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DUNEDIN, Florida – Could it be? With the Blue Jays failure to land Ervin Santana and the continuing spring struggles, to varying degrees, of Esmil Rogers, Todd Redmond and J. Adidas NMD Scontate .A. Happ, Ricky Romeros name is being brought up on an increasing basis. Its getting lumped in with that large group competing for a job in the starting rotation. Manager John Gibbons was effusive about Romeros Wednesday performance, in which the former ace lefthander allowed one run over four innings of work. "All hes got to do is get it in the zone," said Gibbons. "That ball is moving every which way too. Its tough to square him up. If he gets in the zone, he makes them swing, you add that great changeup on top of that, thats where hes had his success. Where he ran into trouble he was just scattering it. He was walking guys, things like that. Hes getting in the zone now and thats the key." Baby steps, though. Romero did walk two batters and hit another. He was the beneficiary of a beautifully turned double play and of an outfield assist on a base hit by Jose Bautista, who threw out a runner at third. If Romero was to land the starting job, at this moment it seems remote, the Jays would likely begin the season with an eight-man bullpen. The fact Romero isnt on the 40-man roster works against him, performance over the last two seasons aside, but he is owed at least $15.6-million over the remaining term on his contract and the Jays would love to get some value for it. Romero has simplified his approach. "Like Ive told Kratz and Thole, the guys who have caught me the last two times, just set up down the middle and stuff will move," he said. "I feel like Im getting that movement back with the changeup and the sinker. There are going to be times when I come out of my delivery a little bit but I think the good thing now is that Im realizing when Im coming out of it. Its just slowing myself back down and my delivery is going to be key, just finding that rhythm." One noticeable difference from last season: when Romero talks about feeling good, feeling confident, his eyes and his body language emit the same. That hasnt been the case. "I definitely feel like its in the right direction and how can you not," said Romero. "Everything Ive been through, this feels good. Im not going to get ahead of myself or anything like that but its taking it day by day and working. I think if I do that, just continue to work, work, and see the little wins each and every day and remain positive I think Im going to be just fine. The rest will take care of itself." Its a long road back to being the 15-game winner from 2011 and Romero may never regain his All-Star form. But hes trying. His manager hopes the crisis of confidence is a thing of the past. "Some guys never rebound from it," said manager John Gibbons. "What hes done here this spring, we noticed it, first started noticing it, just warming up in the bullpen, just throwing their sides and in BP, before we even started playing games, he looked different. Were all pulling for him here." McGowan feeling better Dustin McGowan threw two scoreless innings in Thursdays 7-5 loss to the Astros. It was his first game action in 10 days thanks to a stomach bug. It was the same illness that affected Sergio Santos earlier this month. "I lost eight (pounds,) exactly, too," said McGowan. "I think its the eight pound flu or whatever it was. Next time Sergio needs to stay home." After years of battling shoulder problems, McGowan made 25 appearances out of the bullpen last season, posting a 2.45 ERA while striking out, essentially, one hitter per inning pitched. Hes stretching out this spring, longing to be a starter once more. He felt no side effects from his sickness-induced layoff. "I felt good," said McGowan. "For me, thats the most important thing is feeling good. Pitches are starting to come around and location is starting to get better so its a positive outing today for me." McGowan seems to understand the unlikelihood that hell end up in the rotation, admitting "Its hard to say in my head Im going to be a starter but thats where I want to be." Still, hell continue to try to pitch deeper into games. "Ill keep going this path but if Im at four innings by the end of spring, if they want me in the bullpen thats easy to transfer right into," he said. "If you throw one or two, youre ready for it easily." Has he gained the eight pounds back he lost while sick? "You dont see this," joked McGowan, pointing to his stomach. "Ive got it." Scarpe NMD Italia . Paire broke Giraldo twice and lost his serve once in both sets to wrap up the win in 1 hour, 10 minutes. He will next face Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain, who advanced when Jurgen Zopp of Estonia retired with an injury at 5-5 in the first set. Adidas NMD Saldi . -- San Francisco 49ers offensive co-ordinator Greg Roman is a finalist to replace Joe Paterno at Penn State, his agent said Monday. http://www.adidasnmditalia.it/ . Louis Cardinals are one of Major League Baseballs model franchises.CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Different co-ordinators, same systems, same head coach. The Bengals will be slightly different next season as they try to end one of the NFLs longest runs of playoff misery. The Bengals promoted linebackers coach Paul Guenther to defensive co-ordinator on Thursday, keeping continuity for a unit that finished No. 3 in the NFL last season. The move came one day after the Minnesota Vikings hired Mike Zimmer as their head coach. Its also the second time in two weeks that Cincinnati replaced a co-ordinator with an in-house candidate. They elevated running backs coach Hue Jackson to offensive co-ordinator after Jay Gruden was hired by the Redskins as head coach. "Were going to have some new coaches, and its great for us," coach Marvin Lewis said on Thursday. "Some new blood, some new energy. Because we cant be the same. We dont get to be the same. Weve got to be better in 2014 than we were in 13, and thats what our quest is right away." The Bengals won the AFC North this season, but couldnt shake their legacy of flaming out in the playoffs. They lost to San Diego 27-10 in the opening round at Paul Brown Stadium, making it 23 years since they last won a playoff game, tied for the sixth-longest streak in NFL history. Theyve also tied the NFL record by losing their opening game three years in a row. And Lewis is 0-5 in the playoffs during his 11 seasons in Cincinnati, trailing Jim Mora by one for the most consecutive playoff losses to start a coaching career. "I want to still be playing a year from now," said Lewis, who is entering the final year on his contract. The Bengals are the first team since the 2006 San Diego Chargers to lose both co-ordinators to head coaching jobs elsewhere, according to STATS LLC. Zimmer presided over one of the Bengals best stretches of defence during his six seasons in Cincinnati. The Bengals finished in the Top 10 for fewest yards allowed in four of the last five seasons. Guenther has spent nine seasons on Cincinnatis coaching staff, the last two with the linebackers. He worked with Zimmer to formulate the defensive plays. NMD Outlet Italia. "Since the first day he got here, Ive been by his side most of the time," Guenther said. "If you look back at our defence in 2008, it has transformed to now. Weve sat side-by-side and put a lot of this stuff together." Zimmer wanted to bring Guenther with him to Minnesota as his defensive co-ordinator, but Guenther decided to stay in Cincinnati. "Ive got young kids; I didnt have to move my family," Guenther said. "Ive got good players that I really like and care for. And really at the end of the day, that was probably the one thing that I said: OK, I feel bad for these guys, this guys leaving and that guys leaving (as co-ordinators) and these guys deserve a good situation." The Bengals will be getting a couple of their defensive stars back from injury. Top cornerback Leon Hall tore an Achilles tendon and defensive tackle Gen Atkins tore a knee ligament during the season. The defence has a core of young players led by Pro Bowl linebacker Vontaze Burfict. One of the biggest challenges for Guenther will be calling the plays during games. Zimmer was known for his ability to anticipate what the opposing offence would do and get into a defence that contained it. "Youve got to understand (the opposing offence) better than they understand themselves," Lewis said. "Mike was excellent at that. Going forward, thats going to be the challenge of Paul in this situation in this role. Hes not been that." Guenther sat with the coaches in a booth on game days and was part of the discussions about which defence to call. "There is a lot of communication going on every play: What do you like here? What do you like there? To be honest with you, I could sit up in the press box and probably 95 per cent of the time know what was going to come out of his mouth," Guenther said. "Being around the guy and understanding how he calls the game, certain situations, you know it. Its just a matter of going out there and doing it." ' ' '