With lactic acid searing his legs, a heart rate-monitor recording his progress, and no end in sight to the interval workout, Blue Jays pitcher Ricky Romero gripped the handles of the exercise bike and kept pumping the pedals.

If you think the second-year southpaw starter feels entitled to the top spot in the Jays' rotation with Roy Halladay gone, think again. Instead of waiting to be acclaimed the team's ace, Romero spent his off-season training hard to cement his spot among Toronto's starting pitchers.

"I'm humbled and hungry, man," Romero said. "I've never gotten complacent and I'm not about to start now. ... There's about 15 other guys that want my job and every one of them is hungry."