Testing It: September Call Ups
The calendar turned over, school started again and we, as Jays fans, are once again out of the playoff race. All we have to look forward to now are September call-ups.
Two are 2012 Tommy John patients- Kyle Drabek and Luis Peres. One is relief pitcher Jeremy Jeffress, who is known (in my head, anyway) as the 420 pitcher and catcher Mike Nickeas.
I was a little disappointed not to see Marcus Stroman or Drew Hutchison. Stroman tweeted his disappointment:
That feeling of being overlooked bothers me like nothing else. I'm hungry! If you're not starving, I can't relate.
— Marcus Stroman (@MStrooo7) September 3, 2013
Stroman was 9-5 with a 3.30 ERA in 20 starts for the AA New Hampshire Fishercats. In his final start Monday, he pitched eight innings, allowed one run and struck out 11. It was the third time in his past 11 starts that he had reached double figures in strikeouts. Apparently, the September call ups aren't done, so the tiny little power pitcher might be still be seen. Though if the Jays decide to be cautious, it won't be that shocking to not see him either. Hutchison was deemed "not ready" after having Tommy John last season.
The biggest name to be called up is Ricky Romero. Romero, in a season that is somehow more baffling than in 2012, has been a subject of intense debate. He had decent starts in Buffalo, and terrible ones. And the Jays upper management had some questions as to whether calling him up was going to hurt him more than harm him.
Pre-call up, Romero had this to say about the possibility:
“Not really, because I'm not on the roster,” he says in an interview. “Honestly, I'm not holding my breath on it. It is what it is. I went through a whole month where I was doing good and it didn't happen. The whole time I've been down here I haven't – the day I stopped thinking about when I was going to get up there was the day is when everything started changing a little bit.
“If it happens it happens, if it doesn't, hey, I'll go home to the people that have supported me and been behind me this whole time.”
Dirk Hayhurst was well, Hayhurstian, in his assessment of the situation, talking about how Romero needs to "earn" his call up and that Romero hasn't done that yet.
I suppose one should be "earning" things, but I think the Jays are actually looking at this as a "we are paying this guy a tonne of money and it's either this or he sits at home for the last month of the season" situation. Romero might as well get some work in versus big league hitters. I suspect he'll be pitching out of the bullpen.
And that is the answer to Hayhurst's question: "So why is there this favouritism for Romero to return to MLB? Why is it a tough subject for the Jays’ management, coaching or fan base to wrestle with when the facts are what they are?"
One can't really discount the fact that Romero has team history and a big fat pay cheque as they are irrefutable aspects of him and his situation. It'd be like denying he's left handed. Or from Los Angeles.
Romero's got a fan in his AAA manager Marty Brown:
“Ricky feels like he’s a big-league pitcher and he can compete at the big-league level with where he’s at right now, and I don't disagree with that,” says Brown.
“On any given day, he can do that, but there are still the inconsistencies at some point where he has these outings you look at and think, ‘Gosh, what if that happened in Toronto, or in New York? How would Ricky deal with that mentally?’ “I'm a big fan so I'm kind of prejudiced, but if it were me, and it’s not me, I would put him to the test. I'd take him up in September and give him two or three starts to see where he’s at. I don’t think either way is wrong. But the only way you're going to find out is to test it.”
It's a difficult decision and I don't envy upper management in having to make it. I want to see Romero be a productive member of this team and his struggles have been hard to watch because I'm rather fond of the dude. I've only met him once, but I like him.
And who knows? The boys up from Buffalo, particularly Ryan Goins, have been putting on a show. Maybe Romero will do the same.
Considerably less confusing and disappointing is Edwin Encarnación. EE has continued to earn our love and admiration this season. He hit his 35th homer yesterday versus Arizona and it was a beaut. In 2010, last time the Jays played in Arizona (also the series I noticed Justin Upton for the first time), Encarnación hit five homers in the series.
“He’s dangerous,” Gibbons said. “Eddie’s not just a slugger. Eddie goes up there with a plan. He’s really a student of hitting.”
The little discussed step in Brett Lawrie's late season blossoming was "watching video with Encarnación."
A vital step, indeed.