Report: Nationals sign Romero to minor league deal

Beerleaguer sister site, Nats Insider, reports that former Phillie J.C. Romero will head to Triple-A Syracuse (Nationals) on a minor league pact. The 35-year-old reliever was given his walking papers last week after posting a 3.86 ERA and 10/12 K/BB ratio in 16 1-3 innings, allowing 29 baserunners. The Nationals are thin on left-handed relief with Doug Slaten on the disabled list and Sean Burnett struggling, Mark Zuckerman reports.

Comments

[lorecore]

JW: Were you on 610 WIP after the game? I tuned in to hear them quote 'Jason Weitzel of Beerleaguer' from a previous conversation. That something you do frequently? Would def tune in for that if so.

[Heather]

Even after signing Romero, the Nats will still be thin on LH relief.

[Dan in Philly]

I thought he was going to sign with the cardinals to show how much smarter Tony LaRussa was than every other manager in general, and Charlie Manuel in particular...

[quincy.mcneal]

Geez, I guess they really would take Mini Mart back.

[J. Weitzel]

lorecore: Very infrequently, but yes. I was on with Brian Startare last night around 9:20.

[Heather]

Yeah, I think they would def. take Mini Mart back if for no other reason than Rizzo is (reportedly) an unreasonable dick.

[Jbird]

if taking Martinez back constitutes a dick move, I'm still fine with it.

[The Truth Injection]

Such a silly discussion on the Brown home run. clout is more right than Fata but I can understand being impressed by what Brown did in the context of wanting to see him do well.

What impressed me on the home run was the at bat that preceded the home run. Brown wasn't chasing stuff and Beckett in a 2-2 count was backed into a spot where he sort of had to challenge him with a fastball. The pitch wasn't where he wanted it and got put in the seats.

Part of being a good hitter is laying off stuff designed to get you out. If you do that you can get fastballs to hit. And you can hope they are in a spot like the one where Brown hit it.

The 3-1 pitch he doubled to left field was more impressive though than the home run. I don't see any argument against that.

[Heather]

"if taking Martinez back constitutes a dick move, I'm still fine with it."

Oh yeah, definitely, i'm just saying Rizzo's attitude probably contributes to why they can't just give the Nats a reasonable propsect in return and send Martinez to AAA.

[clout]

"Walking papers" is exactly the right term to use with Romero.

[Comatose]

Dan in Philly- if you're talking about every other manager in general, are you talking about every other general manager?

Wow that was painful to type.

[Little Ollie]

The "sister site" needs to do some fact-checking (or even watch a game or two). The write-up refers to JC losing his late-inning role to "fellow lefties" Antonio Bastardo and Mike Stutes.

[Fatalotti]

TTI, the double was a very impressive piece of hitting, but the day I see a ANY player tank a ball 400+ feet and shrug it off as being "not that impressive" is the day I should probably stop watching baseball.

[Hugh Mulcahy]

I'm damn impressed that the nit-picking over how 'impressive' Brown's homerun was is promising to pollute a third consecutive thread.

[Voice of Reason]

Ha! Clout, you beat me to it! Nice one.

[GM-Carson]

Hope we see Romero later this season and he walks in a crucial run.

[Heather]

Schneider playing tonight. Ugh.

[The Truth Injection]

Fata: It simply comes down to this. There are tons of guys that can hit a fastball 400 feet in major league baseball. That won't help Brown become a great player for years to come for this team.

There are less guys in the league that can hit well to the opposite field with the skill Brown showed on his double. That skill will help Brown be a great productive player for us for years to come.

[lorecore]

heather: got a lineup to go along with that tip?

[lorecore]

I think I've seen Wilson Valdez slap a fastball down the opp field line before.

wouldnt call him skilled at it, but he's accidently done it before. He has not accidently drove a ball over the CF wall against the AL's ERA leader.

[Fatalotti]

TTI, I agree with that, and I don't know that I've ever indicated that I disagreed with that sentiment. Anyways, as others have stated, this has gone on for too long. I've said my peace.

