Phillies Notebook: Phillies reliever Romero eager to see action

J.C. Romero reminded you again for the umpteenth time yesterday afternoon.

"I just work here," he said.

For the past week, his job has consisted mostly of occasional warmups in the bullpen, well out of reach of the actual mound.

That was the case again yesterday, when for the sixth straight game, he sat idle, his longest healthy absence from the box score in his three-plus seasons with the Phillies.

The only other time a healthy Romero missed more than 5 straight days was in July 2008, during a 6-day stretch that included the three-day All-Star Break.

"I'm good, I'm good," Romero said. "It's all right. As long as we're doing a good job, there's nothing you can do. Just wait for your chance."

Manager Charlie Manuel and pitching coach Rich Dubee have said several times this week they are not avoiding Romero, who missed the last 3 months of 2009 with elbow soreness and most of the first month of 2010 after having offseason surgery. Rather, they say they have not encountered many situations that require a lefty reliever. The Cardinals' lineup featured only two lefthanded batters: leadoff man Skip Schumaker and No. 6 hitter Colby Rasmus.

But the Phillies have never used Romero as a true lefty specialist. More than half of his appearances have come against righthanded hitters over the last two seasons, and in 2008 the team often used him as another late-and-close setup option for closer Brad Lidge.

Manuel said this week that Romero is "close" to being able to pitch a whole inning in high-leverage situations. All three of his appearances thus far have come with the Phillies trailing - by three against Arizona on April 23, by four against the Giants on April 27 and by eight against the Mets on April 30.

But Romero said he feels ready to pitch without limitations. Since allowing a home run and a walk against the Diamondbacks, he retired five of six batters he faced, and the other reached via error. On Tuesday, he warmed up and sat back down four times in the 2-1, 10-inning win over the Cardinals.

"It's good when I can warm up and the next day I'm good," Romero said. "The other day, I warmed up four times, and it was good, the fact that every time I felt like I was getting better and letting it go better without any problem. And then the next day, I warmed up and I was good. I'm trying to do what I've got to do. It's always good getting in a game, but my time will come."

Shortstop Juan Castro missed yesterday's game after straining his hamstring during the eighth inning of the Phillies' 4-0 win over the Cardinals Wednesday night.

Manuel said Castro will likely miss tonight's game against the Braves, but is not expected to be sidelined for a lengthy amount of time. Manuel said Castro's injury is similar to the one he suffered in late April in Arizona, which caused him to miss a game.

Wilson Valdez, promoted from Triple A Lehigh Valley in mid-April when Jimmy Rollins went on the disabled list, started and hit eighth, contributing a double.

Catcher Carlos Ruiz hit seventh in the batting order, his highest position since hitting seventh on Sept. 3, 2008. He went 3-for-5 with a double to raise his average to .314 . . . Righthander Roy Halladay improved to 6-1 and is now tied with Rockies righty Ubaldo Jimenez (6-0) for the major league lead in wins . . . Jayson Werth's two doubles yesterday extended his major league-leading total to 15 . . . Yesterday was the Phillies' 55th consecutive sellout . . . Cardinals starter Kyle Lohse, who finished the 2007 season with the Phillies, lost for the first time in nine career appearances at Citizens Bank Park. *