What to do with Happ

When pitcher J.A. Happ was pulled from his Triple-A start last Sunday, I assumed he had been traded. Happ, a starter, really had really had no position with the Phillies. With the addition of Joe Blanton and the return of Brett Myers, the rotation seemed to be set for the remainder of the season.

The skeptic in me then figured that Happ would start Tuesday's game against the Nationals as possibly one last audition for opposing teams prior to Thursday's trade deadline. That didn't happen either.

So it seemed for the time being that Happ would remain in the bullpen as a second left-hander pitcher, opposite J.C. Romero. That was until the Phillies recalled Les Walrond, another lefty, to take Rudy Seanez's place on the roster.

While all this has been going on, both manager Charlie Manuel, and GM Pat Gillick have commented how they want to fit Happ into the rotation. While Happ would be a good addition to the rotation, whose spot would he take? Barring injury or a collapse by one of the Phillies five starters, that's not going to happens. So essentially Happ is being wasted in the bullpen not getting any work, which will hurt him in the long run. As a young pitcher he needs to get regular work so he can continue to build arm strength and stay sharp.

Manuel has mentioned the idea of going with a six-man rotation, but let's face it, that idea is ridiculous.

So what is the actually purpose of Happ being with the Phillies? A minor league starter who showed some flashes of brilliance during his two starts this season, but no place for him. Hypothetically, say you would force Happ into the rotation, who would you replace him with? You know it's not going to be Cole Hamels. He's struggled in his past two outings, but he's the ace of the pitching staff. It's not going to be Jamie Moyer either. Although he's 45, he leads the Phillies in wins (10), and is second in ERA (3.79). There's no shot of moving Blanton. He was acquired to start, and he showed the Phillies some of what he can do in yesterday's 2-1 victory over the Cardinals.

That leaves Kyle Kendrick and Myers. Kendrick is the least talented out of the two, but is still 9-5 this season, and is 19-9 in 42 career starts. Myers would be the obvious replacement, but since he's returned form the minor leagues he hasn't been that bad. Aside from his first inning against the Mets where he allowed two earned runs, one hit, and four walks, Myers has been lights out, going 11 innings, allowing six hits, one earned run, while only walking two.

So essentially unless Myers should get shelled tonight in St. Louis, or one of the Phillies starters clears waivers and gets traded, there's no place in the rotation for him. Since he hasn't even warmed up in the bullpen in the past week, what's the realistic chance of Manuel actually bringing him in the game out of the 'pen?

With Walrond now called up the Phillies have three left-handed arms in the bullpen and two of them are minor league starters, so this effectively is hurting the bullpen. With the injuries to Tom Gordon and Seanez, Clay Condrey has gone from a mop-up pitcher to a guy who comes in with the game on the line. With Manuel hesitant to use rookies out of the bullpen (especially starters), they'll be more work for Ryan Madson, Chad Durbin, and Romero. Down the stretch you'd ideally like to spread the bullpen work around so everyone stays fresh.

If Phillies management is bent on getting Happ into the rotation, put him in the rotation when the spot is available. Until then, send him back to Lehigh Valley where he can get regular work in the Iron Pigs rotation and bring up a reliever who can take some of the pressure off the rest of the bullpen.