The Toronto Blue Jays left-hander, a 15-game winner last year, is accustomed to throwing his fastball in the low 90s. He has not been able to hit 90 all spring.
That story continued Thursday, even though he shut out the Atlanta Braves for five innings before allowing four earned runs in the sixth.
Afterward, he said his fastball is averaging about 87 miles an hour.
“Anybody in the league can jump on 87,” he said.
Dan Uggla did in the sixth inning, crushing a high fastball for a three-run homer.
“One f—ing pitch ruins the whole evening, doesn’t it?” Cecil said.
But it was more than one pitch. Cecil said he throws fastballs about 75% of the time to set up his three off-speed pitches. And his fastball is not as fast as it used to be.
Cecil and manager John Farrell insist he is not injured. But with a week to go before the season starts, Cecil’s predicament might worry fretful fans, if not Jays management.
A day earlier, No. 2 starter Brandon Morrow learned that his tight elbow will keep him on the disabled list for at least one start in April. Closer Frank Francisco claims his persistent arm problems are “no big deal,” but he too will open the season on the DL. And late-inning reliever Octavio Dotel, coming back from a strained hamstring, remains questionable.
Meanwhile, Cecil is mystified. Before meeting reporters after the game, he huddled with fellow lefty Ricky Romero in the clubhouse.
“I was just telling Ricky, the most frustrating part is when you know something’s wrong and you can’t figure out why,” Cecil said. “He said, ‘Does your arm hurt or anything?’ I said, ‘No, I’d be happy if my arm hurt. At least I’d know why … the velocity’s down.’ “
http://sports.nationalpost.com/2011/03/ ... -has-gone/
