Archive for the 'JC Romero' Category

Jun 29

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss A Citrus Sweep, Kevin Kennedy’s Work Schedule And Adjusting The Rotation

BJ Upton, David Price, JC Romero, Jeff Niemann, Kenny Diekroeger Cork Gaines 6 Comments »

Marlins Rays Baseball

Time to bring back the GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.

click above image for boxscore

THE GOOD: David Price. Not great for certain. Walking 5 batters, including  2 batters leading off an inning, never is good. But after the first 2 batters of the game got on base, he retired 8 in a row. Later he retired 8 of the final 9 batters he faced…Joe Nelson. With 1 out in the 7th and the tying run at the plate, Nelson replaced David Price. One pitch later, the Rays were out of the jam thanks to a 6-4-3…Gabe Kapler. Kapler was 11-22 in interleague play. There has been some chatter in the comments that his recent hot streak coincides directly with the arrival of his wife after their children finished the school year. In other words, Rays should look to move Kapler prior to Labor Day…Carlos Pena. A week ago, Pena bunted against the shift with the bases empty and 2 outs. That is not good because he is no threat to steal and get into scoring position. Yesterday, he bunted for a single leading off an inning. That is the ideal time.

THE BAD: Bradford And Howell. They sure tried to make things interesting in the 9th before JP Howell finally struck out Ross Gload with the bases loaded to end the game…Kevin Kennedy. Does he ever work? And is that a bad thing?.

THE TELLING: The Rays became the fastest team ever to reach 100 home runs and 100 steals…The Rays are 20-5 in their last 25 home games after starting the season 6-8 at The Trop…The Rays will play 18 of their remaining 85 games against the Blue Jays (21.2%).

SUNBURST PLAYER OF THE GAME: BJ Upton. He led off the 3rd with his 6th home run and then in the next half-inning, with the tying runs on base, he ran down a flyball to deep center to end the threat.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • Joe Maddon chose to push Jeff Niemann back to tonight’s game because he wanted to “go all righties” against the Blue Jays. He also noted that he may adjust the rotation again to separate the rookies Niemann and David Price, the next time through. With the a day off on Thursday, Matt Garza will probably go on Sunday on his normal rest, which would push Niemann back to Tuesday (July 7) on 7 days rest. [Tampa Tribune]
  • David Chalk of Bugs and Cranks has an exclusive photo of JC Romero attacking a Rays fan that looks an awful lot like Edward Norton. [Bugs and Cranks]
  • The Rays played host to their second-round pick, Kenny Diekroeger, a shortstop who is trying to decide between Stanford and the Rays. [MLB]
  • 4 of the top 5 teams in Baseball Prospectus’ power rankings reside in the AL East (thanks Scot). [Baseball Prospectus]
  • Remember when some people were preaching what a steal Eric Hinske would be for a team this year? Yeah, not so much. [North Side Notch]
  • Martin Fennelly notes that the Scott Kazmir of old has returned, but wonders if it will last. [Tampa Tribune]
Jun 27

Rays Fan Victim Of Romero’s Roid Rage?

JC Romero, Philadelphia Phrauds Cork Gaines 10 Comments »

This morning we told you that a fan had been assaulted by an unnamed Phillies pitcher following Thursday’s game. To nobody’s surprise, that player turned out to be JC Romero, who only recently returned from a 50-game suspension for using Performance Enhancing Drugs. The St. Pete Times has the details.

Eaton said he was attempting to get autographs from Phillies players when the incident happened…After players brushed him off, Eaton said he called out to Romero, something to the effect of, “How about you get me some juice?”…Romero snapped, Eaton said, telling him to “shut the f—- up” and that he didn’t know what he was talking about…Eaton said he replied that Romero was the one who’d been suspended recently…”He reared back and kinda grazed my chin and grabbed me by the neck and threw me back,” Eaton said. “I was in shock.”

Yes, we know Romero wasn’t specifically suspended by steroids. But a cheat, is a cheat. Does that make it ok to speculate that Romero also used steroids or HGH? Seems ok to us. But only if you have media credentials.

Fan says Phillies pitcher assaulted him over steroids remark [St. Pete Times]

Jun 05

JC Romero’s ‘Roid-Enduced Vacation Officially Over

JC Romero Cork Gaines 2 Comments »

phpI8znTvJC Romero of the phraudulant WFC*, who was juiced up during the World Series, has finished his 50-game sentence and is once again allowed to help the Phillies cheat their way towards glory.

We enjoyed supporting one of our favorite relievers in his battle to prove his integrity to the game of baseball, but I think we can all agree Phillies fans will be a lot happier to see J.C. Romero in the bullpen and available to pitch this evening in San Diego.

Still amazing that of the 700+ players in major league baseball, Romero was the only that was so wrongly duped into taking an illegal supplement. Oh, the humanity!

J.C. should help to shore up an already strong bullpen, one of the key strengths that led to a parade on Broad Street.

Get it? Strong. As in, he was juicing like he was Jose Canseco’s butt buddy.

And what is with that picture above? Is there any hair on Romero’s arms? Is arm hair loss a side affect of ‘roids? Or is that just the vanity of somebody that cheated the system and was rewarded with a 50-day vacation?

