Romero under control

MINNEAPOLIS -- The days when he got so angry he threw his glove into the stands, like he did once when he pitched here for the Twins, are probably over, J.C. Romero figures. How can he tell? Well, he survived his struggles in Anaheim last summer without snapping.

"If I had let my temper take over," he said, "I might have gotten released. I've got that type of temper."

Besides, Romero doesn't have to look far for a model of self-control. There's his mother, Gladys, the woman from whom he inherited his short fuse. She's now a Pentecostal preacher in his native Puerto Rico. "The biggest difference I notice," he said, "is her mouth, the way she speaks. I got my temper from my mom. Now she's so mellow."

Understand, though, that Romero's more decorous behavior should not be confused with a lessening of his competitive fire. Again, his experience last summer with the Angels is instructive. After a season that was easily the worst of his big league career -- 1-2, 6.70 ERA in 65 appearances -- Romero came to Boston with much the same attitude that has driven him since he was a child in Rio Piedras.

"I want to prove people wrong, man," the muscular Romero said, even before he registered his first save in more than three years in Thursday night's 8-7 win over the Seattle Mariners.

"My whole life has been about proving people wrong. A lot of people said I wouldn't make it out of the 'hood. Then they said I'd never make it because I was a [5-foot-10-inch] lefty, and I became one of the best lefties in the league.

"Last year was embarrassing, but in my heart I know what I've got. If I stay healthy and can pound the strike zone, when all is said and done I know I can be OK. Hey, it took last year to lead me to Boston."

So far this spring, Romero has been the second lefthander in importance in the Red Sox bullpen. Japanese import Hideki Okajima has become the team's primary setup man, usurping a role that last season was held by Mike Timlin, who is on the disabled list with a strained shoulder.

But except for a rough outing on a 38-degree night in Texas, when Romero gave up three runs on five straight hits, including a home run by Sammy Sosa, Romero has been more than serviceable. Thursday night, with Okajima having pitched in three straight games and with manager Terry Francona determined not to use Jonathan Papelbon, Romero recorded the game's final three outs for the save.

It was the kind of outing that could earn Romero, who has allowed just one run in 9 innings in 11 appearances not including the Texas fiasco, some more crunch-time appearances. He relieved Tim Wakefield to start the eighth last night and got the first batters before surrendering a ground-rule double to left by Joe Mauer. He may not be the pitcher he was in 2002, when his power sinker and biting slider made him one of the league's most dominating relievers (1.89 ERA in 81 appearances). But Romero, who became a free agent when the Angels decline to exercise a $2.75 million option, may prove to be a worthwhile $1.6 million salvage operation for general manager Theo Epstein, who has had decidedly mixed results constructing bullpens.

"The bullpen should come out of [Thursday's] game feeling good about themselves," Francona said. "What they did was spectacular. On a night we needed to stay away from people, that was gratifying. I think those are the type of nights that help your ball club find out some good things. When everybody's included, it goes a long way."

The full name is Juan Carlos Romero. The "J.C." was given him by a coach when he was 12 and playing in the Pee Wee Reese League, but at home in Puerto Rico, he's still Carlos to his mom, and "Carlito" to his grandmother, to distinguish him from his father, Juan Raul. His father, a military man, was strict, Romero said, but made sure he got his rest before games.

Romero was an outfielder at the University of Mobile when he was drafted by the Twins in the 21st round in 1997. The scout who signed him, Mark Quimuyog, told him the Twins had much more interest in his arm than his bat.

"I ran out of hits," Romero said with a smile, "so I became a pitcher."

The only pitching he'd done in college, he said, was as a closer in weekend conference games. "I had a fastball and a slurve, that was about it," he said.

But by 1999, Romero was pitching in the All-Star Futures Game and got a September call-up from the Twins. The coaches in the Twins' system, like Jim Shellenback and Rick Knapp at the minor league level and Rick Anderson when he got to the big leagues, were a big help, but Romero said he also benefited from the teaching of former big leaguers Juan Pizarro and Vern Ruhle in winter ball in Puerto Rico.

Romero pitched with the Twins parts of three seasons (1999-2001) before making his big breakthrough in '02, but within two years the Twins, frustrated with his control issues (209 walks in 407 2/3 innings overall with Minnesota) sent him down to the minors briefly -- on the night he threw his glove into the stands. He had a feeling the demotion was coming. He told GM Terry Ryan he'd already packed his stuff at home for the trip to Rochester.

The Angels traded for him prior to the '06 season -- in his last season with the Twins, Romero had clashed with manager Ron Gardenhire, violating protocol one night by flipping the ball to Gardenhire and walking off the mound. Romero later said he felt "disrespected" by the Twins, which drew an angry response from Gardenhire, but when Romero returned to Minnesota last season with the Angels, both men said they'd gotten past their differences.

"I was very disappointed [last season]," Romero said. "I don't want to say discouraged, but I was mad at myself because I'd worked so hard in the offseason. But I keep emphasizing that God is in control of my career, and whatever has happened has helped to make me a better person, and hopefully a better athlete."

Gordon Edes can be reached at edes@globe.com.