Cecil Shares His Side

(Busch Stadium) A day after his 7th inning pitch bounced and then stuck to the chest protector of his catcher, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Brett Cecil was ready to share his take on what happened.

“No, I really don’t have any explanation for it,” said Cecil before today’s game. “I don’t use any foreign substance to put on there. You guys saw, Yadi spinning around and the ball didn’t even come off–I think if I was throwing with something that was that sticky, I’d be throwing 45 foot dirtballs the whole game and that’s not the case. Your guys’ guess is as good as mine. I talked to Yadi, he has no idea. Yeah, can’t explain it.”

Yadier Molina had addressed the issue after yesterday’s game, stating that he did not use anything on his chest protector and also did not have an explanation for how the ball stuck.

Video of the incident has been heavily viewed and speculation rampant about the possible cause. But Cecil shared he fully understood the questions and doesn’t find it to be an especially difficult situation.

“No, not really,” he said. “I’ll give you guys all my gloves–you guys can check them. There’s nothing in them, nothing on them. I’ve seen guys put a lot of stuff other places, I don’t have anything showing. You can look at games from the past–there’s no certain area that I touch more than others. It’s not difficult to me because I know I don’t put anything on the ball and I know Yadi doesn’t put anything on his chest protector. It’s just one of those things, I don’t know.”

So what was his reaction from the mound when saw the ball stuck on Molina?

“I was saying ‘chest, chest, chest’ but I’m sure he’s like ‘what the hell do you mean chest?’ said Cecil.

The Cardinals had a two-run lead at the time, but a walk and home run followed to give Chicago the lead for good.

“You just wonder had that not happened, we get the out, does the inning go the same way,” said Cecil.

After yesterday’s game, Cecil was not present when the majority of media entered the clubhouse. Today he clarified his early exit and assured that he was willing to speak about any situation.

“I was in here waiting and you guys were in with Mike (Matheny),” Cecil explained. “Had it been a night game and my kids were home sleeping, I might have waited a little bit longer. Day game, I want to get home to my kids. Especially after a game like that, this is the last place I want to be. I want to get home, clear my head for today. Just know I wasn’t trying to get out of here to avoid you guys.”

“I wanted to get out of here and get home to my kids,” continued Cecil. “I’ve ducked the media one time and that was my rookie season–actually didn’t duck them, I told them I wasn’t talking because I had a bad outing. The next day, I got called in the manager’s office. Didn’t get chewed out, but had a long conversation with Cito Gaston and that’s the last time it ever happened.

“There will be times that I don’t want to talk right away or maybe wait til the next day, just to let me cool off a little bit if it’s been a bad stretch. But it’s the third game of the season, it’s not a big deal. But yeah, I’m willing to talk to you guys whenever you guys want, just come and ask.

“I’m not one of those guys that if I’m doing bad I’m not going to talk to you, if I’m doing good, I’ll talk to you. No. I understand that people want answers.”

In the meantime, Brett Cecil is anxious to get back out on the mound.

“Very,” he stated. “Very. I dealt with this in Toronto. Sorry to say, but the fans are going to have to deal with me going out there because the more times you get out there, it’s only going to get better. It might not seem like it but it’s going to be a better feeling for me.

“I can throw as many flat grounds, as many bullpens as I want–it’s not going to be the same as game situations. Even Spring Training games, they’re not going to be the same as real game situations. The more of those I get in, the better I’m going to feel.”

Cecil has appeared in one other game this season, allowing one hit with a strikeout in a scoreless frame against Chicago on April 5th.

photo credit: Bill Greenblatt/UPI, Scott Kane-USA TODAY Sports, Bill Greenblatt/UPI