The Phenom

Many people who know me know i like joking around about JA Happ. i call him the phenom and compare him to pitchers such as Walter Johnson and Bob Gibson. but its time i realistically take a look at "The Phenom".

Happs History leading up to this season has been one hell of a roller coaster ride. Happ had a very forgettable debut in 07 starting the game throwing 4 innings of 7 hit 5 er ball. His punishment? an immediate demotion back to the minors. his reaction? he fought and pitched his heart out to get a second chance with the club. in 2008 he stringed together a few good starts and pitched out of the pen. his highlight of 08 was outdueling Johan Santana of the New York Mets. this is the second i hopped on the "Phenoms" bandwagon. i remember exactly where i was when i watched this game as it is etched into my memory. all in all he put together nice enough of a season with a 3.69 era to put his name out there, and when spring training rolled around, boy was his name out there for the fifth spot in the rotation. Ultimatly in the end he lost out to newly signed pitcher Chan Ho Park. after a string of bad starts by Chan Ho, Happ found his way back into the rotation and he never looked back. Near the end of the season he injured himself and in turn struggled in the month of September, and struggled even worse in the month of October.

So where does that leave us now? that leaves us with a Healthy Happ for a full season. So what can we realistically expect from our "Phenom"? Some may argue that Happs struggles near the end of the season was really just the league catching onto him, which might be what happened. Happ never had dazzling stuff. The reason he was so hard to hit was because of the deception in his delivery, but has that deception run its course? The only real way to tell is by playing the waiting game. The bright side of this all is Happ will not be counted on hugely like he was last season. If Hollywood Hamels re-emerges then Happ posting a 2.93 era again will only be icing on the cake, but if Happ slips a little and posts a high 3 era it wont be the end of the world. Happ goes into next season as our number 4 pitcher so anything under a 4 from him is way better than anything the other #4 pitchers around the league are giving their respectable teams.

So now its time to share my thoughts. What do i think the "Phenom" will do? i think the "Phenom" will have a respectable season, but nothing along the lines of his breakout 09 season. Expecting anything under a 3 from any pitcher is a lot to ask for, even halladay, its not easy to pitch your way to a dominating season in todays MLB full of small parks and power based offenses. Realistically i can see Happ following up 09 with a 3.70 era. its nothing to rave about but its still pretty damn good...especially for your number 4 pitcher. i would include his amount of wins but anyone who talks baseball with me knows how much of an overrated stat i think it is considering its based more on offensive support than on individual performance. Happ will go on to have a respectable career of being a workhorse, but will never relive his 09 season. take it for what its worth but as stated in the above paragraph, Happ has never had dazzling stuff, hes just your typical thinking mans pitcher. The man i like to compare him to is Jamie Moyer, he cant throw it past you, and he most likely wont win a Cy Young, but he is the type of guy many dont appreciate. So heres to you JA "The Phenom" Happ. Go make Bob Gibson and Walter Johnson Jealous of your talents!

Written by Mike "fiz" Foley