Darn you, Troy Tulowitzki.
You had to go and be good, didn't you?
And not just eventually either.
Your jersey from Long Beach State hadn't returned from the frame shop before you were playing in the big leagues. And there you were, slightly two years removed from the draft, as a starting shortstop on a World Series (losing) team.
You spent all that time scooping ground balls while, unknowingly, sullying the name of a good man.
Well, if you've been paying attention, that man has freed himself from the grave of public opinion.
Ricky Romero, once known only as "that left-hander drafted ahead of Tulowitzki," can now lean on a more accurate title like "commendable major league pitcher."
The soft-spoken rookie has helped the Blue Jays hang around the playoff race.
His most recent outing, Wednesday's eight-inning beauty, was a text-book example of how to avoid getting rattled.
If a first-inning, four-pitch walk to B.J. Upton had Romero on edge, his pick-off moments later eased the nerves. He didn't allow Alex Rios' blunder while trying to catch Carl Crawford going first-to-third phase him either. A walk to Ben Zobrist and a double-play ball from Pat Burrell fixed that.
And that double-play that Marco Scutaro fumbled an inning later?
No biggie.
Last month, Romero could have pulled on jersey No. 32 and caused observers to wonder when Roy Halladay had become a southpaw. The kid was exceptional in all five of his June starts, and the only one he lost was a 1-0 heartbreaker that would have swept a rain-shortened series in Texas.
Lord knows where Romero would be listed on the depth chart if injuries to Shaun Marcum and Dustin McGowan hadn't pried the bottle-cap of opportunity.
Or what his won-lost record might be in Las Vegas if Brad Arnsberg hadn't insisted on keeping him around big league camp in March. That may have been the career-altering move. Those first-round picks are prized heifers, but they get lost among the cattle by spending a little too much time in minor league camp.
The early part of this voyage has been good to Romero, but rough waters await.
He'll be seeing the Rays and Red Sox a little more often now, and the familiarity will mean he'll have to make adjustments.
Still, Romero is starting to look like he was worth the sixth choice of the 2005 draft.
Your turn: Agree or disagree?
