Ricky Romero is headed back to the minors. (The Canadian Press)In another indictment of Ricky Romero’s floundering career, the Toronto Blue Jays demoted the former All-Star to Triple-A Buffalo on Thursday. The move came just hours after Romero had the shortest outing of his career – he pitched one-third of an inning, giving up three runs on four hits and two walks in the Blue Jays’ 10-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.

Romero was making just his second start of the season. He was left behind in Florida following spring training to work on his mechanics and delivery. When he was recalled to the majors last week, the Blue Jays insisted he was ready.

That appears to not have been the case. Romero’s major-league stint lasted only two starts – 4.1 innings to be exact – and he had actually only made one minor-league start to test his new delivery. When pitcher Josh Johnson went down last week with an injury, the Jays called on Romero. He clearly wasn’t ready.

What happens next is anyone’s guess. Romero said all the right things when he was sent to Single-A after spring training, but he didn’t seem thrilled about getting the hook after recording only one out on Wednesday. From the Globe and Mail’s Tom Maloney:

“It’s his call,” Romero said, when asked about the early hook. “I’m not going to sit here and question the manager. He makes those decisions. The competitor in me

Brett Lawrie. (Getty Images)TORONTO – As far debuts go, it wasn’t much to write home about. But there’s no doubt the Toronto Blue Jays are a better team when infielder Brett Lawrie is in the lineup.

Lawrie made his return Tuesday in the Blue Jays’ 4-3 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Tuesdat. He went 0-for-3 with an RBI at the plate but was a steady, calming force at his usual third base position. One player alone isn’t going to right the Blue Jays’ early season wrongs, but Lawrie can make a difference on and off the field.

“I’m just happy to be back. I’m ready to go have some fun and contribute as much as I can,” Lawrie said. “We had a lot of energy before the season started. I’m just glad I can help the boys out and put a smile on everybody’s face.”

Lawrie flew from Tampa to Buffalo and had to drive to Toronto before the game. He was excitedly greeted by teammates in the clubhouse upon arrival. While he went hitless, his sac fly in the ninth inning off White Sox closer Addison Reed made it 4-3 and briefly gave hope to the 16,131 in attendance. In the fourth inning, he hit a hard liner that appeared destined for the outfield. But White Sox shortstop Alexi Ramirez made a great diving play to rob him of a hit that ended the inning.

This has been a familiar scene with the Blue Jays. (Getty Images)It’s early.

That’s been the refrain from Toronto Blue Jays players, coaches, fans and media as the team has struggled to a 3-6 start heading into Kansas City this weekend. While some panicky fans have already jumped ship – or have at least put on life jackets - others are pleading for patience. There has been nothing to cheer about in Toronto.

While it is early – there are a mere 153 games remaining ahead of Friday’s game with the Royals – there are some troubling signs for the team many folks in the baseball world were picking to win the American League East a couple of weeks ago. The Blue Jays have been all around lousy, struggling with hitting, pitching, and defence. The Blue Jays have yet to win two games in a row. Some of the losses have been downright ugly - a 13-0 loss to the Boston Red Sox, and Thursday’s 11-1 loss to the Detroit Tigers stand out.

The revamped starting pitching staff has been particularly bad, and is the first thing that needs to be fixed if the Jays are to dig out of their current funk. Toronto spent lots of money and leveraged a lot of prospects to acquire R.A. Dickey, Mark Buerhle and Josh Johnson during the offseason. The Blue Jays were supposed to have one of the best starting rotations in baseball, but through nine games it is the worst.

The sample size is still small, but the Blue Jays’ starters have a combined ERA of 7.59. They have pitched only three quality starts. No starter has pitched into the seventh inning. The new trio of former All-Stars have ERAs of 8.44 (Dickey), 10.24 (Buerhle), and 11.05 (Johnson). J.A. Happ, who grabbed the fifth spot from Ricky Romero, is the only starter with a victory. Opposing hitters are batting .300 against Toronto pitching.

John Farrell returns with the Boston Red Sox to face the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday. (Getty Images)They say living well is the best revenge. We’ll find out Friday night if that’s enough for fans of the Toronto Blue Jays when former manager John Farrell returns to the Rogers Centre.

If “living well” means having a new-look roster and being expected to makes the playoffs for the first time in 20 years, Toronto fans should be happy. But that’s almost certainly not the case. The Blue Jays’ former manager-turned-villain will surely be greeted with a chorus of boos when he takes the field with the Boston Red Sox.

Farrell went 154-170 in his two seasons as the skipper in Toronto before bolting for his “dream job” in Boston last October. Farrell was traded to the Red Sox for infielder Mike Aviles, who was later shipped to the Cleveland Indians.

