Locking Up Ricky

The Toronto Blue Jays believe in Ricky Romero. So much so that they rewarded him with the largest contract in history -- five years, $30.1 million -- for a pitcher with less than two years of Major League service time to his name. And you know what? I'm totally fine with that. Actually: I'm more than fine with it; I love the decision. Because like the braintrust, I too believe in Ricky Romero.

Here's the breakdown of the deal, courtesy of the always reliable MLB Trade Rumours:

2010: $1.25 million bonus

2011: $750,000

2012: $5 million

2013 - 2015: $7.5 million

2016: $13 million club option ($600,000 buyout)

When Romero was the first pitcher chosen in the 2005 draft, 6th overall by the J.P. Ricciardi regime, here's what the then 20-year-old had to say: "I love competing. I love getting the ball in big games ... I have a lot of confidence that I can get the job done. That's just the type of competitor I've been."

And Romero wasn't lying. Because they said he was a bust; they said he'd never make it.

Five years later, and a year and a half into his pro career, they were dead wrong, and Romero has come as advertised; he's a fiery competitor. It was Ricciardi who in September of last year famously said: "You need a wheelbarrow to take his balls to the mound. That's how big they are."

Do yourself a favour and read that post linked above, from The Tao of Stieb. Almost three months ago to the day, The Ack wrote of Romero's development; he even called him "The Man," which Ricky most certainly is from this day forward.

Think about it: the Toronto Blue Jays went into the 2010 campaign with four young starters at the top of their rotation who are making, in baseball salaries, pennies:

Ricky Romero: $408,300

Shaun Marcum: $850,000

Brett Cecil: $400,000

Brandon Morrow: $409,800

Here's what they're worth, in terms of WAR (Wins Above Replacement):

Romero: 3.4

Morrow: 3.1

Marcum: 2.3

Cecil: 2.3

I've already spent far too much time on FanGraphs, so I'm just going to go ahead and assume that there is no more cost-effective rotation in baseball than Toronto's. There can't be. And Romero's leading the way. As amazing as that above quote from Ricciardi will always remain, it's clear there's more to #24 than just his cojones. There is the business that is his devastating changeup. The pitch he throws when he's got two strikes against a batter; the pitch the batter should know is coming. Below are the counts when Romero gets ahead, the batter at his mercy, and the percentage of time he unleashes his changeup:

0-2/35%

1-2/38%

2-2/47%

3-2/37%

It's his out pitch. Only when the count runs full does Romero turn to his fastball (44%) more than his changeup, as he probably should. And what he's doing is working. The batter, if he's done his homework, is thinking off-speed; he just can't hit it. Below are Romero's opponents' batting averages in those same counts:

0-2: .143

After 0-2: .125

1-2: .122

After 1-2: .150

2-2: .160

After 2-2: .165

3-2: .188

After 3-2: .188

Romero's a stone-cold killer. More often than not, he will put you away.

What's made RickRo so effective this season has been the improvement in his fastball, and his ability to throw five above-average pitches, something he wasn't able to do in 2009. According to Fangraphs' Pitch Type Values, Romero's fastball last year was 11.8 runs below average. His slider: 2.1 runs below average. Here's how what he's tossing in 2010 has fared:

Fastball: 7.4 runs above average

Slider: 3.0 runs above average

Cutter: 0.2 runs above average

Curveball: 3.2 runs above average

Changeup: 3.9 runs above average

Romero's changeup hasn't been as effective as it was last season (9.8 runs above average). But he's a more well-rounded pitcher in spite of the fact. He's getting better. And he's only 25.

There's more: Romero's ground ball to fly ball ratio (GB/FB). In 178 career innings pitched since bursting onto the scene a year ago, it's an immaculate 2.01; Halladay-esque. His 2010 GB/FB ratio of 1.99 is third-highest in the American League. And if Romero isn't allowing fly balls, he's not allowing home runs. His 2010 home run to fly ball ratio (HR/FB) is 8.5%, in tune with the likes of Felix Hernandez, Zack Greinke, Jered Weaver, Jon Lester, and Phil Hughes. That's fine American League company, and RickRo is worthy.

