Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Cecil strong in Major League Debut

Toronto's top pitching prospect Brett Cecil made his major league debut Tuesday against Cleveland and displayed why he's so highly touted within the Blue Jays organization.

The big 22 year old lefty showed great poise on the hill, featuring a dirty slider, working six strong innings while allowing just one earned run. Cecil fanned six Indians, matching a club record for a rookie making his major league debut. Most importantly, he was around the strike zone, as he did not allow a free pass.

Cecil struggled in four starts for AAA Las Vegas this year, so there were some concerns that he might not be ready for big league action. In fact, General Manager J.P. Ricciardi indicated both he and Robert Ray (who made his first career start Saturday against the Orioles) were being forced into the rotation quicker then the club had anticipated. The results have been very positive and the youngsters are proving that the future is very bright in Toronto.

Jays hurler shows he's very "Tallet"ed

Though he didn't factor in the decision of the wild 9-7 Jays loss Monday against Cleveland, Brian Tallet deserves a lot of credit coming just 8 outs shy of the 2nd no-hitter in franchise history.

Tallet worked through the Indians lineup beautifully, carrying a no-hitter into the 7th inning. The lanky lefty lost the bid with one out in the frame, and as is often the case immediately afterwards, there is a letdown suffered, and the floodgates opened with three Indians crossing the plate in the inning.

The "Tallet"ed pitcher had the longest outing of his career and has shown his capability of being a solid part of the rotation (except for one brutal outing.) In three of his starts, the former 2nd round pick has given up just 4 earned runs. Sandwiched in between was a nightmare game in Kansas City, where he was tagged for 10 runs.

Tallet is providing the club some much needed stability at a position they have been ravaged by injuries this season, and he must be commended for an outstanding effort at making history Monday.

Brandon League: frustratingly inconsistent

The Blue Jays were within one strike of winning Monday against the Cleveland Indians, but Brandon League, looking for his first save in two years, and just his third of his career, couldn't get the job done. Not only did he surrender the game tying run, but subsequently gave up another pair of runs that gave the Tribe a two run lead.

This season, League has been the total picture of inconsistency. He has looked brilliant some games, and awful in others. In 13 outings on the campaign, his ERA is 5.17 All nine earned runs came in three contests. He's allowed three runs in each of those games, but in the other 14 games, League has looked dynamite, locking down the opposition flawlessly.

With this being the case, it's very tough to rely on League in tight games. The Jays should still give him difficult responsibilities, however, because he's one of the best relievers in that bullpen even if he can be completely frustrating.