TSN Baseball Insider Steve Phillips answers three questions each week. Cheap Isaac Seumalo Jersey . This week, topics cover Ricky Romeros future with the Blue Jays, the quality of Torontos starting rotation, and the value of MLBs games in Australia to start the season. 1) After a very rough outing on Tuesday, the Blue Jays sent Ricky Romero to minor league camp. Does Romero need a change of scenery at this point, or do you think hes lost it? Ricky Romero entered Tuesdays game having pitched well this spring. He had a 1.29 ERA and 1.14 WHIP in seven innings. But his implosion on Tuesday in which he walked five, threw two wild pitches and hit a batter effectively imploded his Blue Jays career. That one inning in which he gave up three runs showed the return of the "thing." What is the "thing" you ask? It is the inability to throw a baseball where one wants to throw it. It is a voice in a pitchers head that says, "You are in trouble. You have no idea how hard to grip the ball or when to release it." It is a voice that forces a pitcher to think about throwing instead of just doing what comes naturally. The pitcher feels like he has to aim the ball. Romero looked like he had quieted that voice for a while. He was a little better at triple-A last year than he had been in the big leagues in 2012. This spring, before Tuesday, that voice was but a whisper. Unfortunately once a pitcher hears the voice he is susceptible to it coming back. One wild pitch or one hit batter and boom, there it is again. That voice that can make even the strongest of pitchers start to doubt themselves. On Tuesday that voice screamed into a megaphone and Romero couldnt quiet it. So he heads back to double-A hoping to plug his ears. The Jays need to do the merciful thing and trade or release Romero. There are just too many things that can trigger the negative thoughts and the increased volume of the doubts as a member of the Jays. He may find a way to quiet the noise in another organization but it wont happen in a Jays uniform. 2) While most observers agree that the Jays have enough hitting, do you think they can get enough from the back end of their rotation to be competitive for a playoff spot this season? Spring Training is great because every team has hope as they prepare for the upcoming season. Last year is forgotten, as the standings and all of the stats are wiped clean and there is a fresh start. The rosters are changed in large and small ways. Maybe even general managers, managers and coaches have changed. However, some things never change. Good pitching is the key to success. Very rarely do great offensive teams win despite their pitching. Far more often teams win with marginal offence and a great pitching staff. We know the Jays are going to score a bunch of runs but their success will be driven by the arms of the pitchers and not by the bats in the lineup. Even though we wipe the slate clean from a year ago and start anew, last season can give us a perspective on what it will take to win this year. There were ten teams that made the playoffs in 2013: Dodgers, Cardinals, Pirates, Braves and Reds in the NL; and Tigers, Red Sox, As, Indians and Rays in the AL. One thing they almost all had in common was successful starting pitching. In fact the average record of their stating rotations last season was 68-47 and 976 innings pitched. Their starters pitched well and deep in the games. The Blue Jays starters had a 46-57 record in 2013 and threw only 899 innings. Clearly, a long way away from a playoff-caliber rotation. So, although it is fair to wonder whether the Jays have enough pitching at the back end of the rotation the greater question is do they have enough at the front end? There is no doubt that if the Jays are going to be a playoff team they will need J.A. Happ to be healthy and throw strikes and they will need production from all of Todd Redmond, Drew Hutchison, Marcus Stroman, Kyle Drabek and Esmil Rogers. Every team needs anywhere from 16-20 pitchers to contribute during the season. There are certainly questions about what is fair to expect from the pitchers just mentioned but make no mistake about it the bigger question is whether R.A. Dickey, Mark Buehrle and the oft-injured Brandon Morrow can do their part. Most playoff teams have four starters that reach double-digit wins. With the questions at the back end of the rotation the Jays really need close to 50 wins from their Big Three. Last season only Dickey (14 wins) and Buehrle (12 wins) won double-digit games. Needless to say the Jays rotation has their work cut out for themselves. 