Blue Jays’ Happ stuck waiting behind Romero

‘You always feel like you can be better’

DUNEDIN, FLA . • J.A. Happ hesitates often when asked to talk about his peculiar plight. Uncomfortable pauses punctuate his answers. He never asks the question aloud in public, but you know what he’s thinking.

“What else must I do to win a starting job with this team?”

Many Toronto Blue Jays fans are asking the same question. After Happ pitched six shutout innings against the Boston Red Sox (minor leaguers, mainly), manager John Gibbons was asked how he would explain to fans why Happ remains stuck behind the scuffling Ricky Romero, who is the team’s No. 5 starter.

“Well, I’m not a fan,” Gibbons replied. “Explain it to the fans? I don’t know if I can explain that right now. I can definitely understand the argument. [Happ’s] pitched very good, Ricky’s struggled. We’ll see how it all plays out.”

Could Happ open the season in the big-league rotation, with Romero in Buffalo?

“No, everything’s set now,” Gibbons. “We haven’t discussed any of that.”

The previous day, general manager Alex Anthopoulos said much the same thing, ending an answer to a similar question by saying: “The plans are still the same, but just like anything else, you constantly evaluate.”

We’ll see how it plays out. You constantly evaluate. In those words, some observers parsed a slight opening through which the slender Happ might slip into a bigleague job.

But with a week left in spring training, one could also choose to focus on those other words. Everything is set. The plans are still the same.

Notwithstanding that the Red Sox left their “A” team in Fort Myers, Happ was very good. He worked quickly, threw strikes (51 in 85 pitches) and allowed two hits. His spring ERA is 1.89. Romero’s is 7.27.

“You always feel like you can be better, but I definitely feel good about the way it’s gone,” Happ said. “I established that I can come in and throw strikes, using everything. If they wanted to see something, my guess is that that might be it.”

Before camp opened, Anthopoulos told him he had no chance to break into the big-league rotation. He would start at Triple-A Buffalo, or, less likely, serve as a middle reliever for the Jays.

His pre-ordained role has gnawed at him, he admits. He chooses his words carefully when reporters quiz him about it. After Saturday’s outing, he said: “It’s certainly weighing on me a little bit.”

His awkward status issue is not discussed in the clubhouse, he said.

“You come in here and feel like you’ve got great teammates to joke around with and play baseball and come in here and have a good time,” he said. “So that’s certainly helped. It’s kind of being away from the field, to be honest, when I have some long times to start thinking about stuff.” He paused. “But it’s been fine.” That last bit is a stretch, of course. Happ is a career starter whose time with the Jays has been short but definitely not sweet. Acquired in a trade from the Astros last summer, he was immediately sent to the bullpen. Finally promoted to the rotation, he posted a 4.59 ERA in six starts before a broken foot ended his season.

Meanwhile, Anthopoulos, Gibbons and pitching coach Pete Walker continue to express confidence – perhaps hope is more like it – that Romero can make some small but significant adjustments in his delivery and find success in time for his first scheduled start of the season on April 6.

One theory they cite is that Romero showed in 2009 that he could do just that, making a quick turnaround late in camp to earn a starting job and win 13 games as a rookie.

Catcher J. P. Arencibia joined that chorus Saturday, asserting that the media give the Happ-Romero narrative “too much play” because “there’s not that much to talk about” in Jays’ camp. And spring numbers are meaningless, he said.

While Romero endured a terrible 2012 season, he had a history of success the three previous years, Arencibia said. When the season starts, Romero will be ready, he insisted.

“You trust in your player,” he said. “You know what you have there, and you don’t worry about it.”

It could be argued, however, that the Jays cannot be sure what they have at the moment. The Romero of spring 2013 looks much like the Romero of 2012. Everyone is still trying to find the 2011 version.

KATHY WILLENS / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS While Toronto pitcher J.A. Happ, right, has kept his spring training ERA at an impressive 1.89, his direct competition in Ricky Romero has a less-than-stellar mark of 7.27. As of now, Romero has already been named the fifth and final starter in the...