It was a move everyone was dreading, but no one really believed would actually happen.

On Tuesday, March 26th, 2013 the Toronto Blue Jays announced that Rick Romero would be starting the regular season in Class-A Dunedin.

He was supposed to be the #5 Starter this season. He was supposed to recover from a disastrous 2012 season and be the Ricky of 2011 that we all loved to watch. Romero and Josh Johnson publicly joked that they were likely the best 4-5 starting combo in the majors. And they should be. But that will remain to be seen, until Romero can rid whatever demons are in his head and get back on pace to being the CY-Young caliber thrower we all know he has the potential to be.

So how did this happen?

Two main points:

1. With an increase in artillery in the off-season, the Jays suddenly became THE TEAM to be reckoned with. Gone were the days (thank goodness) of sending Romero out on the mound bad start after bad start because every one else was injured. Being thrust into an “ace” position he wasn’t ready for only worsened the entire situation. Anthopoulos  has sent a very clear message this off-season: the Jays are going for it. And there’s no room for error, or “working out the kinks”. One week from today the Jays will field the very best squad they have.

2. J.A. Happ had a heck of a spring. He pitched with attitude. He pitched like he had a chip on his shoulder. Maybe he did. Going from expecting to be in a starting role to suddenly being #6 in a starting rotation of five sure ticked the guy off. So he fought like hell for that last spot, and loudly voiced his opinion over not wanting to start the season in AAA. Happ deserves that final spot. He earned it.

So what now?

Ricky has to peel away all the layers and start over. He’s got to be hurting right now, and there isn’t a Jays fan who doesn’t feel for him. We all want to see him do well. And I think we will. History has a way of repeating itself…

During the 2000 season while pitching for the Jays, Roy Halladay posted a 10.64 ERA in 19 games (13 he started). This was the worst season in history for any pitcher having thrown over 50 innings. At the beginning of 2001 he was sent to Dunedin for the start of the season to work on his delivery. 2002 was Halladay’s break-out season, and, well, if you’ve followed baseball over the years you know what else Halladay has done. Even though Roy has also looked rough this 2013 pre-season, I’m pretty sure it’s safe to say that he’s going to be a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer.

So how does this translate to Romero?

Ricky strikes me as the kind of guy who has the same fight Halladay does. Ricky’s a competitor. A fierce one. And no one is tougher on Ricky than Ricky. While this is currently hurting his performance, in the long run it will help. The kind of horrific 2012 season combined with the disappointment of not making the starting rotation this season is enough to break most guys. Most guys wouldn’t recover from this. But Ricky isn’t most guys.

If there’s one term most Jays fans hate, it’s “re-building”. But that’s what Ricky needs to do now. How quickly he bounces back is beyond anyone’s comprehension at this point. We could see him back in a couple months. Or it might take longer until we see the Ricky we all know and miss.

I have my fingers crossed that it will be sooner than later.

But I’m quite certain that Ricky will be ok.