Hayhurst: Romero should have been sent down to fix himself

[dagger]

http://dirkhayhurst.com/2012/09/send-ro ... ng-him-up/

I'm sure Hayhurst will ingratiate himself with Farrell and AA for this rant. But I think he's right. It should have been done a month ago. Now it's too late.

Furthermore, the fact that Ricky has not made a solid recovery makes me question the coaching and management. I’ve a great deal of respect for the coaching staff with the Jays, but this much struggle from the flagship pitcher over this much time makes me question the aptitude they have to fix Ricky. I don’t blame Ricky for his struggles this year because I know his heart and how hard he’s trying. I know he’d take all the responsibility on his own shoulders because that’s the type of guy he is. But it’s not all his fault. WIth this much attention on a player and this much incentive to get him fixed, I wonder if they’ve made the best decisions to fix him.

[MGD24]

http://dirkhayhurst.com/2012/09/send-romero-down-so-you-can-bring-him-up/

I'm sure Hayhurst will ingratiate himself with Farrell and AA for this rant. But I think he's right. It should have been done a month ago. Now it's too late.

Furthermore, the fact that Ricky has not made a solid recovery makes me question the coaching and management. I’ve a great deal of respect for the coaching staff with the Jays, but this much struggle from the flagship pitcher over this much time makes me question the aptitude they have to fix Ricky. I don’t blame Ricky for his struggles this year because I know his heart and how hard he’s trying. I know he’d take all the responsibility on his own shoulders because that’s the type of guy he is. But it’s not all his fault. WIth this much attention on a player and this much incentive to get him fixed, I wonder if they’ve made the best decisions to fix him.

He may be right but Hayhurst is annoying. He's like Gregg Zaun Jr.

[Michael Bradley]

Well, he is right, and it extends well beyond Romero. Alvarez showed he was not MLB ready about 2-3 months ago and was still thrown out there every 5th day to fail. Drabek couldn't get past 5 innings without throwing 100 pitches and was still being thrown out there until his elbow gave out. I don't know if it's AA, Farrell, or both, but the lack of common sense is a little frustrating.

[Kaizen]

Where are all these starters supposed to come from to replace them? I thought the stupid Happ trade was defended because we needed starters because of all the injuries. Was Zito sent down when he sucked for San Francisco? How about John Lackey? What about AJ Burnett? It is ridiculous to think we acted out of the ordinary in not sending him down.

[dagger]

Where are all these starters supposed to come from to replace them? I thought the stupid Happ trade was defended because we needed starters because of all the injuries. Was Zito sent down when he sucked for San Francisco? How about John Lackey? What about AJ Burnett? It is ridiculous to think we acted out of the ordinary in not sending him down.

Did any of those melt down as badly as Romero? This is quite a collapse. As for replacements, Jenkins, the guy who took over from him today, while not ready for prime time starting, still was less of an embarrassment than Romero. The point is, it's more important to turn Romero around - by whatever means - than worrying about how his replacement pitches. This season was dead and buried a month ago.

[Skin Blues]

Lackey had TJ surgery. Burnett had his giant salary paid for by the Yankees and was traded for a sack of used baseballs. I'd rather they send him to the minors than to have the same fate as those two. He has clearly not been an MLB calibre pitcher since April ended. Not even by Blue Jays standards.

Fun fact: Henderson Alvarez, with a 5.04 ERA, is leading the team among those qualified for the ERA title.

[dagger]

The thing that surprises me, listening to Romero, is that no one seems to know what he's doing wrong. Hanging some fastballs, that's all he says. There doesn't seem to be a loss of velocity. Now maybe he needs to add another secondary pitch he can get over for first strikes or something like that, but he isn't suggesting that either.

If there is nothing lacking, then it's mainly mental, and removing oneself from the pressure cooker and throwing in the minors would have let him exorcise his demons. Instead, every outing at the major league level has become a pistol whipping for his confidence.

