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Ricky Romero couldn't find the strike zone on Friday and wasn't long for the game. The Bisons lost despite a home run by Anthony Gose and more hits from Kevin Pillar. Deck McGuire took the loss for New Hampshire but was a little unlucky, all the runs he allowed were unearned. Dunedin lost a tight game, Dalton Pompey had two more hits. Lansing also lost behind Chase De Jong. It was tough to find three stars on a bad night on the farm.

Buffalo 3 Charlotte 5

Ricky Romero had no control of his pitches again in this game. After 50 pitches he had thrown 17 strikes. He ended with 72 pitches, 31 strikes. Romero's line was 3 5 5 5 5 3. The bullpen of Rasmussen, Stilson and Korecky held Charlotte at bay.

The Bisons didn't score until the ninth inning when they faced Mitch Boggs. Anthony Gose homered for his second hit. Kevin Pillar singled for his second hit, Dan Johnson doubled him in and scored when Jared Goedart singled. But Brett Carroll hit into a double play to end the fun.


New Hampshire 2 Portland 5

Deck McGuire pitched 5.1 innings, gave up four runs and took the loss. But he pitched better than that. All four runs were unearned as Kevin Nolan made two two-out errors in the fourth. McGuire only allowed four hits but three of them came after a walk and the error. Tony Davis gave up the fifth run while Tyler Ybarra recorded the last five outs.

The Fisher Cats scored their two runs in the fourth, Brad Glenn walked, Michael Crouse doubled, one run scored on a wild pitch and the second on a ground ball. Gabe Jacobo had two hits to raise his average to 099.


Clearwater 2 Dunedin 1

A solo home run in the seventh inning off Danny Barnes was the margin of victory in this game. Jesse Hernandez had pitched the first six innings and left with a no decision.

The D Jays had only five hits, Dalton Pompey and KC Hobson had two hits each.


Lansing 3 West Michigan 7

Chase De Jong took the loss by giving up three runs in five innings. He was somewhat unlucky, he gave up four hits and all scored or drove in a run. Alonzo Gonzalez inflicted the most damage, three runs in two innings.

The Lugnuts three runs scored on an error, a ground out and a sac fly. They were held to seven hits, Matt Dean had two.


3 Stars - slim pickings

3rd star: Dalton Pompey

2nd star: Jesse Hernandez

1st star: Anthony Gose


Boxes

Ricky's Got No Control | 20 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
John Northey - Friday, May 09 2014 @ 10:32 PM EDT (#286055) #
I think it is past time to try Romero in the pen in AAA or lower.  He clearly isn't getting better and it is time to cut the losses and try something new. Reduce him to his best 2 pitches (or best pitch) and see what happens.  Right now if I was running the team in Buffalo I'd be asking the Jays to send him to A ball or something.  Funny that he has just 2 games in relief in the majors (both last year) and 0 in the minors.
PeterG - Friday, May 09 2014 @ 10:53 PM EDT (#286056) #
I think it's time to offer him a buy out and if he doesn't take it, bury him......it's time to give McGuire a shot at AAA imo. ....see better what he's got  or doesn't. Romero is not only in the way but likely ticking off Bison fans.
stevieboy22 - Saturday, May 10 2014 @ 01:20 AM EDT (#286057) #
I'm not that quick to give up on Ricky.

Last time I saw him pitch, the velocity was still there. And because of that, I would rather have him pitching in the rotation, than organizational filler, especially if I have to pay him anyways.

I want to say we haven't heard the last of Ricky being a good major league pitcher. We know its in there, we've seen it. Until the physical arm isn't holding up, there is still hope he can be an above average major league pitcher again. Might not be with the Jays, probably with someone like Oakland or Tampa.