There's more still. Because Romero is striking out more batters, walking fewer, allowing fewer hits, and becoming one of the premier ground ball pitchers in the game, his xFIP (Expected Fielding Independent Pitching) of 3.60 is among the best in the business. It ranks sixth in the AL, and those with lower numbers are: Francisco Lariano, Cliff Lee, Lester, Hernandez, and Weaver. And, yes, there are still some who have the audacity to say the Toronto Blue Jays are without an ace.

A hundred and seventy-eight innings. Enough to have me convinced. (I've been convinced for a while.) And at an average of $6 million a season, with $7.5 million being the most Romero takes home in any given year of the new deal, numbers that are "fair to both sides," enough to have the Blue Jays convinced, too.

Ricky got paid. Rightfully so. Your Troy Tulowitzki references are no longer of any use.

Finally, one last quote I'd like to share with you. It's from that fateful day in June way back in 2005, when Romero became a Blue Jay ...

"We figured we would lean more toward the pitching ... The more pitching we can develop the better off we're going to be."

- J.P. Ricciardi

Ricciardi was right. #TeamRomero.

They grow up so fast ...

When, many years from now, we look back upon the career of Ricky Romero, I have a feeling we'll turn the page to his performance Tuesday night in the Bronx. For it was masterful; poignant. A young pitcher, doubted by so many for so long, coming of age on baseball's brightest stage.

How's this: Romero two-hits the star-studded New York Yankees; Travis Snider (among others) deposits a changeup into Yankee Stadium's right-centre field bullpen; and Yunel Escobar ends the game with a defensive gem from the hole at short.

Yeah, I can get used to that, too.

The Toronto Blue Jays are 56-51, yet here I am, asking you to pinch me.

And don't look now, but Cito's boys are playing 1.000 baseball when Adam Lind gets the start at first base. Undefeated, yo.

See You In September

I'm off to see Lady Liberty. And definitely not the New York Yankees. I will take no part in adding to those coffers, thank you very much. If I want to go to an amusement park, I'll hit up the CNE.

Your parting gift: John McDonald's entrance tune ...

Gangsta Nation by Westside Connection - Ice Cube, Mack10, WC (with Nate Dogg on the chorus, of course) - is without a doubt the last song I'd ever imagine the Prime Minister of Defence would walk up to the plate to. Johnny Mac is clearly, as the kids say, "street."

Enjoy your weekend. Remember to support your local baseball team. (And its much-maligned centre fielder.) Winless, and hit hard, in three starts against the Boston Red Sox, I believe it's Ricky Romero's time to shine in his Fenway Park debut.

.500!!1

A Simpler Time

I love that picture. It represents what the Toronto Blue Jays were meant to be. It's hard to believe so much has changed in only one calendar year.

I'm exhausted from talking about Alex Rios. And J.P. Ricciardi.

I'm depressed after reading this:

"Roy Halladay, while making clear that he has enough to worry about without deciphering messages from ownership or management, said he was not at all surprised once word got out that Rios was on waivers. (There is a sense of detachment to Halladay that was not previously noticeable.)"

- Jeff Blair, Tale of Two Teams

This team will, as The Ack pointed out, crush your soul.

Yet here I am, wanting nothing more than for Ricky Romero to beat A.J. Burnett this afternoon.

Go Jays.

"Something, perhaps, from above ..."

The baseball Gods were most definitely in the house that dirty Yankee money built on Monday afternoon. How else to explain John McDonald's home run? And three missed calls by the umpires in favour of the Blue Jays?

It was the baseball Gods' way of making up for some their recent douchebaggery, in respect to Toronto's injured arms. Try as the healthy arms might to blow a 7-1 lead, and Brandon League, Jeremy Accardo, and Jason "The Sausage King" Frasor really gave it their all, the Jays weren't leaving New York without a win.