[Hugh Mulcahy]

Lineup tweeted by Zolecki - look over there====>

[DH Phils]

Not to interrupt, but I don't think Fatalotti ever said that the home run was more impressive than the double.

His point, if I understand him correctly, is that it's disingenuous and simplistic to say that anyone can hit a home run on a belt-high fastball, and that a 400-foot home run off of Beckett with 2 strikes on him is more impressive than it sounds when you distill it down to "hitting a meatball for a home run."

I agree with him. I also agree that the double was even more impressive.

[The Truth Injection]

lorecore: Accidentally doing it and doing it purposefully are two different things. That pitch was up and on the outer half of the plate. Brown drove it to left for a double. It was great to see.

[Cyclic]

Via Zolecki twitter:

Tonight's lineup vs. BOS: Rollins SS, Polanco 3B, Utley 2B, Howard 1B, Victorino CF, Ibanez LF, Brown RF, Schneider C, Worley P.

[MG]

"LOOGYs don't die, they just end up in T-AAA."

[MG]

Harder to put down - an established veteran LH reliever or a zombie?

[lorecore]

ah the good ol days when the words "standard set" would be all you needed.

[clout]

lorecore: Love to see some documentation on your Valdez story. Not too many players can do what Brown did with that pitch. On the other hand, HRs to CF on meatballs aren't as rare as you seem to think.

[Cyclic]

Is Wilson Valdez still our best hitter with RISP?

[bay_area_phan]

"Harder to put down - an established veteran LH reliever or a zombie?"

Ever seen "Night of the Living Dead?" Those zombies go down pretty easily. You wouldn't want to be there, if they DON'T go down, though.

[clout]

BTW, for those who swooned over Dom's Mighty Blow, I have a question: How many 400+ foot HRs are hit at CBP in an average year? How many have been hit so far this year?

Five? Ten? It's such a "damn impressive" "extraordinary" event, it surely can't be more than that.

[Fatalotti]

Without any numbers, all this "is really rate" or "isn't that rare" talk is pretty meaingless.

Both hits were damn impressive, and the double was a very, very nice piece of hitting.

How about we leave it at that?

[DH Phils]

clout: How many of those are hit by rookies off of pitchers with sub-2 ERAs?

[Fatalotti]

Clout, since when does frequency equate to "impressiveness". Michael Jordan used to post players down low, hit them with his shoulder, step back, fade away, and drain jumps from 18 feet with regularity.

Every time was as impressive as the last.

Really empty comment on your part.

[Fatalotti]

And I'm not sure that the term "extraordinary" was used by anyone, though, if it helps your argument...

[R]

http://www.hittrackeronline.com/index.php?b=Citizens%20Bank%20Park&sortm=true_dist&sort=desc

according to these guys, 21 HRs of 400 ft or longer have been hit at CBP this season...

[DH Phils]

You nit-picked Fatalotti's statement to the point that you have to argue the (ridiculous) position that the home run was not at all impressive.

You're a smart fan. You were right with your initial statement that the double was more impressive with the home run, then for some reason you jumped on Fatalotti's claim (also correct) that the home run was also impressive, and now you're stuck defending a silly point of view.

[lorecore]

clout: "BTW, for those who swooned over Dom's Mighty Blow, I have a question: How many 400+ foot HRs are hit at CBP in an average year? How many have been hit so far this year?"

And how many doubles have been hit down the line on outside pitches?

[Cyclic]

Chicks dig the long ball

[Fatalotti]

R, how many balls have been put in play this year at CBP?

(I don't really want you to look that up, just pointing out that 21 on the scale of whatever the number is...really not very frequent)

Anyway, I'm going to play ultimate frisbee for the next 3 hours. Enjoy the game tonight folks.

Clout, thanks for reminding me why I should never really ever reply to your posts.

