Wednesday, April 14, 2010

RickRo'ed by the possibilities

What a treat to watch Ricky Romero dole out nastiness in various and sundry forms last night. Heaters up to 94 miles per hour that landed in John Buck's glove with a SNAP. Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes that made our knees buckle. Curveballs that fell vertically more than foot. Two-seamers with more than five and a half inches if horizontal movement. So much movement that we were as nauseous as the White Sox hitters in the end.

(Can you tell that we've just started mucking about on Brooks Baseball? If only we knew what we were talking about!)

As we watched last night's performance, we thought back to the years-upon-years of piled up snark that was directed towards Romero and his selection with the sixth pick in 2005. We thought of all the time that his selection ahead of Troy Tulowitzki (and other notable starters like Mike Pelfrey, Wade Townsend and Lance Broadway) was held up as the shining example of how this franchise was adrift and would spend decades in the wilderness trying to make up for the lost opportunity of a high draft pick.

And then we looked and saw RickRo in all his glory, looking like a pitcher who is finally starting to piece together his repertoire and his mental approach and put them into action with a sound game plan. Some pitching prospects might dazzle and blow away the scouts and pundits at first blush, but Romero never seemed like that sort of pitcher to us. He strikes us as more as a Tom Glavine-type: A pitcher whose progress is not based on harnessing otherworldly physical gifts, but rather, in maximizing the return on the skills that he has, and in being the man in control of game as often as possible.

As a 24 year-old in Atlanta, Glavine posted a 4.28 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP, while Romero's 24th year season saw him post numbers in a similar range: 4.30 and 1.55. Glavine went on to win the Cy Young the next season and finish in the top three of the voting five other times. Which isn't to say that we should be clearing space on RickRo's mantle just yet.

But after last night's performance, it's hard not to get excited by the possibilities.

Newest entry on The Enemies List - A.J. Pierzynski
If any of you have your "A.J. is a Douche" signs left over from Mr. Burnett's return last year, tonight might be a good time to bring them down to the RC. We're not blaming him for RickRo losing the no-hitter as some have, but we're more than a little stunned to see umpires give him the benefit of the doubt on his phantom hit-by-pitch last night given his shenanigans in the past.

We're not sure what is the most appropriate punishment at this point: A Brandon Morrow heater in the ribs? A strike zone several inches tighter for his pitchers in tonight's game? Where's Michael Barrett when we need him?

17 comments:

SP said...

I compare him more to a Johan Santana. Both are 6ft lefties with great changeups. I'll take Glavine too, though. Hopefully RR Cool Jay doesn't become another victim of the cutter because he's starting to use that a lot more now in place of the fastball.

SP said...

PS, screw eyebleaf for having both Wells and Romero in the Hoedown

Anonymous said...

A h/t to yesterday's comments by the Gay Jays Fan!:}

Anonymous said...

Shame we can't call for a little Barrett's Privateers action on AJ.

victorymanual said...

I see a LOT of blue in the background!

Anonymous said...

romero throws a four seam fastball - not two.

Anonymous said...

I'm struggling in Tao's league right now. I think the ESPN default roster are meant for 10 or 12 teams and not 18 because the waiver wire is totally dead. In another league I was able to pick up Romero.

Anonymous said...

shut up about fantasy shit loser

SP said...

Yea the wire is a bitch right now. Doesn't help that I traded Chris Young (the OF) for Ryan Raburn. Looks like Young is finally going to break out this year without an embarrassing OBP.

Leaker19 said...

Pierzynski should be stripped, dipped in honey and staked to an ant hill. Nice frosted tips, shithead. What are you, 12? There, I got that out. The Jays don't seem too outraged actually, but it irritated me. I still vote for a legit HBP tonight.

Gregg must have been injured last year, because I watched a lot of Cubs games and he stunk on ice last year.

JB said...

I sure hope the umpires were watching the game highlights while sipping drinks at the Brass Rail last night.

I prefer the umpires take their revenge for this ass making them look stupid by giving the Jays a nice strike zone tonight. As much as I like watching the pain of a jerk getting some heat in his back, a tight strike zone for Sox pitchers could actually be a game changer.

brainiac said...

First off: RR Cool Jay should be his official nickname. Unless it is and I missed it.

Secondly...did you SEE that curveball?!?! Daaaammmnn....he makes this look nice.

We have a new ace and his name is RR Cool Jay.

Anonymous said...

New viral internet sensation: getting RickyRo'lled.

Matt C said...

Where do you go on the internet to find the official lineup before the game. The drunks have been completely unreliable with this lately.

Matt C said...

Never mind I found it. I hope Snider is just out for a game to let him have a rest and clear his head.

Gay Jays Fan said...

Ironically, I am the original Gay Jays Fan. The one yesterday was a fake.

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