"I'd rather just go with the guy who gives us the best chance to win that day. IMO there isn't an argument to be made that Cecil is that guy."

And why is Jenkins or Perez that guy? Spring training stats?

Depends on how he pitches. I guarantee they won't be running him out there if he does prove to be "replacement level fodder".

"You act like any potential he ever had simply disintegrated."

It kind of has with his velocity vanishing.

We can "better facilitate" a deal now that McGowan is going to miss the start of the season, am I right? Gives AA a chance to let McGowan "build" some "value", right champ?

"And he was pitching well in spring training before his last two starts, since that seems to mean something to you."

Yeah...he was pitching well against AA and AAA players early in the spring. Since facing opening day MLB line-ups, he's faltered. This doesn't concern you?

"And why is Jenkins or Perez that guy? Spring training stats?"

Actually no, he is basing it on something more complicated - like the ability to get guys out.

Of course it concerns me, but I don't see it as a valid reason to give up on him, because it's still just spring training.

I guess I have trouble believing that a 25 year old pitcher is finished because he had one bad year. It just seems like common sense to me.

Not to mention his declining fastball and considering he was sitting at 86 mph and his best pitch the changeup was at 81 mph today. 5 mph difference, that's not going to cut it. You really think he has great command to succeed? I sure don't, because that's the only way he will, especially in this division.

Playoff teams don't waste their time with guys like Cecil. There's no room for entitlements on a contending team. You have to go with your 5 best pitchers. It doesn't matter what they have done in the past or what their potential is. Nobody can seriously believe that Cecil has actually earned his way on the team. Why the entitlements?

"I guess I have trouble believing that a 25 year old pitcher is finished because he had one bad year. It just seems like common sense to me."

They make pitchers into glue down in AAA?

25 years old, that's actually key, he's not a season vet, he's not coming into 2012 buoyed by a solid 2011, he simply hasn't earned a whole lot of rope at the MLB level, no more than Snider at least.

With his mechanics/velocity/consistency seeming to still be a work in progress, maybe the best place for him might be the minors, where he can work on fixing himself without having to focus on also trying to win MLB games.

Maybe you give him a month in the majors, maybe they give him plane tickets to Vegas.

Even with elite command of Cecil's diminishing stuff, it's still hard to get by in this division. The ability of the Yankees and Red Sox hitters to wait on pitches, recognize them, and fight off pitchers pitches means you have to have some reasonable level of pure stuff to get them out three times through the order.

AA has made it clear in the past, he wants power/strikeout arms in the rotation to succeed in this division. He absolutely right about that.

I don't see how he can raise Cecil's value. What team would want to take him anyways? We're getting anything back for him. It's a lost cause. We're only going to be losing games while trying to raise his value.