[R]

Fatalotti: fyi, I wasn't making a claim either way on the relative frequency. I was just curious after the question came up, so I thought I'd share.

[bay_area_phan]

Personally, I thought Dom's homerun was an absolutely hideous piece of hitting. I hope he learn froms his mistake and that all his future homeruns come on non-meatball pitches.

[Dan in Philly]

If we must discuss Brown, I would like to point out that though he's stunk up the joint when he's actually made contact, Brown has continued to walk at a nice clip (BB% is 10.5%), hit for power (ISO over .200), and not swing at junk (swinging at balls at only a 30% rate, not as good as Abreu, but quite good overall).

Brown has not really been able to handle fastballs which should be hit for line drives, instead those are ending up as infield fly balls, which is the worst possible type of contact for any hitter. Hopefully he can turn that around, as he's never had much of a problem in the minors.

If he can, you'll see him go on a real tear, as every other aspect of his game seems quite advanced. If not, well the term for baseball players who can't handle a fastball is a minor leaguer.

[SLO Phan]

I really wish the Mariners would do us a favor and beat ATL at least once.

[clout]

DH Phils: Do good pitchers ever make mistakes?

[SLO Phan]

Ortiz playing first, batting 5th for BOS. Gonzalez in RF, batting 3rd. This will be a good test for Worley.

[clout]

DH Phils: I just don't think a HR off a 90 mph fastball belt high, middle of the plate is either rare or "damn impressive."

Obviously, you do.

[clout]

lorecore: On pitches that are outside and high by a left-handed hitter going the opposite way?

Not many. You must not watch much baseball.

[electronic version]

This sportsman have a long and successful career. You can read a lot articles about his achieve.

[R.Billingsly]

As much as I like JC, I hope he faces Utley and Howard down the stretch and walks them on 8 pitches.

[utley_fan]

what's funny on these threads are the posters always the same ones who jump to take the opposite side of whatever clout says, right or wrong.

[The Truth Injection]

For the Red Sox tonight: A Gone in right field and Ortiz is at first.

Pedroia had the quote of the month on that happening.

“It will be good for us offensively, but damn, I’m going to have to play second, first and right.”

[clout]

Gonzalez in RF?

[MG]

DH Phil - Neither do I think it was 'rare' or damn impressive. He had a nice night last night. Glad he did. So far there have been a lot more lumps though than successes:

June - .171/.267/.368 with 4 HRs in 76 ABs and 12 Ks.

Brown is going to start in RF and take his lumps. He does have to hit a bit better though if this offense is going to start to perk up. Hard to carry such subpar numbers from #6 or #7 in the lineup.

[R.Billingsly]

That's a great quote from Pedroia.

He seems a personable fellow. And a darn fine ballplayer.

[MG]

Risking Gonzalez in RF just isn't worth it to get Papi's bat in the lineup for a single against a guy like Worley.

[The Truth Injection]

Apparently Gonzalez has played right field before in his career. It was 09/30/05 against the LA Angels while he was a Texas Ranger.

[clout]

MG: You're not dazzled by that incredible home run, one that will live in song and story for the ages?

Clearly, you're not a true fan.

I think the Phils have to carry Brown, period, as long as the team remains with its current roster even if the results aren't quite there. He's shown a good approach at the plate and the ability to go with a pitch instead of forcing it.

What I still haven't seen is an ability to turn on a fastball in on his hands and drive it.

[f4f]

"Fata: It simply comes down to this. There are tons of guys that can hit a fastball 400 feet in major league baseball. That won't help Brown become a great player for years to come for this team."

i'm not sure that there are a ton of guys that can work a count against one of the top pitchers in baseball, wait on the pitch, and then drive a ball over the centerfield wall, virtually straight way. that demonstrates a rarer and more valuable skill than, say, guessing right and pulling the ball over the fence.

it's really a silly argument to say that such a feat is some kind of pedestrian achievement for a hitter.

that said, the double was very impressive because, among other things, that ball was really driven the opposite way.

