ESPN Buster Olney Blog

Some hitters have asked Toronto left-hander Ricky Romero if the off-speed pitch he throws is a splitter, and some pitchers have asked him if he throws a screwball. No, what he throws is a changeup with a classic circle grip, but you can't blame others for asking, because Romero's pitch doesn't move like your basic changeup.

Instead, Romero's change tends to veer sharply away from right-handed hitters, the ball darting so much that if you grew up watching the Dodgers, you'd be reminded of Fernando Valenzuela's screwball. Romero can throw the pitch in any count, but as one GM said this weekend, "It's a tremendous finishing pitch."

Roy Halladay returns to the Toronto rotation tonight, and while the Jays are probably something of a long shot in a division stacked with the Red Sox and Yankees and Rays, they've have managed to hang in contention; Toronto is just three games behind in the wild-card race. "It's something we're really excited about as a team," Romero said. "It's a tip of the cap to us, what we've been able to do [with Halladay out]. We're getting guys back, and everyone saw what we can do at full strength. We've had a lot of injuries, and to be at this point right now is pretty amazing."

They're alive, for sure, with Halladay coming back and with Romero on a serious roll, frustrating hitters with his out pitch. "I've always had a decent changeup, but it's become a big weapon for me," Romero said the other day. "When I play long toss with it, I'm throwing the hell out of it, to make sure that I'm throwing it with the same arm speed as a fastball." Romero's partner in long toss is usually Scott Richmond, who mentions how weirdly the ball is moving; from Richmond's point of view, the ball's action is close to that of a splitter. But it's not a splitter.

Romero made the first three starts of his big league career in April, but strained his right side and missed a little more than a month, returning to the rotation May 26. "The first couple of outings after I came back, I had no feel for [the changeup]," Romero said. "It was like a straight batting-practice fastball; I kind of lost the rhythm for it."

Earlier this month, however, Romero found the pitch again, and he pitched well in June, winning four of his five starts, pitching at least into the seventh in every outing, posting a 2.36 ERA. He struck out 33 in 34.1 innings. Because his repertoire might even be better against right-handed hitters than lefties, right-handers have posted just a .302 on-base percentage against him, with a .690 OPS.

The Jays had a great chance for a comeback win in the ninth inning Sunday, but that evaporated with a pop-up and a brutal baserunning mistake, as Bob Elliott writes. Roberto Alomar called to talk about a record of his that had just fallen. Aaron Hill should be an All-Star, but the numbers might work against him, as Mark Zwolinski writes.

Jays fans should be embarrassed about something that didn't happen Sunday.

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