R.A. Dickey and J.P. Arencibia couldn't get on the same page in the Blue Jays' opener. (Getty Images)Toronto excitedly packed the Rogers Centre on Tuesday night, but the Blue Jays gave them little to cheer about.

The most anticipated Blue Jays season in years began with a thud, a 4-1 loss to the Cleveland Indians in front of a sellout crowd of 48,857. Raucous ovations during pre-game ceremonies turned to frustration and boos by the second inning when the Indians took a 2-0 lead.

Much of the fan frustration early on was directed at Blue Jays catcher J.P. Arencibia. Arencibia struggled to corral R.A. Dickey’s knuckleball, allowing two passed balls in the inning which led to runners advancing and eventually scoring. Dickey isn’t concerned about Arencibia, or the Blue Jays 2013 fortunes.

“We’re family in there, you try to stay positive, but it’s a tough thing to do [catch a knuckleball],” Dickey said. “I’m sure he’ll identify whatever inhibited him and fix it. Sometime you throw a good knuckleball, and no one is catching it. That’s just the way it is. We’ll fix it.”

Rick Romero has struggled this spring . (Getty Images)

In the spring of 2001, before the two Cy Young awards and most of his 199 wins, Roy Halladay was just a young Blue Jays first-round pick struggling with his command and sporting a 10.64 earned-run average from the season before.

Despite already having 33 major-league starts under his belt, the solution for Halladay was a trip down to Single-A Dunedin to work with former Jays pitching coach Mel Queen. Halladay worked on changing his arm angle and other finer points of pitching before being recalled to Toronto at the midway point of the season. He went 5-3 with a 3.10 ERA over 16 starts the rest of the way. Two seasons later, he won his first Cy Young.

That anecdote should sound familiar to current Blue Jays fans and may be the solution needed to fix former ace Ricky Romero.

Romero burst on to the major-league scene with 42 wins in his first three seasons and was an All-Star in 2011 when he went 15-11 with a 2.92 ERA and WAR of 6.2. It was a different story in 2012 when he went 9-14, his ERA ballooned to 5.77 and his WAR was -1.7 – yes, the Blue Jays would have been better off without him.

The Blue Jays were patient with Romero and confident 2012 was a fluke from which he would bounce back. But if 2013 spring training is any indication, whatever plagues Romero has not yet been fixed. Already sporting a 7.27 ERA this spring, Romero made a minor-league start on Thursday as he tries to incorporate a change in his mechanics. It didn’t go well, as Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star points out.

Kelly Olynyk, front, and Kevin Pangos, left, could go all the way with Gonzaga. (The Canadian Press)It’s no secret that there is suddenly an abundance of basketball players coming out of Canada to play in the NCAA. But what makes the 2013 field of Canadians participating in the NCAA Tournament even more impressive is the amount of top-end talent.

No longer are the Canadian players holding down benches or getting limited playing time. Whereas a player at a top-flight school – like Jamaal Magloire at Kentucky – used to be rare, it is now becoming the norm. There are Canadian players in the starting lineups of at least 10 schools participating in March Madness. (A complete list of Canadian players in the tournament is available here.)

Here is a look at some of the best Canada has to offer this March:

Best player – Kelly Olynyk, Gonzaga.

The 7-foot junior from Kamloops, B.C., was one of the most improved players this season and the leader of the No. 1-ranked Bulldogs.

Olynyk averaged 17.5 points and 7.2 rebounds while being named a finalist for the Wooden Award, which goes to the NCAA’s

Canada and Mexico brawls during the ninth inning of Saturday's game. (Getty Images)PHOENIX – Saturday’s game between Canada and Mexico at the World Baseball Classic was marred by a massive ninth-inning brawl.

When Canadian catcher Chris Robinson bunted with his team up 9-3, Mexico third baseman Luis Cruz motioned to picher Arnold Leon to hit the next batter. Leon hit Canada’s Rene Tosoni which led to chaos on, and off, the field.

Canadian first-base coach Larry Walker was in the middle of it all, and later had a ball thrown at him from the stands.

The former Montreal Expos star, and Canadian Baseball Hall of Famer, describe the scene at Chase Field as only he can:

(Cap tip to Yahoo! Sports baseball writer Jeff Passan for transcribing the below interview.)

Q: Talk about all the things that happened in the ninth.

A: Somebody tweeted it was Chihuahuas vs. the Beavers. International rules, I guess the run thing is important so you try to wrap the score in. In most people's eyes, mine included, there's nothing wrong laying down a bunt up six. I don't think they thought