Patton on injury, Romero on joining the Orioles

Troy Patton sprained his right ankle Sunday night after rolling it in his parking garage, a "freakish" injury that's forcing him on the 15-day disabled list. "I was walking in the garage where I stay and caught it on the edge of the curb, at angle, and just turned it quick," he said. "I didn't think it was very bad until I woke up the next day, and it was very, very swollen. I thought it was just a little tweak, no problem." It's a problem. Patton will go on the disabled list retroactive to yesterday. "It's one of those deals where I could have done it in any situation. I just happened to do it right then," he said. "It's just a sprain. I'll be back in 14 days, since it's retroactive. I'll be back as soon as I'm allowed to be back, and I'll be ready to go." J.C. Romero replaces Patton as the only lefty in the bullpen. Romero opted out of his contract with Triple-A Norfolk, signed with the Indians and was traded back to the Orioles yesterday for Triple-A infielder Carlos Rojas. "It's baseball," he said. "I was telling a couple guys. All you can do is play the game the right way and respect the game. You'll be moving from place to place at times. It just happened that the first time around, I didn't get a chance to be here with the guys, but I'm here now and I'll make the best of it." Asked why he opted out of his Norfolk contract, Romero said, "That's something that honestly goes beyond what I have to say. I had a lot of fun in Norfolk, but that's why you hire an agent. He's trying to find the best opportunities for you. At that point, we thought that was the best opportunity for me. The bullpen was throwing so good up here and there wasn't a weak link, but hey, I guess God intended for me to be back here and I'm happy to be back." Romero goes from not having a major league job to being the lone lefty in the bullpen for a team in the thick of the pennant race. "It's not a new territory for me," he said. "I've been blessed to be part of good bullpens in the past. The whole Triple-A experience was a very humbling experience and it kind of opened my eyes a lot, but at the same time, I took it as a way to get my arm back in shape and to work hard. "When I went to Triple-A, I didn't take anything for granted. I was going at it like I was in the big leagues, and I guess it paid off."