Cecil’s minor setback

Brett Cecil had big plans for his homecoming. So did his personal booster club - family, friends, former teammates and coaches all geared up to watch him pitch for the Toronto Blue Jays on Memorial Day at Baltimore’s Camden Yards.

Cecil grew up in Dunkirk, Md., about 30 miles from Baltimore. He graduated from DeMatha Catholic High School and starred at the University of Maryland. His fifth big league start since the Blue Jays called him up from the minors May 1 would take place practically in his backyard.

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Three days before his scheduled start against the Orioles, Toronto sent Cecil back to the minors. Instead of wearing the Blue Jays’ uniform and the red cap all major leaguers sported to honor the military, the left-hander took the mound about 2,000 miles away for Toronto’s Class AAA affiliate in Las Vegas.

“There were probably 150 people I knew who were coming to the [Orioles] game,” Cecil said the other day. “I had really good seats set up for my family by the third-base dugout. I would have been able to see my nieces and nephews and stuff. It was obviously disappointing.”

The 38th pick in the 2007 draft, Cecil joined the Blue Jays as an emergency replacement after a couple of pitchers got hurt. The move surprised Cecil - his ERA had swelled to 8.31 in Vegas - but he pitched well in his first three starts for Toronto, going 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA. He credited the improvement to the “atmosphere” and preparation.

“I saw the tons of things starting pitchers do to get ready, how much they go over the hitters,” he said. “It boosted my confidence.”

After his third start, Cecil was penciled in to start against the Orioles. But pencils have erasers. Before Baltimore, he started against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. That’s a daunting task for most pitchers, much less a 22-year-old rookie. Cecil yielded two runs in his first four innings, but it all came apart in the fifth when he gave up four home runs, including slump-ridden David Ortiz’s first (and only) of the season. His pitching line read: 4 2/3 innings, eight runs, 11 hits. And five homers in all, which tied a club record.

Adding to Cecil’s troubles was a play in the third inning on which he dived for Jacoby Ellsbury’s airborne bunt. Not only did Cecil barely miss it, he smacked the turf with his nose. The turf won. He briefly lay on the field, eyes tearing, his wind briefly knocked out. When he got up, he felt pain in his midsection. Somehow his belt buckle jammed into his stomach.

None of that, he said, had anything to do with what happened later.

“The first couple of innings, I kept the ball down and I was getting ground balls and a couple of double plays,” he said. “As soon as I got those pitches up, it was batting practice.”

He also found himself pitching too quickly instead of “taking control of the game,” he said. “Take a deep breath and get back to work. I kind of let the game get out of hand.”

The next day, after running in the outfield at Fenway, Cecil approached Brad Penny, the veteran pitcher who started for the Red Sox against him. Penny dispensed some useful advice, telling Cecil he was relying too much on one pitch, his sinker.

“He said it happens to all of us when we get too confident in one pitch,” Cecil said. “We think we can throw it all the time.”

A few days later, Cecil said it dawned on him that not one time against the Red Sox did he pitch hard inside.

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