The Jays have looked terrific the last two days against what was a hot Detroit Tigers team. They've outscored Detroit 13-4 in the two games thusfar. They can sweep the series with a win this afternoon. The Jays recent 3-game winning streak has put them right in the middle of the bunch-up that is all the non-Yankee teams in the AL East and 3 games out of the wild card.
Brett Cecil starts for the Blue Jays. Two of Cecil's starts have gone badly, but the other 5 have actually gone quite well. You can't fault a 34/14 K/BB ratio over 38 2/3 innings - that's almost 8 Ks per 9 (higher than we've seen before from Brett) and a tad more than 3 walks per 9 (also higher than we're used to with Brett). Cecil's problem is his batted ball profile - he was drafted by the Jays and made a name for himself in the minors as a guy who induces a lot of ground balls. The past two seasons, he's been anything but and this year he has fallen even further into flyball tendencies, which has, among other things, exacerbated what has always been a problem for Brett - home runs. His HR/FB rate is also high and should normalize, but Cecil really needs to work on keeping the ball down, particularly against righthanded batters, who have knocked him around to the tune of a .388 wOBA this season and done similar damage throughout his career. Cecil's last two starts have been pretty good.
Doug Fister starts for the Tigers. Fister throws with his right hand, but otherwise somewhat similar to Cecil in some ways - he has middling K rates and low walk rates but is striking out more this season. The big difference is that Fister does keep the ball down, gets a ton of groundball outs, and surrenders very few home runs. Fister isn't flashy, but he's been pretty successful doing it his way. He's been excellent over his last three starts, going at least 7 innings in each, giving up only 5 combined runs, and posting a 22/3 K/BB ratio.
I unfortunately need to work again today as I am putting together a couple of big cases. But that's what happens when you are getting ready for a long vacation. Speaking of, I'm headed off this week to spend 11 days in Maine (Acadia National Park) and Campobello Island.
Today's title rounds out our trio of Motown greats - it comes from the great song "I Get the Sweetest Feeling" by Jackie Wilson.
Ah, yes, the rules. Am I the only one around here who cares about the rules?! 1) no posting or otherwise discussing illegal streams; 2) no images until the game is over; and 3) don't be terrible.