[Scotch Man]

Cubs gave Doug Davis the boot. Starter depth?

[Jbird]

Clout jumped the shark

[TheTheory]

Ah, I love a good beerleaguer semantics argument.

Carry on, fine gentlemen & ladies.

[DH Phils]

I never said "rare" or "damn impressive." I said that to just write it off as hitting a bad pitch understates the achievement.

Beckett had given up 4 home runs this year before yesterday. I was impressed that Victorino took him deep too - he's one of the best pitchers in baseball.

[bay_area_phan]

The only way I would ever want Doug Davis pitching for my team is if the opposing team was the Phillies.

[HammRadio]

So we did find out today that @clout is not JW but he's @Will Schweitzer.

That's fun.

As for tonights game... channeling my inner @bap, does it matter that the Sox are sacrificing 2 or 3 runs on Right side defense when Worley and the pupu platter give up 12 runs?

[CJ]

Can we all agree that what's impressive about Dom's HR is that it was the first HR allowed by Josh Beckett in 59 2/3 IP?

And now we can move on.

[Kutztown Fan]

I almost hope Brown doesn't hit an home run tonight just so we can avoid another Fat/clout cat fight.

[bay_area_phan]

"Can we all agree that what's impressive about Dom's HR is that it was the first HR allowed by Josh Beckett in 59 2/3 IP?"

I assume that's a rhetorical question. Surely, you are not seriously proposing that common ground might be found in this (or any) Beerleaguer discussion?

[Lake Fred]

To link Dom Brown back to the thread header: Dom Brown hits mistakes, J.C. Romero pitches then.

I'm sure glad we got rid of Romero. Every time I type a comment about him, I always want to spell his name "Romano." Too much "Everybody Loves Raymond" reruns on the tube, I guess.

[Heather]

"As for tonights game... channeling my inner @bap, does it matter that the Sox are sacrificing 2 or 3 runs on Right side defense when Worley and the pupu platter give up 12 runs?"

Meh. Worley is capable of doing ok. I don't think you should just write him off. At the very least, I think he's capable of keeping the Phils in the game provided the Phils hit Lackey like he has been hit this year.

[Heather]

"I almost hope Brown doesn't hit an home run tonight just so we can avoid another Fat/clout cat fight. "

I hope he hits 3 so that I can say that's an impressive feat, and clout can tell me that plenty of people have hit 3 HRs in one game, and its not impressive in the slightest.

[Bedrosian's Beard]

Christ, I hope Dom Brown doesn't hit a HR ever again, b/c I don't want to have to defend them on here.

[Spitz]

Heather, if a HR against Josh Beckett is not impressive, how could anything against John Lackey be impressive?

[CJ]

Yo, new thread... designed to end the Brown HR debate for the third time.

[EastFallowfield]

Yo, newer thread

[TNA]

To: John Lackey
From: Tito
Re: R-Gon/Ortiz

I sort of apologize for assuming that today's game is going to be a run-fest and thinking that taking away half of the strike zone away from you all game. Just to clarify, do not throw on the inner half of the plate to lefthanders unless you are in need of some comic relief defense at 1B and in RF just to lighten the mood of this over-hyped series.

One of the reasons an enclave of bloggers on a site named Beerleaguer stood by a certain Pedro Feliz was because he played terrific 3B defense -- especially with LHPs Hamels and Moyer heading up the vaunted WFC 2008 rotation.

By the same logic, we should've kept AGon in at 1B. But Theo tells me that Papi's bat increases the marginal probability of victory over the negative impact he'll have defensively. Factored into this analysis, of course was the assumption that you induce fly balls by throwing high heat and staying away from the 1B side of the plate. Not that we have this much faith in your ability to do execute this, but at this point, there's nowhere to go but up for you.

Good luck. Look for me to take the ball away from you in the 3rd inning.

Addendum: If you get a hit, I'll buy you a can of whiz to go with all of the Geno's you'll be ordering after you're pulled...