Lefties B.J. Ryan and Ricky Romero both went on the DL on the same day but their stories are far from similar.
At first glance, the only two things that veteran closer B.J. Ryan and rookie starter Ricky Romero have in common is that they throw left-handed and landed on the disabled list on the same day.
For Ryan, coming off arguably his worst outing in four seasons with the Jays, it was kind of expected. Although, those of us that glance at the 'grassy knoll' from time to time like to think that there's more than meets the eye going on here. Yes, Ryan has been horrible through his first six appearances of this young season but the Jays have yet to lose a game in which manager Cito Gaston has called his number. Sure his outings have made us think back to the days of Joey McLaughlin coming in to throw gas onto the fire, but a win is a win. Last I checked, the team with the most wins in the tough East Division of the American League gets to play in October, something not seen in these parts in 16 years.
I'm not going to sit here and claim that Ryan is just missing his spots, or that he's getting beaten on good pitches, because he's not. His fastball has lost a few feet of it which doesn't make his quirky delivery that deceptive anymore. Last season he saved 32 games after missing the majority of the 2007 season following Tommy John surgery. If this had occurred a year ago, the ligament-replacement surgery would be the scapegoat and he would have been removed from the closer's role until he got stronger.
But that's not the case in 2009. Ryan was boxed around pretty heavily in spring training games, which led to him removing himself from consideration for bullpen work for Team USA at the recently completed World Baseball Classic II. And as his 11.12 ERA and two blown saves have shown to this point it doesn't appear that he's getting any better.
The official line from the Blue Jays on Thursday was that Ryan was going on the 15-day disabled list due to a tight trapezius muscle, which runs from the back of the should to the neck. We'll have to take them at their word, although the club's history of revealing injuries re: Ryan back, errrr… elbow have left many of us sceptical. In a perfect world, Ryan is out for two weeks, rehabs in the minors and then comes back to claim his rightful place as the go-to guy in the ninth inning.
Or, perhaps, and no one would ever wish for this, Ryan is done. It wouldn't be the first time that a Major League pitcher just suddenly came to the end. We've seen it before in Toronto when Bill Caudill arrived from Oakland in the winter of 1984, fresh off 88 saves over three seasons with the Mariners and A's. All they got out of Caudill was 16 saves over two uneven seasons and if not for Pat Gillick's theft of unknown Tom Henke from the Rangers as free agent compensation, their first A.L. title in 1985 may not have happened.
All I know is, Ryan's career is definitely at a crossroads and we'll know over the next month whether he can be counted on this season.
For Romero, his injury is poorly timed, especially with Jesse Litsch having already joined Shaun Marcum, Dustin McGowan and Casey Janssen in the infirmary. The lesson to be learned here is that rap music is nothing to sneeze at. Before his start last week in Minnesota, while listening to some hip-hop (Young Sneezy perhaps?) to relax, Ricky ah-chooed and pulled an oblique muscle. He pitched through the discomfort, with the Jays winning both of his starts but the pain was becoming unbearable and they decided to shut him down for a couple of weeks. Smart call with his career just beginning and they'll have to make do with another recall from Las Vegas, although looking at Brian Burres' career MLB stats makes one wonder why he was tabbed to make two or three starts? Luckily, in Ryan's case, Scott Downs is more than able to step into the closer's role with Jesse Carlson, Jason Frasor and Brandon League picking up the slack in the set-up roles.
It's not expected that Romero will be out longer than the 15 days he is mandate to miss. After that, he'll be re-inserted into the rotation and pick up where he left off (fingers crossed!). For Ryan, the picture is decidedly less clear.
One left-hander with his career in its infancy, another with his career hanging in the balance. And somehow the Blue Jays are sitting atop the American League standings. Something tells me the 2009 season is going to be a wild ride.
Buckle up, and enjoy it.