3) Dodgers starter Zack Greinke stated he wasnt a fan of the club opening the regular season early (this weekend) in Australia. Do you think the MLB brand really benefits from these games? Not only does the MLB brand benefit from playing regular season games internationally but so does the brand of the teams participating and the brand of the players on the teams. My 2000 New York Mets team started the season in Japan against the Chicago Cubs. Just like the Dodgers and D-Backs are doing on the trip to Australia we played exhibition games, held clinics and made appearances to promote the games before we took on the Cubs in a two-game series. It was a long flight and we battled jet lag for about a week on the back end of the trip. But it was worth it. Sure there were challenges but I considered it an honour to represent Major League Baseball. Plus, on international trips, players and executives are treated like royalty. Zack Greinke sounded ignorant and ungrateful. Almost 50 percent of minor league players are foreign-born players. Over 25 percent of big leaguers are foreign-born and almost 37 percent of the 2013 All-Stars are foreign born. Baseball is an international game. It is critical that MLB continues to develop and grow its brand. From a clubs perspective I always believed there was an advantage to play in front of international fans. Brand recognition for the team is financially beneficial for potential sponsorship deals as well as merchandising. But most importantly, brand recognition among baseball players in other countries is huge. The more professional and amateur players can recognize and connect with the brand of a team the better the chances of that team in landing talented players in the future. Individual clubs and players dont only have a responsibility to their own organization but they have a responsibility to the game itself. Many players, teams and executives have gone before those of us benefiting today from this extraordinary way to make a living. Todays players need to pay it forward just like those who paved the trail for them. Opening Day is Saturday at 4am ET. I will be watching. Will you? So you want to be a GM? The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray...what is a general manager to do? I find myself sympathizing with general managers all around the game. There seem to be so many injuries this spring that have the potential to cripple teams even before the season begins. Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy of the Braves, Patrick Corbin of the D-Backs, and Jarrod Parker of the As are all headed for Tommy John surgery and will miss the entire season. The Tigers young shortstop Jose Iglesias, a defensive wizard, is out for months with stress fractures in his shins. Reds closer Aroldis Chapman was drilled in the face by a line drive and needs a plate put in his head and could be out until June. There is no telling how he will be affected mentally by this injury. The Braves, As, Tigers and Reds all made the playoffs last year. I would have predicted all four to make the playoffs again this year prior to these injuries. The D-Backs were a sleeper team in the NL this year prior to losing their best pitcher in Corbin. So what should the GMs do? They will just do what they do. Frank Wren, the Braves GM, moved quickly and stole Ervin Santana away from the Jays and Orioles. But that may not be enough. Kevin Towers, the Diamondbacks general manager, pushed all winter to land an ace starter but came up short settling for veteran Bronson Arroyo. That pushed Patrick Corbin into the role of Opening Day starter for a team built to win now with the highest payroll in franchise history. With Corbin out for the season and no obvious starting pitching available Arizona may have to go with kids in the fifth spot in the rotation. This will not only hurt the rotation but the bullpen as well since Corbin was a guy who would often pitch deep in the game. The Reds could not have foreseen the injury to Chapman. His loss though creates a real problem as the physical status of his two most experienced replacements, Sean Marshall and Jonathan Broxton, is a big issue. The Reds bullpen could be a mess at the start of the season. There are no closers available on the trade market. Saves blown in April and May could cost the Reds an October playoff berth. The Tigers have been a staple of October baseball the past few years. They were once again favoured to win the AL Central. Last August the Tigers acquired Jose Iglesias to be the shortstop for the next 10 years. But that plan included him to be the shortstop this year that is in a "win now" window for the franchise. Stephen Drew, the Red Sox shortstop a year ago, is still available. Scott Boras has had success getting to owner Mike Illitch in the past and making deals. The Tigers have no good internal option to replace Iglesias and my ultimately save Boras by having to make a deal with Drew. But a Drew signing wont come cheap and will include the Tigers giving up a first round draft pick. So you want to be a general manger. There is no manual that tells you what to do when you have done everything right but circumstances turn against you. It is a long season and these teams have time to plug their newfound holes but it wont be easy. In one week that has been full of injuries the playoff races opened up in a very significant way. No one said life was fair. Cheap Chance Warmack Jersey . Second-seeded Sloane Stephens of the United States made lighter work of her day as she beat 2009 champion and Swiss wild card Timea Bacsinszky 