I have actually been to a couple of Bisons games this year, and I feel Ricky has more upside at this point than Drabek.
TangledUpInBlue - Saturday, May 10 2014 @ 03:32 AM EDT (#286058) #
How different is the lifestyle between AAA and A-ball? I’m talking about hotels, meals, transportation, etc. Because I imagine that’s a big part of the consideration here. Beeston and Anthopoulos are probably doing what they can to treat Romero with respect and decency. Here’s a guy who was the face of the franchise (along with Bautista) just a few years ago, so it’s not easy to kick him down to A-ball and everything that goes with it. I mean, it's not easy just with the personal relationships involved -- for Beeston and Anthopoulos, the relationship runs deeper than with your typical AAA player -- but there's also the issue of treating him with the class I'm sure they feel he deserves. And beyond the lifestyle issues at A-ball, Romero would also be a man among boys and a multi-millionaire among the impoverished. That's got to be a bit awkward, doesn't it? At least at AAA, he’s with plenty of other former major leaguers, some of them wealthy, many older than him, so he can at least fit in normally. I don’t know. It’s not an easy issue. Reading about this latest start, though, I must say I had the same reaction as PeterG: For the players and fans in Buffalo, it’s got to be getting pretty frustrating carrying him on the roster.

So what should they do with him? Damned if I know. Putting him in the bullpen isn’t an option, I don’t think, given his reverse splits. He’d have to be a left-handed specialist against right-handed batters, and I don’t think there’s a bright future in that.

And, Stevieboy, or anyone who wants a really good analysis of Romero, please read this:

http://blogs.thescore.com/djf/2014/03/17/why-are-we-talking-about-ricky-romero/#more-22021

This was written in the midst of a Romero boomlet back in March of this year, and has done more than anything else to convince me that he’s never going to be back.
John Northey - Saturday, May 10 2014 @ 05:25 AM EDT (#286059) #
From what I can tell Romero is toast and the Jays, if they don't want to totally waste their money, need to figure out a new path with him.  But lets look deeper...
So far he has given up just 3 line drives - that is extremely good, especially considering he also has 3 pop ups (rare to see those two figures match).
He has has 6, 3 7's, and 9 strikes swinging in his starts ... for comparison Stroman was between 8 and 11.  So not great but not bad either

There are hopeful signs there.  He 'just' has to figure out how to throw strikes.  How you get that to happen though has been a mystery as long as baseball has existed.  Once a guy loses the strike zone it is rare they regain it.
TangledUpInBlue - Saturday, May 10 2014 @ 07:04 AM EDT (#286060) #
He 'just' has to figure out how to throw strikes.

But if you read that article, it's more than just this. He also needs a new pitch or something that'll get LHBs out. The message I take from that article is that even the old Romero wouldn't be good enough now, since the league was basically on to him. He'd have to be even better than he used to be.
PeterG - Saturday, May 10 2014 @ 11:44 AM EDT (#286066) #
"nice guys finish last"
John Northey - Saturday, May 10 2014 @ 12:19 PM EDT (#286067) #
It is interesting how it says that, but Romero's minor league numbers suggest no one is hitting him hard (just 3 line drives overall - Buehrle has given up that many in ever single start, Stroman averaged just over 2 per start), it is just that he has such poor control of the strike zone that hits keep falling in after he walks a dozen guys. 

After writing that I noticed last night he gave up 3 line drives, the same number he had given up in his first 5 starts combined. Still, that is just 1 per game or 6 in 27 innings or 2 per 9 IP which is still a very low figure.  Hitters aren't squaring around on him, he is just giving them first base far too often.  If I was his coach (which would be a nightmare I'm sure for him) I'd be strongly recommending to just trust his stuff and pound the strike zone non-stop, screw the corners, screw thinking, just toss it at the catchers mitt and ignore everything else that happens.  He probably has been told that, and probably does try but for whatever reason it just isn't happening.
PeterG - Saturday, May 10 2014 @ 01:07 PM EDT (#286068) #
then maybe he can work it out at a lower level ? Doubt it, though....
jerjapan - Saturday, May 10 2014 @ 02:01 PM EDT (#286070) #
Tangledupinblue, you nailed it wth your analysis of Romero - the guy can't be demoted to A ball without disrupting the chemistry in A ball and probably antagonizing anyone in the organization who's friends with Romero, who would feel it's an insult to what Ricky's done... he needs to be in AAA with other vets, or cut.  Another poster mentioned a buyout, but correct me if I'm wrong, that's not an option in MLB? 

