8 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 7 K.

Ricky Romero makes me want to stand up and do an exhaustive cheerleading routine replete with foot-stomping and hand-clapping percussive accompaniment.

8 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 7 K.

That’s today’s line from Jays’ starter Ricky Romero (6-3), who confounded the Rays’ bats long enough for the Jays to take the final game of the series, 5-0. Romero’s been pitching well enough for the Yankees to start inquiring about his availability. He’s a shameful oversight on my list of “untouchable” parts of this Jays team that I made two days ago. With his nasty stuff, youth, and name resembling a tweenage heartthrob, I’m angling to keep this guy on my staff for a decade.

Seriously though, on a staff that can depend on healthy starting pitching about as often as a Maple Leafs playoff victory, Romero has been a shining star. Since his DL stint that lasted from late April to late May, Romero has won five of six games and pitched at least six innings in each of them. After today’s impressive win, his ERA dropped to 2.85, impressive considering Romero toiled in the minors before this year, lacking control of his pitches and throwing a predictable repertoire.

Then, he discovered the power of the circle change. Buster Olney over on ESPN.com calls it his “out pitch,” and likens the deceptive change-up to Fernando Valenzuela’s dreaded screwball since it dips down and away to right-handed hitters.

You blow my mind. Hey, Ricky.

Pat Burrell was so awestruck by the pitch that today he called it “above average” (Pat the Bat, for the record, hit that “above average” pitch into a rally-killing bases-loaded double play in the 8th inning).

Fellow starter Scott Richmond is amazed by the movement of the pitch and describes it best as a kind of splitter. Whatever it is, the Jays hope Romero keeps it up, as Toronto’s got a lot of ground to make up if they want to make the playoffs.

I wrote the other day how I’ve officially eliminated Toronto in my mind from making the playoffs this year. Reports of the Jays demise may have been greatly exaggerated. In the same Olney article, he considers the Jays “something of a long shot” when stacked against the Yankees and Red Sox but is impressed with their ability to hang in the wild card race without the services of Roy Halladay for three weeks. I suppose the same sorts of compliments were attributed to the Rays last year – a nice enough story, but they’ll fade come September. Yeah, they faded all the way to an AL pennant.

I understand the sentiment. The AL Beast is not a division in which one normally can muck about for several months, then make a plucky charge all the way to the playoffs. Leave that sort of Disney-made inspirational stuff to the NL West (Hi there, 2007 Rockies! Wasn’t that fun?). If you want to make the wild card, you probably have to hail from a mediocre division – read: AL Central – and hope the Rays, Yankees, and Red Sox beat up on each other enough for you to sneak by on the sails of an easier schedule. Toronto doesn’t, and will never have that opportunity. That doesn’t mean it can’t be done, as the aforementioned Don’t-Call-Us-Devil Rays have demonstrated, as well as the mid-to-late 90’s Orioles did. The early 90’s World-Series-winning Jays don’t count, because they succeeded largely during George Steinbrenner’s “lifetime” ban and before he hired Joe Torre, anyway, and also before “Red Sox Nation” formed and decided ninety years of futility was too much.

Am I backtracking on my proclamation made only Tuesday morning? Absolutely not. I still think the deficit the Jays face is too much, especially considering the frightening ten game roadie the team is about to begin.

(I know, you’re waiting for me to hedge my bet…)

(Still waiting…)

(Well, alright.)

IF – and this is a huge if with this team – the Jays manage to go 8-2 or better on this trip (@ New York, @ Tampa Bay, @ Baltimore), they’ve sucked me back in. It would then be the All-Star Break and the Jays would more than likely be no more than a game or two out of wild card contention.

They’ll need a lot more performances like the one spun today by Ricky Romero to pull that feat off, but hey, on a team whose slugger is a second baseman coming off a season-ending concussion and whose manager hadn’t coached a single game in well over a decade prior to last season, I suppose a Houdini act wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility.

(Consider my bet hedged.)