So I’m just sitting around in my pajamas Wednesday afternoon, fooling around on the Internets as usual, when this becomes a part of my life:
Was Ricky Romero really ready?
Tom Szczerbowski
Gonzales is now, essentially, starting this game. I blame the #Jays for this. Ricky was not ready, should hot have come up. #Mishandled.
— Dirk Hayhurst (@TheGarfoose) May 8, 2013
What elicited this Twitterrific screed?
Ricky Romero, in his second start for the Blue Jays this season, gave up four hits, two walks, and three runs while recording only one out. This comes on the heels of his 2013 debut, in which he lasted four innings while giving up three walks and a home run (and some other stuff).
Romero, you'll no doubt recall, struggled terribly last season but was nevertheless penciled into the Blue Jays' starting rotation in spring training. Alas, Romero issued 10 walks in 13 spring-training innings, and lost his job to J.A. Happ. Worse, the Jays sent him all the way down to Class-A Dunedin to get his shit together.
And it worked! Romero pitched seven innings in the Florida State League and didn’t issue any walks at all!
Or maybe it didn’t. With Josh Johnson hitting the Disabled List, Romero came back to the majors and obviously hasn’t fared so well. Johnson’s still out. Happ’s out, who knows for how long. And now it seems that Romero was not ready, and should not have come up.
The Blue Jays' rotation was supposed to be among the best in the league this season, and instead it's been one of the worst. Even if R.A. Dickey and Brandon Morrow and Mark Buehrle eventually pitch like they're supposed to pitch, this rotation's in big trouble unless Johnson comes back strong.
Just a few hours ago, I noted that the Blue Jays face long odds when it comes to getting back into some sort of a pennant race. Now the odds seem even longer.
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