Happ vs Pedro

Ok, so the Fightins didn't get Roy Halladay, but did get Cliff Lee, for a much cheaper price. *Applause*

I have to hand it to Ruben, because Lee is a fantastic pitcher as we've already seen and if the rain clears we'll get to see him again at CBP today. Sure I pushed for Halladay, but I didn't really think that Lee would be available. It is hard to complain about the reining AL Cy Young who went 22-3 last year. His record is not great this year, but think about this; In Lee's first 8 losses, the tribe scored a total of 11 runs. Put down the calculators, it is 1.38 support runs per game.

Of course, it can't ALWAYS be sunny in Philly. With the addition of Lee, along with Pedro roaming the farm, the Phillies have six "starting pitchers." They are of course Lee, Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton, Jamie Moyer, J.A. Happ, and Martinez.

Someone has to go. A 6 man rotation doesn't work in today's Major Leagues. Too much rest can actually hurt a pitcher, feeling stronger and throwing harder and getting the ball up in the zone. The Phillies also don't have the typical power pitcher. They have guys who rely much on location, which requires feel, which requires them to go out on their normal 5th day.

Platooning the 5th & 6th guy doesn't work either, especially when they'd be Martinez and Moyer. Again, it goes back to having feel for the pitches, and the only thing that would be worse than 6 days rest would be 10 days.

The idea that has been getting the most air time has been to move one guy to the pen, and for whatever reason, that guy is J.A. Happ. Yes the J.A. Happ who is 8-2. The same Happ who is the team leader in ERA (not counting Lee's 1 start). The same ROY candidate that recently played the role of stopper, throwing his 2nd complete game shutout of the season against a pretty good Colorado lineup.

It makes the most sense, if you were to make Pedro a starter, to move Happ to the pen. It obviously isn't going to be Lee or Hamels. Blanton has been very good since he arrived in Philadelphia, hitting a rough patch early but has been terrific lately. Jamie Moyer does not have the skill set to come out of the pen. He is not a strikeout pitcher, who has to get a feel for the plate and the umpires strike zone to be effective.

I am not one of the people who believe that if you rearrange the letters of JA Happ, you can somehow manage to spell Koufax. However I do not think that the Phillies would be wise to put their most consistent starting pitcher in the bullpen for someone who has yet to prove themselves...AGAIN!

Sure, Park pitched well enough to get the job in the spring, but in all seriousness, who is Pedro? This is not 2003, when Martinez was one of the best in the game and body slamming Yankee bench coaches. While Happ was helping this team with spot starts and winning the World Series last year, Pedro was at home in the DR gaining weight, as a former MET pitcher who couldn't go past 5 innings. Charlie Manuel should not let this Prima Donna waltz into a starting job and demote Happ, who has earned the right to be there, just because Pedro Martinez has a certain future in the hall.

Pedro should earn his spot on this team by going to the bullpen. His skill set could make him productive coming out of the pen. He fanned 11 AA hitters in 6 innings last night, still giving up 3 earned runs. Pedro, along with Park, and maybe even Brett Myers should make a solid option should one of the starters get touched up early.