The day after Brandon Morrow walked eight batters in just two and 2/3rds innings and got the hook, Ricky Romero had a two-inning control meltdown of his own Sunday at Coca-Cola Field in Buffalo. Facing the Reds Triple A affiliate Louisville, Romero walked the bases loaded in the first inning and again in the second, but he escaped unscathed both times and actually lasted five innings. Romero didnt give up any more walks and didnt surrender a run during the stint. Earlier in the week, an upbeat Romero was on TSN Drive with Dave Naylor and co-host Dave Hodge and said he felt he was pitching better than he had been in a year and a half. He also said he would welcome a call-up right now if the Blue Jays needed or wanted him. As shaky as the Jays starting pitching has been this season, especially over this just completed homestand, Romero doesnt figure to get called up anytime soon. He simply has to be more consistent with his control. The largest pitcher I have ever seen in the Majors is C.C Sabathia. Though he has trimmed down now a bit, there were times over the past two or three years where he weighed between 285 and 300 pounds. Well in that same Buffalo-Louisville game on Sunday, the Bats used a closer by the name of Jose Diaz. A year ago, the 64 native of the Dominican Republic pitched at 347 pounds and of course was known by the nickname of Jumbo. This year having just turned 30, he realized it might be time to shave off a few pounds to try and prolong his career. He got down to 278, but the stat sheets now are listing him at 315. Jumbo racked up his sixth save Sunday against the Bisons. He throws with pretty good velocity, too. Cincinnati already has Aroldis Chapman as their closer, but who knows at some point, he may surface in the Majors. Historic Lineup Since the Blue Jays in the Pat Gillick era were one of the very first teams to extensively scout and sign talent out of the Dominican Republic, it only seems fitting that on Sunday afternoon at Rogers Centre, they became the first team in Major League history to field a starting lineup that included six players born in the Dominican. The starting 9 included Jose Reyes, Melky Cabrera, Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, Juan Francisco and Moises Sierra. An equally, if not more, historic moment occurred back on Sept 1 of 1971 when the Pittsburgh Pirates fielded an entire starting lineup of African American and Latin American players including Hall of Famers Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell. The rest of the starting 9 included Al Oliver, who later played with the Expos and the Blue Jays, Rennie Stennett, Jackie Hernandez, Dave Cash, Manny Sanguillen, Gene Clines and starting pitcher Dock Ellis. Better April The Blue Jays started last season at 10-17 in April and they are already guaranteed a better first month this time around. John Gibbons and company are 12-13 with two games at Kansas City left in this month. But something to remember, there were only two playoff teams with losing Aprils in the American League a year ago. Tampa Bay went 12-14 but rebounded to finish 91-71 to earn a play in the knockout game with Texas to decide the second Wild Card spot. Cleveland earned the first Wild Card at 92-70 after opening April at 11-13. Conversely Texas had the best record in April at 17-8, but finished the season in that knock-out game at 91-71. All of that means if the Blue Jays are going to need 91 victories to have a shot at the playoffs this year, they will have to go 79-58 the rest of the year or 21 games over .500. Thats not impossible, but the starting rotation will have to be far better the rest of the way. Right now, the Blue Jays staff era is 4.45, 25th in the Majors, just slightly ahead of Baltimore at 4.49. I dont know if this is a plus but the only team in the AL East with a sub -4.00 era is Boston at 3.90 and the BoSox are fourth in the division just behind the Blue Jays. This and That Its really interesting to look at the early season gap in some pitching categories between the National League and the American. The Senior Circuit has eight of the top 10 staff ERAs. Only Oakland and K.C. break into that group. The National League has had 10 complete games to just four for the American, including two by Texas. There have been 34 shutouts in the National League to 23 in the American. St. Louis has six and Texas leads the American with six. I guess it just helps to illustrate why Ervin Santana chose Atlanta over the Blue Jays. After going 7-9 in their 1st 16 game segment against the East, the Jays have a 20-game stretch where they dont play their own division at all. Their next game against the East is May 20 at Fenway Park in Boston. In fact, they only have six games against the East for the entire month of May, getting Tampa Bay at home the week after that Boston series. The All-Star voting has begun for the Mid-summer Classic Tuesday July 15th at Target Field, the home of the Minnesota Twins. If voting closed today, the only Blue Jays on my ballot would be lefty Mark Buehrle and Melky Cabrera. Jose Bautista could make it as well, but more on his name and All-Star reputation at this point. I also did a rough count and if Buehrle keeps it up, his natural turn to pitch would fall on All-Star Tuesday so their might even be a chance he could start. But thats still a lot of innings pitched and a long way off. Wholesale Nike Shoes From China . Bibeau, Torontos sixth-round pick at No. 172 overall in last