While it certainly doesn't even the score, the efforts from above were certainly appreciated. With Marc Rzepczynski taking the ball tomorrow (who?), hopefully there's more where that came from.

Keeping with the appreciation vibe, I'm very thankful for Scott Rolen. Now at 23 games, I hope his hitting streak can outlast Shawn Green's team record of 28. After only a year and a half in Toronto, Rolen is already well-deserving of having some Jays history attached to his name. He's that fucking good. (GBOAT!!1)

Also: Ricky Romero. Sweet, sweet Ricky Romero. Believe that he could win Rookie of the Year.

UPDATE: It's rare, but sometimes the "Monkey Army" at Drunk Jays Fans is actually good for something. Case in point: one of them pointed out that Shaun Marcum took the hill for the Dunedin Blue Jays Monday night. Three innings pitched, two hits allowed, and one strikeout. In typical fashion, he retired six via groundout, and two via flyout. North of fucking Steeles! I can definitely drink to that.

Hating the National League

Don't you just love it when a pitcher - I don't know, say Ricky Romero, or Scott Downs - who has no business hitting, and who probably doesn't want to hit, has to bat? Me too. It's so much fun; so exciting.

I love how National League enthusiasts continuously defend the asinine decision not to employ a designated hitter with the standard "there's more strategy" rebuttal.

Sure, there's more strategy. I get that. But in most cases, it doesn't take a genius of a manager to throw around the eighth hitter in a lineup to get to the pitcher. Even Buck Martinez can do that.

At the end of the day, pitchers can't hit. Period.

Last night, thanks to bullshit Interleague play, Scott Downs was injured running out a ground ball (x-rays were negative), and Ricky Romero struck out three times, leaving eight men on base.

They're pitchers. They should exclusively pitch, much like in the progressive, forward-thinking American League. Let the hitters hit.

I'm off the National League, huge ...

With the Blue Jays down 3-2 last night, guess who kicked off the 9th inning rally to tie the game? One Vernon Wells, with an infield single to the pitcher. It was his first hit in 21 at-bats. Darrin Fletcher, the greatest colour commentator ever, said it best: that's how all slumps end. Believe ...

If you're pissed off at Alex Rios for his boneheaded baserunning gaffe in the 8th inning, you should be equally pissed off at Nick Leyva. He fucked up, too. While that type of mistake happens in baseball, it seemingly happens too often to Alex Rios. (Richard Griffin is kind of upset about it.) There can't possibly be a better nickname for Rios than The Blissfully Oblivious Gazelle ...

Speaking of nicknames, I think it's official: Jason Frasor is the Sausage King of the bullpen. While I loved some of the suggestions - Bullpen Ninja, Hightower, Fire Hydrant - Sausage King was too good to pass up ...

It wasn't exactly a great performance, and he was bailed out by the aforementioned Sausage King, but B.J. Ryan is now working on six innings of scoreless relief. Believe in The Beej ...

I'd love to know what Cito Gaston said to Ricky Romero in a visit to the mound only three batters into last night's first inning. Whatever it was, it worked. The rendezvous was, my friends, the ultimate example of The Cito Effect ...

Keeping on Romero, he continues to shine. Of the eight American League rookie starting pitchers who've made at least eight starts and thrown at least 50 innings, Rick-Ro leads the way with a 3.73 ERA. His G/F ratio of 1.14 is second to only Baltimore's Brad Bergesen. Boners.

UPDATE: Brad Mills to start for Casey Janssen on Thursday. Serious boners.

The road trip from hell

Third place? The fuck? ...

All of a sudden, the Blue Jays' offence is second-weakest the fourth most prolific in the AL East. I blame Rob Iracane ...

It's only a matter of time before Shawn Camp is sent to Las Vegas, with Jeremy Accardo - he of the 3.00 Pacific Coast League ERA - coming up to take his place. Right? ...