The Truth (Or 50 Games) Will Set You Free [The 700 Level]

Jan 10

[THE HANGOVER] The Mad Australian Comments On His Nickname

Dan Wheeler, Dewon Day, Eric Hinske, Gabe Gross, Grant Balfour is the Mad Australian, JC Romero, Jon Gruden, Matt Joyce, Rocco Baldelli, World Baseball Classic Cork Gaines 1 Comment »

The Rays claimed Dewon Day off of waivers from the Red Sox. Day, 28, is a right-handed pitcher that split time between double-A and triple-A in the White Sox organization in 2008. He posted an ERA of 4.56 at triple-A despite 25 strike outs and only 6 walks in 23.2 innings.

Day was added to the 40-man roster, taking the last available spot. He does have minor league options remaining.

Rays claim Day from Red Sox [Rays Report]

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • Grant Balfour’s nickname is catching on Down Under. [The Australian]

“Yeah, ‘The Mad Australian’. They call me that [in the U.S.] because I get pretty fired up sometimes,” Balfour admits. “It’s pretty full-on and intense during the season and I am just out there competing as hard as I can every pitch.”

  • Former New York Times columnist Murray Chass says there is good reason to group JC Romero with members of the Black Sox scandal. [Murray Chass...On Baseball]
  • Not sure how much of this is the new Spring Training home and how much is due to the Rays successful 2008 season, but tickets for Rays Spring Training games are selling fast. [Herald-Tribune]
  • Rocco Baldelli reflects on what it means to him to move from the Rays to the Red Sox. [Tampa Tribune]

“I think it’s beginning to sink in,” he said. “In a way, it’s sad because, obviously I’m from Rhode Island, but I also consider St. Pete my home. One way or another, the last nine years of my life have been spent mostly down there. I have a lot of good friends there, a lot of people who I’m going to miss. It’s a great place. I loved my time there and I’ll cherish it always.”

  • In her own special way, Her Rays went through all the stages of depression after Rocco Baldelli signed with the Rays. She was even willing to give the Red Sox John Gruden if they would have let the Rays keep Rocco…That doesn’t seem very fair for the people of New England. [Her Rays]
  • The other major leaguer from Rhode Island, Dan Wheeler, was named the New England Player of the Year. [Providence Journal]
  • Marc Lancaster says the Rays will likely head into 2009 with a platoon in right field with Matt Joyce in the minor leagues…It just seems to us, that as long as Gabe Gross is on the team, Joyce will start the year in triple-A. It just doesn’t make sense to have both players on the 25-man roster. [Tampa Tribune]
  • The Rays are working with Tampa Bay Watch to help restore salt marsh habitats. [TBN Weekly]
  • USA Baseball has released a list of 22 players that have expressed an interest in playing for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. That list does not include any Rays. [Rays Report]
  • Rays Prospects has the final stat lines for prospects in the various winter leagues. [Rays Prospects]
  • How rough is it for corner outfielders and DHs this year? It looks like Eric Hinske’s only substantial offer at this point is from Japan. [MLB Trade Rumors]

Jan 07

[PHRAUDS] 2008 World Series Champs: Philadelphia Phillies*

JC Romero, Philadelphia Phrauds, World Series Cork Gaines 79 Comments »

[Update: MLB says they wanted to suspend Romero for the playoffs but instead allowed him to negotiate his way out of it. The claim is that the normal appeal process would have lasted longer than the postseason]

The Tampa Bay Rays won’t say it…Major League Baseball won’t say it…the mainstream media won’t say it…So we will. The Philadelphia Phillies cheated their way to the World Series title, and Major League Baseball let them.

JC Romero of the Philadelphia Phillies has been suspended by Major League Baseball for 50 games for testing positive for a banned substance. And despite his pleas of innocence, Romero tested positive for a substance that comes in a bottle with a warning label indicating that it may be a banned substance. And despite testing positive twice, he was still allowed to pitch in four of the five World Series games.

Romero tested positive twice prior to the World Series
Romero first tested positive on August 26 with the Phillies nursing a half-game lead in the NL East. The results of that test came back positive on September 23. The results of a second test came back positive on October 12, just ten days prior to the start of the World Series.

Two positive tests and yet Major League Baseball refused to immediately suspend a player participating in the postseason. Romero was granted an arbitration hearing without having to file an appeal. The arbitration hearing was held during the first two games of the World Series.

Supplement had clear warning
Romero intentionally used a supplement (6-OXO Extreme) which has a label that reads “use of this product may be banned by some athletic or government associations (including military).” We can’t speak for Romero, but we are pretty sure the label wasn’t referring to the US Badminton Association. 

He tested positive twice. He was given an arbitration hearing. And he was still allowed to pitch in the World Series. A World Series in which he was the winning pitcher in two games. He appeared in four games, allowing no runs on just 2 hits and no walks. He struck out 4 in 4.2 innings.

Why was Romero not suspended after the first test? Why was he not suspended after the second test? Why did Major League Baseball allow an arbitration hearing without first suspending the player?

And if Romero is as innocent as he claims, why is he not appealing the suspension?

World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies*
Questionable substance on the brim of pitcher’s cap? Check.

Performance Enhancing Drug user? Check.

Would the Rays have won a fair World Series? We will never know. But we do know that Phillies fans love asterisks.

Phils’ Romero a casualty in baseball’s drug war [Philadelphia Inquirer]
J.C. Romero Rises Up For [Dumb] Puerto Ricans Everywhere [Deadspin]
Filthy Joe Blanton says that’s just filth on the brim of his hat [Big League Stew]
Phils or Phrauds? Y*u decide [Daily News]