Romero Gets Taste of Doc’s Anguish as a Jay

I could sit here and describe the9-3 loss to everyone, but what it all boils down to is a bitter taste in Ricky Romero‘s mouth for the second game in a row. The first time was due to a lack of offense, when he pitched 8 innings of 1 run ball against the Angels, only to lose the game 2 to 1 because the offense couldn’t knock in any runs. He was better in that game than he was tonight, allowing only 5 hits and getting 6 Ks, but the feeling is the same. He left tonight’s game with the lead, 3 to 2, and had to feel like he did all he could despite not having his best stuff.  He pitched out of some tight spots, but still ended up with only 6 hits allowed, 3 walks, and 2 ER.

So all-in-all, Ricky has pitched 15 innings in his last 2 starts, allowing only 3 ER on 11 hits, and has nothing to show for it but a sore arm. Welcome to Doc’s world Ricky! Get used to it, because until the Jays get things all settled and can get rid of some loose parts while enforcing others, it’s not likely to change! If Doc has the appropriate support during his time in Toronto he would have been where he is now more often – 4 wins, 0 losses, not 1 and 1 like Ricky is. Roy has pitched much better to begin this season, but Ricky could easily be 3 and 1 with his outings being as strong as they were. Hopefully this will be the last season Ricky has to endure such lackluster performances from both the offense and the pen.

Why did Cito have to go to Scott Downs for the second night in a row when the rest of the pen was so fresh? I absolutely don’t understand it one bit. Why even have Merkin Valdez on the team if he’s not going to pitch? Send him home and send him a pay check every month, it would be just the same. The Rays definitely have Scott’s number, so why throw him to the wolves? Valdez has only throw 1 inning and it’s late April, so why is he on the team? So we don’t lose him when we send him through waivers? Well, if that’s the case just do it and get it over with, because the simple fact of the matter is that Cito has NO faith in Merkin whatsoever and he’s wasting his time with the Jays. Meanwhile, the Jays could use a guy like David Purcey, Josh Roenicke or Steven Register, who Cito would actually use, so that we can have some options when games like this come into play.

Watching Cito “use” the pen is very frustrating. If the Rays see the same relievers over and over, they’re going to get used to their stuff and hit them harder. If Cito uses all of the pen instead, assuming he has some faith in their abilities, it keeps the arms fresh and the hitters guessing, a much better proposition in my humblest opinion.What is Cito going to do when Alex Anthopolous deals the bulk of the pen? It won’t be pretty, I’ll tell you that much, because nobody is going to be ready for the role they’ll be thrust into since they were busy keeping the bench warm all of that time.

For the positives of the game, Romero was great as stated above, Adam Lind was 2 for 4 with his 4th HR of the year, but Lyle Overbay deserves the biggest praise offensively speaking. He was 2 for 3 with a walk, a SB, and 1 HR – his first of the 2010 season.