Me and Cecil

I have been dishing out advice for a few months and yet have still not introduced myself or my methods. Let me take a brief moment to do that. I think that it's at least fair for you all to know how I'm coming to the conclusions that I provide here. My name is Mark, and I am a California native who now lives in New York. I go by the Scout name of' Scout Monkey' for the simple reason that I like monkeys (who doesn't?). Enough about me. My methods are simple, research, research, more research. My goal is to do all the research so you don't have to. I try to consolidate what I learn into timely, useful articles. Now, I don't have inside access to any baseball organizations, but I do have access to the TV, radio, and the internet and I make full use of them. Official MLB sites, large news sites, small sites, I visit them all. Reading all the news about a player from different sites and different view points, allows me to get a good all around picture of what to expect from him. Not that my picture is always right, but a lot of data gives me the best chance at being right. My own opinions/gut come into play as well. Although I try to be as objective as possible, some guys just jump out at me for one reason or another - I go with it, sometimes I can't put my finger on it, but there must be some reason that they got my attention. Here's an example of how an article/recommendation comes to be: Brett Cecil, SP for the Blue Jays. First, is he a known player? A quick look at my leagues tell me that he is owned in less the 15% of Yahoo and less then 2% of ESPN. Ok, not very well known at all. Second, should he be known? - After all, what point is there to writing a recommendation that everyone knows about already or writing a recommendation for a player who stinks? A check of his stats shows that he has pitched very well since being called up (due to injuries in the rotation). He's not walking people, he's not giving up runs, he has nearly as many K's as innings pitched (12:14), playing for a hot team. I like where this is going. My initial opinion is that this guy needs to be getting more looks then he currently is. But, I'm not satisfied. Third, more research. I haven't watched his games, so what if he has just been getting fortunate so far? Well, according to sites that talk about him, they have generally good things to say. Some go as far as sayin he is a future star (but how many times has that been said about a guy who put together a few good starts?). So, good stats, good opinions in general, talk of some decent upside, I think we have an article. Where is the down side (everyone has a downside - Pujols is slow, Lincecum plays for the Giants, etc.)? He's young (22) which means there will be the inevitable 'bumps in the road.' No big deal there, just be aware of it. Second, he has only two major league starts to look at, not a big sample, but not irrelevant either. Third, the Jays have a ton of pitching and much of it will be back soon from injury. What will the Jays do? Keep a hot Cecil in the rotation, move him to the pen, or send him down to AAA until another injury? Don't know, no one is talking about that yet. Not a deal breaker by any means, but another good thing to be aware of. You have to think though, that if a guy is on a streak, he would have to show signs of struggling before getting the hook. All in all, I would recommend Cecil. Although young, he is doing great so far, has upside, playing on a good team, and will probably keep his spot in the rotation unless there is some sort of breakdown. And we have an article. Well, there you go. That's me and my method. Aren't you glad you didn't have to do all that? Just remember, this one panned out and could make a decent article/recommendation, many don't pan out at all (but the time is still spent). I won't always be right, but I'm hoping to be right far more often then wrong for you all, and yes, I do take my own advice (I am of that 2% in ESPN that own Cecil). Feel free to call me out when I make mistakes (and I have...), or feel free to pat me on the back if I help your team (aww shucks, just doin my job). That's all for now, gotta go do some more research (will Buster Posey have relevance this year...). - Scout Monkey (scout_monkey@gmx.com)