years draft, was named the outstanding goaltender of the 2014 MasterCard Memorial Cup. Fake Nike Shoes From China . On Saturday night, Winnipegs strong offense was again accompanied by some fantastic pitching which gave the Fish a commanding victory. https://www.nikeshoeschina.us/. Not only that, when Julian de Guzman first stepped on the pitch for Deportivo de la Coruna he became the very first Canadian to play in Spains top tier. Clearance Nike Shoes From China . Yup, he definitely needed this one. Craig homered twice and had three RBIs Wednesday night to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 7-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Craig went 4 for 5 and Yadier Molina added three hits for the Cardinals, who salvaged the final game of a three-game set in hopes of staying within shouting distance of front-running Milwaukee in the NL Central. Discount Nike Shoes From China . Tokarski, a somewhat controversial choice -- with his 10 games of NHL experience and all -- to replace an injured Carey Price in Game Two had a night to remember, turning back a Rangers team that was dominating play from the get-go, outshooting the Canadiens 14-4 in the first period and 37-25 overall.PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Joe Durant is trying desperately to hold onto his old job on the PGA Tour. If it doesnt work out, his new gig is looking more promising all the time. The Champions Tour rookie shot a 6-under 64 on Thursday in the first round of the Senior Players Championship, making seven birdies against one bogey to join David Frost and Doug Garwood atop the leaderboard at defenceless Fox Chapel. Bernhard Langer, Corey Pavin, Larry Mize, Steve Pate, Olin Browne, Bart Bryant, Peter Fowler and Wes Short Jr. shot 65. Colin Montgomerie, the Senior PGA winner last month, opened with a 5-under 30 on the front nine before fading to a 69. The 50-year-old Durant, a four-time winner on the main tour, is trying to split time between both circuits this summer. The pressure to earn enough money while making limited PGA Tour starts has been draining. In a way, the 50-and-over tour is allowing him to recharge. "Im trying so hard to make magic happen in one week (on the PGA Tour) and its just not working out very well," Durant said. Durant tied for 31st last week in Connecticut in the PGA Tours Travelers Championship, a finish he believes should have been higher had he not slogged through the second and third rounds. "It easily could have been a top-10 week if I had just managed my game a little better Friday and Saturday," Durant said. There were no such issues Thursday. Durant holed out from the greenside bunker on the par-3 third, kick-starting his round. He ended it with a sliding left-to-right birdie putt on the par-5 18th for his 64, matching his best round since joining the Champions Tour after turning 50 in April. "It all comes down to making putts," Durant said. "If you make putts, the game is real easy. If youre burning edges, its not that easy." Frost and Garwood quickly joined Durant atop the leaderboard. Frustrated after a middling 39th-place finish at the Encompass Championship last week in Illinois, Frost ditched the shafts on his irons for the first time in four years, trading them in for something that offered a little more forgiveness. The move paid off with a near flawless roound in which he missed only one fairway and three greens.dddddddddddd "I almost want to kick myself for not (switching shafts) earlier," Frost said. Garwood, a two-time All-American during his college career at Fresno State, has finally found a home on the Champions Tour after spending most of his adult life on pro golfs fringe. He never played in a PGA Tour event and sold insurance among other things before trying to give the 50-and-over circuit a shot last spring. After some initial struggles, it is paying off handsomely. Garwood lost a playoff four weeks ago in the Principal Charity Classic and backed it up with a runner-up finish last weekend. Garwoods round included three straight birdies on Nos. 12-14, including a 35-footer on the par-4 14th. His birdie attempt on the 18th stopped one roll short of giving him the lead. Being near the lead is becoming familiar territory for Garwood, though he has done his best to downplay his steady rise. "Ive always believed the lower the expectation, the easier it is to meet," he said, laughing. "Theres enough pressure just being out there with all the hoopla. So I just go out and try to shoot my best ... trying to shoot 64, it just kind of happens." Defending champion Kenny Perry, looking for his fourth major title in the last year, failed to take advantage of the prime scoring conditions. Playing his eighth tournament in nine weeks, Perry shot an even-par 70. Perrys score was actually one better than the 71 he posted in the opening round last year. Perry responded last June by shooting a combined 20 under over the final 54 holes to edge Fred Couples and Duffy Waldorf for the first major pro title of his lengthy career. The 53-year-old Kentuckian, the Tradition winner last month in the first senior major of the year, doubted Fox Chapel would be as generous this time around, but with wide open fairways and damp greens, it wasnt a fair fight. More than half the 81 players finished at even par or better. "Its going to take a lot of birdies this week with the conditions as they are right now," Durant said. "Youve just got to keep the hammer down." ' ' '