Set up to succeed

The Twins have cut combustible J.C. Romero some slack because he is a valuable commodity and, at 28, is still maturing.

BY GORDON WITTENMYER
Pioneer Press

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The scene was repeated throughout the morning as players packed their belongings and left the Metrodome the day after the Twins were eliminated from the playoffs last October.

Every time another Twin finished and said, "See you next spring," pitcher J.C. Romero said, "I don't know about that" or "We'll see."

And then the enigmatic relief pitcher picked up his box and walked out the clubhouse door for what he seemed certain was the final time.

"Honestly, I didn't think I'd be back," he said. "The way the season ended left a very sour taste... . I'm glad everything worked out for the best."

Worked out?

For the best?

In the span of four months, Romero went from the reliever manager Ron Gardenhire didn't trust in the playoffs -- and who appeared to have burned through his last chance -- to a guy with a two-year, $3.7 million contract and a featured role in the bullpen again this year.

"He wasn't going anywhere," pitching coach Rick Anderson said.

Why not?

Two words: left, handed.

And two more: market, scarcity.

"If you look at the left-handed relievers in the game," general manager Terry Ryan said, "you look at his age, his ability to stay healthy, you look at his pitches and look at his experience, and you look at the others who were available for trade, or free agents, then you start recognizing (his value). I thought we needed to try to make this work."

It didn't take the Twins long during their postseason evaluations to tick off their concerns with Romero: He loses faith in his best pitches when his stuff is not perfect, responds poorly to bad outings, creating bad weeks and months, and gets hardheaded.

But one look around the game, and it took less time to realize a cold, hard truth: He is one of the best in baseball at his job. And the Twins' minor league system isn't exactly brimming with ready and able left-handers.

"A left-hander with his stuff is hard to come by," Anderson said.

Forget those who might have been available during the offseason.

Romero ranks among the best left-handed setup men in the majors, period, even by the measure of his mercurial 2004 season, which included a weeklong demotion to the minors in June after he allowed 10 consecutive inherited runners to score and then had this 10-game performance to close the season: 0-3, 12.83 earned-run average, with nine walks and 13 hits -- including three of the four homers he allowed all season -- in seven innings.

In between, he set a team record by not allowing a run in 36 consecutive innings (spanning 32 appearances).

"I didn't know what to expect the way last season ended," he said.

He might have saved himself some offseason angst with a glance at the lefty relievers on other rosters.

Romero tied for seventh in the American League with 74 appearances despite the demotion, and among left-handers, he was third, just two behind Baltimore's B.J. Ryan. No lefty setup pitcher in the league won more games than Romero's seven, and his 3.51 ERA and .224 opponents' batting average were better than such well-regarded veterans as Alan Embree, Buddy Groom, Ricardo Rincon and Arthur Rhodes.

In fact, Romero outperformed every left-handed setup man from the seven other playoff teams last season with the exception of the St. Louis Cardinals' Ray King (2.61 ERA, .197 opponents' average in 86 games).

And he's only 28 years old.

"He's got a world of ability," Ryan said. "Yeah, it's been a little bit of a tough road. He's had good days and bad days... . If he trusts his stuff and challenges people and doesn't get deep in counts and so forth, there won't be anybody from the coaching staff to the front office who would ever be critical (of the decision to give Romero the contract)."

If anything, Romero's early success -- 9-2, 1.89, in his first season as a setup guy in 2002 -- created enormous expectations that could make almost any ensuing season look disappointing.

On the other hand, he followed that season with a 5.00 season that would have been disappointing regardless. Then followed that with last year's roller coaster.

"To me J.C. is a perfect example of how mental the game can be," Anderson said. "I think he's just a perfectionist. He wants to do it perfectly every time."

And when he doesn't, he wants the next time to be better than perfect. That's when he juices his fastball into the mid-90s, watches it flatten out instead of dive and watches hitters pulverize him.

But Romero believes he might have finally put that pattern behind him.

With the security of the new contract and the experience of last year to drive him, he said he is looking for a smoother ride in 2005.

"I don't ever want to go through that again," he said. "I'm comfortable where I am right now. I'm comfortable with my teammates. Hopefully, I can come in this year and be a little relaxed and help the team -- and not just for five months but for the whole season."