6-3, 6-3. Two seeds fell: No. 4 Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium lost to Katarzyna Piter of Poland 6-4, 6-2, and No. Cheap Ronald Darby Jersey . The Italian football federation announced the appointment, three days after new president Carlo Tavecchio was elected. Tavecchio and Conte spoke on the phone early Thursday. http://www.cheapeaglesjerseyselite.com/?tag=cheap-mike-quick-jersey . -- Catriona Matthew remained atop the Airbus LPGA Classic leaderboard Friday, birdieing four of the last seven holes to take a one-stroke advantage over Charley Hull into the weekend. SUNRISE, Fla. -- As the game went on, Dan Girardis mistake became magnified. Luckily for Girardi and the New York Rangers, the defenceman redeemed himself in a big way. After a giveaway by Girardi in the second period resulted in a goal for the Florida Panthers, Girardi tied it late in regulation to send the game to overtime. Brad Richards then netted the lone goal in the shootout to give the Rangers a 2-1 victory on Tuesday night. "It felt pretty good," Girardi said. "Its kind of disappointing when one bad play can kind of ruin a game for the team and yourself, so Im glad I could put one in there and kind of redeem myself a little bit." In the shootout, Richards beat Tim Thomas with a wrist shot to the top left corner after Thomas stopped the first two New York attempts. "Thats a great move from a great player," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. Henrik Lundqvist made a save against Brad Boyes to seal the Rangers victory. "I corrected my thinking a little bit in the way I approached (the shootout)," Lundqvist said. "I slowed down a little bit and I had more control." Girardi scored with 2:10 left in regulation with a wrist shot from the left circle to beat Thomas after Derek Stepan found Girardi with a pass as he broke in from the blue line. The goal prevented Thomas from earning his first NHL shutout in nearly two years. "It was one of those nights where if I could see it I could save it," Thomas said. "I thought we were going to hang on until the end there, but thats hockey." Thomas maintained his composure and came up with four saves in overtime, including one from close range by Rangers defenceman Ryan McDonagh. Thomas made 30 saves through overtime, and Lundqvist stopped 21 shots in the third and final meeting between the teams this season. "It was a really hard-fought game by both teams," Vigneault said. "There wasnt a lot of room out there." Florida broke through in the second period on Boyes 10th goal of the season. Girardi retrieved a loose puck, and his pass attempt from behind the net was intercepted by Aleksandeer Barkov, who quickly fed the puck to Boyes in front. Cheap Brian Dawkins Jersey. . Boyes beat Lundqvist with a backhander between his pads. Lundqvist was able to keep it a 1-0 deficit despite a 4-minute penalty to Richards midway through the third period when he high-sticked Nick Bjugstad in the face. "I definitely feel like wed like our special teams to be better," Panthers coach Peter Horachek said. New York went 0 for 3 on the power play after scoring three power-play goals on three chances Sunday in a 4-3 win at Tampa Bay. The Rangers came in with at least one power-play goal in five of their last six games. "We had some grade-A scoring opportunities," Vigneault said. "The only thing we didnt do was put it past their goaltender, who obviously was on top of his game." Rangers defenceman Marc Staal made his return after missing 10 games because of a concussion sustained on Dec. 7 against New Jersey. He played nearly 24 minutes, the third-highest total on the team. "I felt pretty good," Staal said. "I think anytime youre out for that long you just want to feel the puck and make the plays you normally make. For the most part I felt I did that. It was a good start." It was the midway point of the season for both teams. The Rangers improved to 20-19-2. "Were one game above .500. We need to get better," Vigneault said. The Panthers dropped to 15-20-6. "We just need to keep this thing going, getting points and climb in the standings," Boyes said. "Weve got to get better. If we keep doing what were doing, the good things will happen." NOTES: New York won the first two meetings, outscoring the Panthers 9-5. ... The Rangers are 3-1 in shootouts, Florida is 4-5. ... Barkov has a four-game point streak (1-3-4) and nine points in 10 games. ... Thomas played in his 400th NHL game. His last shutout was on March 19, 2012, against Toronto when he was with Boston. ... Florida tied the franchise-record with 17 points in December, which has been done four other times. ... New York will continue its road trip at Pittsburgh on Friday. Florida will host Nashville on Saturday. Cheap Steelers Jerseys Cheap Patriots Jerseys Cheap Bills Jerseys Cheap Jets Jerseys Cheap Giants Jerseys Cheap Redskins Jerseys Cheap Bears Jerseys Cheap Eagles Jerseys Cheap Cardinals Jerseys Cheap Jaguars Jerseys Cheap Raiders Jerseys Cheap Dolphins Jerseys Cheap Panthers Jerseys Cheap Lions Jerseys Cheap Browns Jerseys ' ' '