[RapsFanInVA]

Is there any kind of clause where a team can option their worst player to Barbados for a two week paid vacation with a mandate to perform no baseball related activities? I think Ricky could use that right now.

[bigdirty2]

The thing that surprises me, listening to Romero, is that no one seems to know what he's doing wrong. Hanging some fastballs, that's all he says. There doesn't seem to be a loss of velocity. Now maybe he needs to add another secondary pitch he can get over for first strikes or something like that, but he isn't suggesting that either.

If there is nothing lacking, then it's mainly mental, and removing oneself from the pressure cooker and throwing in the minors would have let him exorcise his demons. Instead, every outing at the major league level has become a pistol whipping for his confidence.

He needs some veteran guys to get with him and fix his head. RR is obviously extremely immature and weak mentally. All the signs have been there this year.

Farrell and AA seem to be going with 100% tough love and want him to fix it by himself. I guess we'll find out if he can fix himself in the offseason.

[bigdirty2]

Is there any kind of clause where a team can option their worst player to Barbados for a two week paid vacation with a mandate to perform no baseball related activities? I think Ricky could use that right now.

Gee, I'm pretty sure I could get the same result as RR's last 11 outings. Can I get a paid vacation to barbados?

[LLJ]

[

He needs some veteran guys to get with him and fix his head. RR is obviously extremely immature and weak mentally. All the signs have been there this year.

I don't know about that. RR's tendency to take small slights to motivate himself is what got him his success in the first place. When he was labelled a bit of a bust by Ricciardi, RR posted those comments on his locker to motivate himself to get better, and he did.

So RR has always been emotional like that.

[LBJSeizedMyID]

He needs some veteran guys to get with him and fix his head. RR is obviously extremely immature and weak mentally. All the signs have been there this year.

This is obvious how?

[spykelee]

Darren Oliver has said he has talked to Ricky at length on multiple occasions throughout the year. The gist of it being that all pitchers/players go through ups and downs for a variety of reasons. That this kind of thing happens to everyone. It doesn't get anymore veteran than Darren Oliver. Rick is a good pitcher, I think he'll be fine moving forward.

[whysoserious]

I'm not sure sending him down does anything unless you expect him to dominate players that aren't going to be big-league players to regain his confidence. At the same time, he's so emotional that sending him down could actually hurt him.

It's not like they've identified mechanical issues that they can send him down to work on and fix. It's entirely mental at this point and with all the injuries, I think Ricky has the personality like he has to carry everything and that may have been too much for him to handle.

[LBJSeizedMyID]

I'm not sure sending him down does anything unless you expect him to dominate players that aren't going to be big-league players to regain his confidence. At the same time, he's so emotional that sending him down could actually hurt him.

No, it didn't work for Doc Halladay or Cliff Lee either. How can you say not sending him down doesn't do anything for him? The only "real" reason you wouldn't send him down was the fact that he'd get only two or three starts with the minor league season ending soon.

[whysoserious]

I'm not sure sending him down does anything unless you expect him to dominate players that aren't going to be big-league players to regain his confidence. At the same time, he's so emotional that sending him down could actually hurt him.

No, it didn't work for Doc Halladay or Cliff Lee either. How can you say not sending him down doesn't do anything for him? The only "real" reason you wouldn't send him down was the fact that he'd get only two or three starts with the minor league season ending soon.

Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Doc go down and they completely re-worked his mechanics and after he came up from that is when he really developed at the major league level.

As for Romero, I think the point wasn't to send him down now, but months ago to get a bunch of starts in the minors. But again, it's not like he needs to work on mechanics, it's mental. And being the way he is, it could actually hurt him more to be sent down since he's so emotional.

[dagger]

Well, they have decided to try something. RR will skip his scheduled Saturday start and pitch next Wednesday. The idea is to see how he responds after more rest.

[Ado05]

I believe Roy was very early in his career when he was sent down. Ricky Ro has had multiple good years.

[Kaizen]

Who is pitching Saturday?

[Homer Jay]

I think Happ is projected for Saturday.