In the AAA rotation you've got Romero, Hendricks, Nolin and Drabeck.  With Stroman up I'm not sure if Jenkins joins the rotation or organizational filler like Hill.  Nobody's knocking on the AAA door,  Sanchez needs to cut his walks and McGuire looks solid but not dominant, so no harm at all leaving the guy in the rotation.  Even if you want McGuire in AAA, there's space. 

Parker - Saturday, May 10 2014 @ 02:41 PM EDT (#286074) #
What Ricky has done is reflected in the contract the Jays are forced to keep paying him regardless of where he's pitching. Where he's pitching should be a reflection of what he's doing now, which is utterly failing at AAA. Keeping a spot for him in Buffalo when there are pitching prospects with an actual future in the organization deserving of promotion seems much less baseball-savvy, and to imply that the performance of Ricky's buddies on the active roster would somehow be hurt by demoting Ricky when he has done nothing but earn that demotion is insulting to the professionalism of those players.
Mike Green - Saturday, May 10 2014 @ 03:30 PM EDT (#286076) #
I guess Lawrie's hammy still isn't right.  5 games and counting.



jerjapan - Saturday, May 10 2014 @ 05:42 PM EDT (#286080) #
there are pitching prospects with an actual future in the organization deserving of promotion

Uhmm ... who, exactly?  Sean Hill started this week for Buffalo.  Sean Hill. 
Richard S.S. - Saturday, May 10 2014 @ 07:41 PM EDT (#286082) #
Another poster mentioned a buyout, but correct me if I'm wrong, that's not an option in MLB?

Nonsense, DFA him, release him and pay off his contract.
-or-
Move him permanently to the Bullpen. Pick two pitches and go to it.
ayjackson - Saturday, May 10 2014 @ 08:07 PM EDT (#286083) #
It's an option if Ricky has had enough of minor league baseball. It has to be negotiated. Ricky has the full right to play out his contract in the minors. He may prefer to take a settlement and get on with coaching or supporting his partner's career. I'm not sure he's at that point yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if it came soon.
Parker - Saturday, May 10 2014 @ 08:19 PM EDT (#286084) #
Uhmm ... who, exactly? Sean Hill started this week for Buffalo. Sean Hill.

In an admittedly small sample size, Shawn Hill has been more successful than Ricky Romero this year.

I wouldn't mind seeing if Deck McGuire can ever contribute above AA ball. At what point does the organization stop thinking of Romero as an investment, and instead as a sunk cost?
uglyone - Saturday, May 10 2014 @ 09:52 PM EDT (#286085) #
Looks like Drabek had his best start in like 3 years tonight.

6.0ip, 5ht, 2xbh, 2r, 0er, 0bb, 7k, 92pc/61k, 7go/3fo
Mike Green - Saturday, May 10 2014 @ 10:48 PM EDT (#286087) #
Dalton Pompey keeps on trucking.  He hit his 2nd homer, reached base 4 times and stole two bases (he's now 17-1 on the season).  I love him.

Daniel Norris and Kevin Pillar also had big nights as the affiliates ran the table. 

jerjapan - Sunday, May 11 2014 @ 10:08 AM EDT (#286099) #
I wouldn't mind seeing if Deck McGuire can ever contribute above AA ball. At what point does the organization stop thinking of Romero as an investment, and instead as a sunk cost?

Parker, McGuire, who in my mind doesn't yet deserve a promotion, can take Hill's spot, he doesn't need Romero's.  There is literally no proof in this thread that the Jays see ricky as an investment, unless you want both Jenkins and McGuire starting in AAA.  It seems clear to me that the Jays see Jenkins as a reliever at this point.  I'll concede your point if and when Ricky actually blocks someone significant. 
jgadfly - Tuesday, May 13 2014 @ 10:45 AM EDT (#286179) #
RE: Romero ... Sit him down with Jimmy Key, Roy Halladay and Pat Hentgen and have them watch videos of Buehle, Oliver, Skaggs, et al ... LHPs who have slower fastballs than Romero, but who can locate them ... and have him consider their approaches to batters. Also fly Arnesberg in for a week to look at Romero's delivery. Romero's GO/FO ratio is still indicative of someone who can get outs.
Ricky's Got No Control | 20 comments | Create New Account
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