoJaysFan - Monday, April 21 2008 @ 12:40 PM EDT (#183178) #
Found this tidbit a little interesting.  I guess that is true, but I think he should really consider adding another pitch, like a change that moves (inside a little to lefties and outside to Righties - ala Marcum).  But, the Cutter is always useful, unless your slider really is something special - good thing BJ told him to stop backdooring.

I too was surprised to hear the slider is something he is working on.  I thought that was supposed to be Cecil's best pitch and already at major league quality? (Obviously he would know better than me - as I've just read reports on the internet)

As far as the change-up, I heard that he already incorporated one last year and it may be reading to much into the answer to think he's no longer working on it.  The cutter / slider shift seemed to represent a dramatic change that's been made really recently (dropping something he'd been working on) and thus was top of mind for him.  The change-up is likely an ongoing thing and he may only be making incremental progress, so he didn't mention it.  I wasn't there, so can't say - just trying to think of why it wouldn't have been mentioned.
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ayjackson - Monday, April 21 2008 @ 01:26 PM EDT (#183185) #

As I understand it, Cecil is a Fastball-Slider-Change pitcher.  He tried to incorporate a Cutter, but BJ told him to scrap it, because it is no more effective than his Slider against righties.  He complained about the ineffectiveness of back-dooring the Slider to righties and BJ told him to take something off it - presumably to induce a weaker swing at it.

Sounds like a kid with a good head on his shoulders.  A little disconcerting that we're giving cortizone shots to pitching prospects.  I'm not a doctor, but I thought this just allows an athlete to play though a pain condition.

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CeeBee - Monday, April 21 2008 @ 07:06 PM EDT (#183211) #
Cortisone also helps reduce swelling and as such usually helps speed up the healing process. It all depends on the reason for the cortisone shot. I've had both elbow and shoulder at different times and both helped tremendously..... I'm  a carpenter, not a pitcher but swinging a hammer pays the bills as does being able to pitch if one is good enough.
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scottt - Monday, April 21 2008 @ 07:28 PM EDT (#183212) #

Brett Cecil started Sunday and was limited to three innings or 45 pitches.  He did go three innings but only threw 37 pitches.  Cecil is about 6'1" and has a wide body, he is not fat he has a big frame, which is good for pitchers.  Cecil delivers from a wide arm angle somewhere between 3/4 and 5/8ths.  Cecil's fastball was 90-92 mph with good movement.  Cecil appeared to throw two fastballs, the two seamer dipped while the four seamer ran into right handed hitters.   Cecil also throws a slider which varied from 82 to 86 mph.  Cecil is working on changing speeds and therefore the movement on his slider based on his discussions with BJ Ryan (look for more with a Cecil interview coming soon).  Cecil also has a change-up at around 81 mph.  Cecil broke several bats in his three innings as the fastball or slider bore in on the hitters.  Cecil did give up a home run on a change-up that hung in the middle of the plate.

Copying back Gerry's scouting report since some folks seem to be have already forgotten.


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An Interview with Brett Cecil | 7 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.