I hate Mondays. Especially when it becomes the seventh consecutive day of losing baseball. Much like The Ack, I've been "a miserable son of a bitch" for a week. So much for maintaining an even keel during the highs and lows of the baseball season ...

When it comes to Cito Gaston's refusal, losing streak be damned, to move Vernon Wells the fuck out of the cleanup spot alter his lineup, I feel like Kramer, pleading with Jerry to call Alec Berg to thank him for the hockey tickets: "You stubborn, stupid, silly man!" Lord knows The Cito has more patience than me. Hell, than all of us ...

Speaking of Mr. Wells, he's driven in one run since May 6th, and has yet to hit a ball to the opposite field. That is both depressing, and incredibly unbelievable. His .172 batting average with runners in scoring position is about as clutch as I was the first time I tried to unstrap a bra ...

Welcome back, Ricky Romero ...

Is B.J. Ryan finished? ...

I'm excited, and scared, about Boston's visit to town beginning Friday night. More scared ...

The Blue Jays are testing our patience; testing our resolve. And they're doing it at the worst possible time: The Tao of Stieb said farewell to nicotine eight days ago, and I've recently embarked on a sabbatical from alcohol. Suffice it to say, The Tao needs a smoke, and I need a drink ...

They say it's impolite to stare ...

... but I could look at the standings all day long.

The Jays have the AL East's best record, most productive offense (batting .305 with runners in scoring position!), and best pitching staff (a 1.28 staff WHIP!). The view from the top is everything I thought it would be.

Brett Cecil continues to arouse Jays fans across the land. The Beej is back. And don't put too much stock into J.P. Ricciardi's comments about the pitching staff, and his optioning of Ricky Romero to Las Vegas. Ricciardi's a liar, remember? Romero will be back with the Jays before May is out.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot: Aaron Hill > Dustin Pedroia.

A quarter of the season is just about in the books. You'd be foolish not to believe.

UPDATE: Bartolo Colon is fat.

Beer and the Blue Jays

Ricky Romero's been placed on the disabled list. Have a beer. To drown your sorrows.

B.J. Ryan joined him. Have a beer. In celebration.

Richard Griffin wrote an interesting and provocative blog post. Have a few. It may never happen again.

We, loyal fans, will only be able to watch an upcoming Blue Jays/Red Sox series on TSN2, which nobody has access to. Drink up. Get mad.

Scott Richmond once again performed yeoman's work on the mound. Six innings, six hits, two earned runs (albeit both on solo home runs), and eight strikeouts. What more can one possibly ask of a fifth starter? Cheers, Scott. With a Canadian lager, of course.

Three more home runs last night. Twenty-eight on the season; the second-highest total in baseball. Chicks dig the long ball. And so do I. Get drunk on that one. 

Scott Downs picked up his first save of 2009. I admit, I was loathe to have him move out of his set-up role. Why mess with a good thing? But he got the job done. Raise your glass in honour of the Jays' new closer. With the game on the line there's no one I trust more with the ball than Snakeface.

In spite of all the second-guessing of The Cito, and in spite of all the injuries, the Jays are still in first place; are still playing .700 baseball. Forget the beer. Believe that the Jays are going to win the pennant.

Ricky Romero is indeed so fine ...

Oakland's Jack Cust thinks so too.

"He's got a bright future. He reminds of (Johan) Santana a little bit, his body and his mannerisms, the way he throws. Santana's got those broad shoulders like he's got. 

"He's similar, he's got a similar arm slot, similar delivery. He's going to be good."

He already is, Mr. Cust. Damn good.

Romero's 2-0. The proud owner of a 1.71 ERA, and bonerific 1.10 WHIP. He's thrown as many innings and allowed as many hits as one Roy Halladay: 21, and 19. Exquisite company. If spots two through five behind Doc were up for grabs in the Toronto Blue Jays' rotation, it's safe to say LL Cool Rick'Ro has grabbed number two. With authority. And I am loving every minute of it.

