[Sorry for the pun, but you just can't be taken as a credibly source of baseball analysis without "cleverly" working J.A. Happ's name into the title.]
For the second time in less than a week, J.A. Happ took the mound and defeated the Atlanta Braves. This time around, he allowed two runs and lasted into the seventh inning. Happ's ERA in 4 starts this year is 2.28.
Marty Bystrom comparisons aside, there are some caveats however. For one, he has a 15/11 strikeout to walk ratio in just over 23 innings pitched. For another, the Braves rested Chipper Jones and Brian McCann last night, leaving their lineup almost as powerless as the Gulf Coast after a hurricane.
Let's say the Phillies make the playoffs [yeah, yeah, I know everyone says it's a 99% probability at this point, but I still would not like to tempt the baseball gods, after all, they gifted us one last year], and lets say that when Phillies management is deciding on the playoff roster, I don't think there is any way J.A. Happ is left off for a series in which the Phillies expect to need a fifth starter. But in the first round, which is only a five game series? He probably doesn't make the cut.
Or, do you have enough faith in Happ at this point to include him in a post-season rotation over Joe Blanton? Or, for that matter, do you have so little faith in Blanton that you would use Happ?
