RealGM

Ricciardi said Cecil and fellow rookies Scott Richmond and Robert Ray, along with borrowed bullpen veteran Brian Tallet, are keeping Janssen and Romero in the minors, even though they have recovered from their injuries.

http://www.canada.com/Young+hurlers+lea ... story.html

“We’re just trying to see what’s the best fit for us as we go series to series,” general manager J.P. Ricciardi said Thursday. “We’re just trying to ride the hottest hands we got.”

I don't know if Ray is the hottest hand, I would rather have Romero replace Ray in the rotation.

i guess Cito isn't a believer of keeping your job despite being injured..

http://www.drunkjaysfans.com/2009/05/ro ... moted.html

So apparently JP won't bring them up until Ray and Richmond inevitably get rocked again..

The rotation is currently:
Halladay
Richmond
Tallet
Cecil
Ray

So..a long reliever, and 3 pitchers who weren't in the major leagues a year ago and there's no open spot for Janssen (proven reliable pitcher) and Romero (ERA under 2 in his 3 starts). If JP sticks with these guys and they get lit up instead of having Janssen and Romero out there, and the Jays end up missing the playoffs by a few wins, I am going to be pissed.

Yeah, right. Ricky Romero was awesome, why on earth would they keep him in the minors and keep sending Ray out there. I call bull, thats just throwing games for no reason.

This is just his dream scenario right now, giving the current guys his vote of confidence. But I can't see how Janssen/Romero aren't needed real soon, especially in Ray's case...Richmond has had two bad innings so far this season, there shouldn't be any talk about him being out of the rotation yet.

Both should be brought up as soon as they are ready. Romero looked really good at the start of the season, and could step in to replace Ray or Tallet in the rotation (having Tallet back in the bullpen really strengthens the middle relievers on this team).

I think Tallet has earned a longer look in the rotation and you can argue that Janssen could use the time in AAA to work out the kinks after his extended stay on the DL, but I couldn't fathom why Ray was kept up instead of Romero.

Yet while I type this Ray has allowed one run through seven and I'm reminded why I'm not a GM.

i think that, if you are JP or Gaston, you are thrilled with each and every victory you get from your rag-tag starting 5.
at the beginning of the year, it was Halliday plus 4 losers.
its not like Romero or Jansen are the answers to stability.
let Tallet et al. pitch until they have one crappy performance.
and the fear of demotion (i.e. guys waiting in the wings) may be enough to get quality starts from the current starting 5.

YogiStewart wrote:i think that, if you are JP or Gaston, you are thrilled with each and every victory you get from your rag-tag starting 5.
at the beginning of the year, it was Halliday plus 4 losers.
its not like Romero or Jansen are the answers to stability.
let Tallet et al. pitch until they have one crappy performance.
and the fear of demotion (i.e. guys waiting in the wings) may be enough to get quality starts from the current starting 5.

while I can see some merit into that argument, I don't think it's a good environment to be in, and not a great way to reach out to your prospects. Having confidence in the pitcher is great, and it must be a lot of pressure to look over your shoulder.

Not sure how different it is, but look how Bargnani thrived when he admitted that Sam would yank him if he makes a mistake.

I must admit, I'm not a fan of what JP is doing. The pitchers already know they're on a short leash, but with 3 rooks and 1 long reliever in there as your 4 other starters, it really creates a Joey Graham under Sam Mitchell situation, which obviously worked as well as using Superglue as sexual lubricant.

Creating an environment with that much pressure on rookies is not good. Just come out and tell us what the rotation is.

Personally, even though Ray pitched an out of this world game today, he still goes down to the minors. He lacks experience right now, he was in A ball for quite awhile. Also going down is Brian Wolfe, and we move Scott Richmond as our long man out of the pen. Richmond CANNOT get lefties out and it's quite obvious.

The rotation under jalenrose#5

Doc
Romero
Tallet
Janssen
Cecil(Litsch/Purcey)

Romero, a high pick in a strong draft, is finally showing that he's the blue chipper he was meant to be and the Jays are keeping him in the minors? The Jays have a chimp for a GM.

IMO,

Halladay
Romero
Litsch
Cecil
Janssen

With Tallet and Richmond in the bullpen.

Janssen I don't mind since he's been away for a while, but Romero? This to me, sends a bad message. I hope pitchers won't try to play through injuries knowing they might lose their spots :S

Romero will be back up soon, you guys are stressing. As for Janssen with the surplus of starters right now, maybe they should get him a spot in the bullpen for the time being and see how it goes from there. If Cecil is on a pitch count this season, I wonder how long they're going to keep him in the rotation. As for Litch, not sure what his deal is, but I don't even know where you put him in right now, unless you consider taking Richmond out.

Halladay
Tallet
Cecil
Romero
RIchmond

Cecil MUST go back down, and soon, for long-term salary control purposes (something called the super-2 rule). JP knows that, but he may feel pressure to maximize wins now. Richmond's apparently lost control of a pitch, and he'll have one more start to find it.

LMAO at all the Smitch references. It's true that Cito is the anti-Smitch, but then again baseball is the polar opposite of basketball in terms of mental approach.

I don't think holding these guys back is terrible although the obvious move in my opinion would be to send down one of the relievers and bring up Romero. He should be back in the starting 5. With Tallet and Richmond pitching fairly well in their starts I don't think Janssen is needed in the rotation. He should go back to the bullpen where he had his biggest success. Ray has earned at least one more start and Tallet also deserves another shot but those are the two guys that would move down to AAA or into the bullpen.

Janssen could use a few good outings in AAA to make sure he is completely healthy, but Romero should be up ASAP IMO.