The bats fell silent over the weekend. But it was the pitchers' time to shine. Shout out to Brian Tallet; what a spot start on Saturday afternoon. The team couldn't have possibly asked for more. And Scott Downs. What's left to say about Downs that hasn't been said before? He is unreal. Another three and a third innings of relief over the weekend, and nary a run allowed; not even a hit. So far this season, in 7.2 innings of work, Downs has allowed two hits, zero walks, zero runs, and struck out twelve. Don't you ever change, Snakeface.

David Purcey, no shout out for you. Stop. Walking. Batters. His 13 walks (in only 15.1 innings) are more than Halladay (3), Romero (4), and Scott Richmond (5) have combined to throw. They're unacceptable. And I'm sure The Cito and Th'Arnsberg (The Arnsberg) won't stand for them much longer.

The Blue Jays are 10-4, winners of their first four series. And that's what it's all about: winning each and every series. Everyone is doing their part. From Halladay, to Romero, to Aaron Hill, to Marco Scutaro, to Travis Snider, to Adam Lind, to Shawn Camp, to ... well, everyone except Alex Rios and Purcey, really.

What was that? Speak up, J.P. Ricciardi haters. I'm having a difficult time hearing you.

Toronto is the best team in the American League; the only team in the Junior Circuit sporting double digits in wins. I must admit, the view from up here is pretty fantastic. I could get used to it. And the Jays' first game against an AL East opponent is still 11 games away. Pile up the wins, boys. You're going to need them come September.

A much-deserved day off for the local nine, today. Read Jeff Blair's article. He won't admit it, but I think he's beginning to believe. 

Playoffs!!!!1

Pennant, too, of course. They go hand in hand.

What was that, Bruce Arthur?

Far be it from me to point out when someone is wrong, considering I'm, uh, not right 98.2% of the time, but the National Post's Bruce Arthur rained all over my optimism/pennant parade with his column on Tuesday, so I've no choice but to let him have it.

Here's some of what Arthur wrote yesterday (my emphasis in bold):

"... Of course, it's like this every Opening Day, even in Toronto, when Roy Halladay is pitching in front of 48,000 fans, and first place in the American League East is not yet conceded. If you could imagine that a healthy Dustin McGowan was following Halladay tonight, and Shaun Marcum was going tomorrow, and more promising young arms would follow after that, then you would be a happy Blue Jays fan, indeed.

"Instead the rotation turns to butter for the rest of the week, and the crowds will probably melt along with it. As one long-time Jays observer put it, 'the worst part about tonight is tomorrow.'"

Well, Bruce, butter David Purcey most certainly is not.

Toronto's new number two starter was certainly up to the task last night. He went seven strong on 101 pitches, striking out five, and giving up three runs - two of them earned - on five hits and three walks.

Yeah, he erred in the 7th inning when he failed to hit catcher Rod Barajas on an intentional walk attempt (the fuck?), and then threw the ball into centre field after the fact, but Scott Rolen and Aaron Hill picked up their pitcher in the home half of the 8th. Because they are heroes. And that's what heroes do - hit home runs.

Speaking of Hill, if he stays healthy this season, it will soon sink in, if it hasn't already, just how significant his loss to injury last season truly was. It gets me all hot and bothered to see him back on the field, and back at the plate. Hill's special.

I know, I know, B.J. Ryan blew the save. Let's not talk about it. Not right now, at least. The Jays picked up the win. Wins in April matter.

Anyway, here's hoping Bruce Arthur shows Purcey some love in his column today. Something along the lines of "I can't believe it's not butter!" would be suffice. He earned a no-decision, but Purcey was effective, even if he did rely almost solely on his fastball. Should the Jays have a prayer in 2009, that's how our friend David will have to pitch. Period.

And I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to tonight; Jesse Litsch, baby. And tomorrow afternoon; the Major League debut of one Ricky Romero. More promising young arms. Well, whatta ya know ...

Pennant.