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Had a great outing today. Thought I'd bring the discussion about the kid out of the series thread, and into a new one...

High praise from Jack Cust:

"He's got a bright future," Cust said. "He reminds me of 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 seems to always be confident in himself:

"Deep, deep inside me I knew what I could do this whole time," Romero said. "This ain't no surprise to me. I know there's going to be bumps along the road, but I feel at this point it's all about getting better."

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd ... Id=rss_tor

I posted this link in the game thread, but might as well post it here too. It's about how Ricky won a spot in the rotation back in March.

Romero is also featured in Yahoo's Weedly Rundown:

http://sports.yahoo.com/fantasy/blog/ro ... asy,157405

He's looked good so far hopefully he can keep improving. Love the Santana comparison.

He's been really impressive so far. He seems confident and poised. I love what I'm seeing from him. The rotation should be in pretty good shape if Romero can keep it up and McGowan and Janssen (and Marcum next year) can get healthy.

Too much confidence. He'll get hit hard once the scouting report is out. It all comes down to how he adjusts at that point. That will define his career.

J-Roc wrote:Too much confidence. He'll get hit hard once the scouting report is out. It all comes down to how he adjusts at that point. That will define his career.

What do you want him to say?!

I actually like his confidence. Good for him. He's been impressive thus far.

RapsFuturePG#26 wrote:

J-Roc wrote:Too much confidence. He'll get hit hard once the scouting report is out. It all comes down to how he adjusts at that point. That will define his career.

What do you want him to say?!

I actually like his confidence. Good for him. He's been impressive thus far.

Uhhh, say nothing.

But whatever, he's a kid who doesn't understand the concept of scouting reports and pitching the "second time around" the league.

J-Roc wrote:

RapsFuturePG#26 wrote:

J-Roc wrote:Too much confidence. He'll get hit hard once the scouting report is out. It all comes down to how he adjusts at that point. That will define his career.

What do you want him to say?!

I actually like his confidence. Good for him. He's been impressive thus far.

Uhhh, say nothing.

But whatever, he's a kid who doesn't understand the concept of scouting reports and pitching the "second time around" the league.

Who says he doesn't understand that? I don't understand why it's such a big deal that he's confident. If he wasn't so confident he might never have bounced back from some sub-par years in the minors.

Nobody expects him to maintain an ERA under 2 for the rest of the season. But just because he's a rookie it doesn't mean that he's going to fall apart later in the year.

I always enjoy it when a young guy seems to come out of nowhere to have some success. In Romero's case it's quite out of nowhere, but clearly he had fallen down the depth chart a little in the organization.

All he had to do was succeed against the scrubs in the minors. He only got a shot with the big club because of injuries. And now he's all, "I always knew it..." Puh-lease.

But whatever, I'm obviously on his side and hoping he turns out to be good. I've just watched baseball long enough to know it's not about your first time through the league, but your second and third times.

very heady praise.

glad to hear it.

I think Jack Cust led the AL in K's last year lol

Hmm, am I allowed to like Ricky and still hate JP for drafting him? Is that permissible?

I particularly like Ricky because his name reminds me of the Raps' upcoming draft selection.

tecumseh18 wrote:Hmm, am I allowed to like Ricky and still hate JP for drafting him? Is that permissible?

I particularly like Ricky because his name reminds me of the Raps' upcoming draft selection.

the name Ricky will rule Toronto....... Rubio and Romero baby

J-Roc, he was mentioning he expected bumps along the way - it wasn't like he was expressing a sense of entitlement about success at the major league level. Just that he has the capabilities to succeed at this level.

It certainlt seems that he has turned the corner in a lot of ways. He clearly has the junk, and being in the majors with doc and arnsberg appear to have been the right medicine at the right time. I mean the guy had considerable innings in the high minors before putting it together, and he is still young.

He is certainly demonstrating that swagger and competitiveness that was talked about from the college world series and his time with team us. He really carries himself well and it is evident that he wants to win and perform well.

It was nice seeing arnsberg chatting with ricky after his day was done. I think with this coaching, pitching staff, and team defense, it is a great opprotunity for young pitchers to hone their craft. (Hopefully purcey can follow suit also!)

TJ Caino wrote:
It was nice seeing arnsberg chatting with ricky after his day was done. I think with this coaching, pitching staff, and team defense, it is a great opprotunity for young pitchers to hone their craft. (Hopefully purcey can follow suit also!)

It's funny to imagine that the Jays may have the best batting coach (and manager) along with the best pitching coach in the majors. The statistical evidence is there - best team ERA last year, best hitting this year. Our defence doesn't seem isn't bad either, even without J. MacDonald out there. We're 8th overall in fielding.

Ricky has very good stuff - he throws hard with movement and for the moment anyway, is able to locate his fastball and off-speed pitches. I don't agree that he's bound to get touched up his second time around the league. It might happen of course but it's not inevitable with the kind of stuff he has.

Jesse Litsch on the other hand throws an 86 mph heater that could end up in the 5th deck at any moment. Once a batter sees Litsch a few times, and his command is a little off, fans in the outfield seats should wear hard hats.

Romero on off day can still get guys out by virtue of the quality of his pitches.

Purcey throws a dead straight fastball and like LItsch walks a tightrope when his command is off.

Pro athletes are always cocky - they have to be. You can't perform at a high level with seeds of doubt in your mind.

victor page wrote:Ricky has very good stuff - he throws hard with movement and for the moment anyway, is able to locate his fastball and off-speed pitches. I don't agree that he's bound to get touched up his second time around the league. It might happen of course but it's not inevitable with the kind of stuff he has.

Jesse Litsch on the other hand throws an 86 mph heater that could end up in the 5th deck at any moment. Once a batter sees Litsch a few times, and his command is a little off, fans in the outfield seats should wear hard hats.

Romero on off day can still get guys out by virtue of the quality of his pitches.

Purcey throws a dead straight fastball and like LItsch walks a tightrope when his command is off.

Pro athletes are always cocky - they have to be. You can't perform at a high level with seeds of doubt in your mind.

well i'm still going to play the "wait and see" game... his 3 starts are amazing, but I do'nt want to jump the gun too quickly. What J-Roc said is true, it's usually the sophomore season that players need time to adjust. Look at past Rookie of the Year players, and most of them you'll be thinking "who is that??"

Thought I'd add this article and this one, too.

I like his confidence; it usually implies resilience in the face of difficulty... which he has experienced in his career already. He sounds conscious of the fact that he'll hit rough patches but that confidence he has (and the confidence JP and Arnsberg have in him) will serve him well.

He's got what, 4 pitches? Good variety, solid movement, Arnsberg is helping him keep his command and that's good. We can't expect a litany of success like his first 3 starts, no, but he's an encouraging young pitcher who needs time on the mound and close time with Doc and Arnsberg.

I like his chances of being a decent pitcher. The Santana stuff is a little outrageous, but I can see him being a quality rotation pitcher with what he has. He's got the potential to be better than Litsch, that's for sure.

More often than not, a rookie of the year ends up in multiple all-star games, Didn't happen for Eric Hinske and a few others, but for the most part, you're talking about a big time player.

Obviously it's way too early to say Romero will win ROY, or even stay in the rotation for the whole year. But when a 25 year old rookie is mowing hitters down with electric stuff, I think it's ok to get a little excited as a Jays fan.

I think it's OK to get excited; as Toronto fans, we're snake-bitten by the thought that good things can happen to our teams, but we need to get excited from time to time.