Posts Tagged ‘James Anthony Happ’

Pictured, second from left: Danny Bonaduce, pre-steroids.

My relationship with J.A. Happ, if you will, has been an interesting one. I’ve been a fan of his since his minor-league days, telling anyone who would listen that he would eventually be a quality big-league pitcher. When he got his shot in 2008 and pitched well, I extolled the virtues of letting Jamie Moyer walk and replacing him in the rotation with Happ. I believe I was called a moron for this more than once. As it happened, Happ ended up competing with Chan Ho Park for the final spot in the rotation last spring. Park, being a veteran, a righthander, and inexplicably promised a fair shot at the rotation when he signed, only needed to pitch reasonably well in spring training to win the job. He did that and more, and Happ, who pitched well in his own right, was banished to the bullpen.

Nearly two months of Park stinking up the joint ensued before Charlie Manuel finally put Happ in the rotation where he belonged, and Happ put up one of the most impressive rookie seasons in recent Phillies history, going 12-4 with a 2.93 ERA, finishing second to Chris Coghlan in Rookie of the Year voting. A funny thing happened then: I, perhaps Happ’s most fervent supporter mere months before, found myself tempering the wild enthusiasm of casual fans, who were penciling Happ into future Cy Young ballots. As you’ll see after the jump, this is just a tiny bit ridiculous.

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