Among the story lines for the Philadelphia Phillies in 2009 was J.A. Happ and his charmed season. The 27 year-old lefty began the year as the long man out of the ‘pen, despite an impressive spring training that saw him battling Chan Ho Park for the last spot in the rotation.

Although Happ started the season in the bullpen, it wasn’t too long before he moved to the rotation to replacing the struggling Park. His first action as a starter was in New York against the Yankees, where he had the unenviable task of facing on one of the game’s best offenses in a shiny new ballpark that was not conducive to pitching. While the Phillies would lose that game, Happ pitched with aplomb, holding the Yankees to two runs over six, allowing four hits while striking out four.

It was a sign of things to come for Younger James, who would arguably be the best pitcher of the season for the Phillies. In his 23 starts, he allowed two or fewer runs 15 times, while pitching to a 10-4 record with an ERA of 2.99.

His crowning achievements came in the form of two complete game shutouts, the first coming in Toronto on June 27. After getting staked to a four run lead before he took the hill, he mowed down the Blue Jays lineup on only 100 pitches, while never allowing a runner past second. What is perhaps most impressive is that he did this amid trade talks, where he was rumored to be involved in the package for Roy Halladay. Whether or not trade rumors have an impact on a player is not up to us to decide, but one can only imagine the pressure and stress that it places on a player, especially a burgeoning young pitcher for the defending World Champions. That added stress, combined with the responsibility of taking the hill for a team that came into the game having lost 11 our of the last 14, make this gem all the more impressive.

Just over a month later, Happ was tabbed to start against the Colorado Rockies in what would be his best start of the season. He allowed four hits, walked two, and struck out ten, including a fastball to get freeze Troy Tulowitzki to end the game in front of 45,129 screaming fans. And while he wasn’t as efficient as he was against the Jays, he shut down a very potent Rockies offense that came into the game riding a five game win streak.

Say what you want about Happ and his skewed 2009 numbers and un-Sabermetric-like route to success, but in an era of juiced baseballs, small parks and pitch counts, Happ’s shutouts were not only a rare sight, but a marvel to behold, as if we were looking through the looking glass and into another time to watch a game that our fathers and grandfathers only knew.

Or maybe shutouts are just really, really cool.

Video courtesy Phillies fan and all around good guy @lonettomb

BONUS BASEBALL!

As most of you are aware, there is an NCAA-style tournament of Phillies blogs going on over at The Phield, and your beloved Fightins Dot Com has the honor of being ranked as a three seed in the gauntlet that is the Lauber Region, named for erstwhile Phils writer Scott Lauber. The region is a veritable Murderer’s Row, consisting of such powerhouses as Phillies Nation, Andy Martino’s and Matt Gelb’s Phillies Zone, and High Cheese, so the road to the top is not an easy one.

And I speak for the rest of the crew when I say that we would very much appreciate your support over the next two weeks. So what can you do? Head over to ThePhield.com and vote early and vote often. In first round action, (3) The Fightins takes on (14) Phillibustering today, March 19th.

J.A. Happ did not want to be traded and he was pretty vocal about it over the last month, but tonight CSN let out this rather revealing quote.

I’m trying not to worry about it. But, I’m a single guy, live by myself. I have a lot of time to think about stuff. I try not to, but I’m human, so it crosses my mind. Once I’m here and trying to do my thing, I don’t think about it.

Thanks to Amaro he won’t have to worry about it but, Happ single? I guess either the old “Hey, I’m a big league pitcher” pick up line isn’t working or Happ just likes to play the field and hasn’t deemed any broad worthy of his faithfulness. J.A. keepin’ it crispy /Sarge’d

Way back in September, it was reported that the veteran members of the Phillies forced the rookies to dress up for their annual hazing. Unfortunately (and perhaps inexcusably), nobody had visual evidence of the event, and it was feared that these pictures would never surfice.

Well, fear not — The Fightins dot com has you covered with your exclusive first look.

(Unless, of course, you already watched the Phillies Yearbook DVD, in which case it would be your not-so-exclusive second look. Either way, I went ahead and captured the screen shot for you.)

That’s J.A. Happ as a Roman Soldier, Greg Golson in the 20’s-style slip dress, Lou Marson with the leather short-shorts/vest/Zorro mask ensemble, Kyle Kendrick looking dominatrix-y in his chaps, cod piece, chest thingee, cap, mask, and whip, followed by Mike Cervenak as Britney Spears, and first-year strength and conditioning coach Doug Lien as a geisha girl.  Enjoy:

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Oooh boy.  We got a funny story coming out of Atlanta this morning informing us about this year’s version of the time-honored tradition of hazing first-year baseball players.  From Ken Mandel over at Phillies.com — you ready?

ATLANTA — [J.A. Happ as] A Roman solider, [strength and conditioning coordinator Dong Lien as a] Geisha, [Greg Golson as a] ’20s-style flapper, [Mike Cervenak as] Britney Spears and [Lou Marson and Kyle Kendrick] as two leather-bound “adult” entertainers boarded the Phillies’ charter for Florida on Friday.

That meant one thing: Rookie hazing.

Awww man, that sounds funny.  I can’t wait to click on the photo gallery that surely accompanies this story and laugh at these guys.  This is gonna be great.

Wait… what?  There are no photos?  You mean I just have to settle for reading the story and visualizing what they’d look like?  BULLSHIT!

Actually, the only thing more fucked up than not showing these pictures is they made Kyle Kendrick (who is most likely still depressed from sucking for the past couple months) dress up for a second straight year.  Are they trying to drive this kid to suicide or something?  Come on Phils, enough with the humiliation of Kyle Kendrick.

If anyone either has the pics or can point me in the direction of the pics, I’d appreciate it.

Phils haze the rookies | Phillies.com
In 2007, Phillies rookies got hazed | Bugs&Cranks

Count me among those who remain skeptical about the Joe Blanton trade. Yes, we got someone who can eat up innings (and can’t possibly stink any worse than Adam Eaton right now), and we didn’t lose anyone we couldn’t afford to lose in the deal. Blanton’s 2008 salary is also four times less than A.J. Burnett’s, so that doesn’t hurt, either.

One has to wonder if perhaps Pat Gillick acted too quickly in order to get someone, anyone into the Phils’ starting rotation before the trade deadline. After Sabathia and Harden were taken off the market, there really wasn’t much left to choose from, and change for its own sake isn’t always a good idea.

No use arguing the point now, I guess. Blanton’s our starter and just about any move that sends Eaton to the bullpen is a good one. Still, I think J.A. Happ deserved a chance to show what he can do as a #4 or #5 starter.

He was good — not great, but good — in his two big-league starts, pitching 11 innings with eight strikeouts and a cumulative 3.27 ERA. (He also walked eight and finished with a WHIP of 1.45.)

In his minor-league start for the IronPigs last night, Happ struck out 12 batters in a seven-inning shutout victory over the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees. Once you’ve been up to “the show,” once you’ve seen the bright lights of the big city, it’s tough going back to the farm (system).

My hope is that we’ll see Happ on the mound at Citizen’s Bank Park before the end of this season, and definitely by the beginning of next season.

(Our homies over at The 700 Level have more to say about this latest development.)

In J.A. Happ’s first call-up to the majors (a home game against the Mets last June), the 26-year-old southpaw got a rude welcome from the visiting team, giving up seven hits and five earned runs in four innings of work. Happ returned to the minors with a big fat “L” and 94 pitches of big-league experience under his belt.

Now, with Brett Myers working out the kinks in Lehigh Valley, Happ gets a chance for payback. Or does he? Charlie Manuel has decided to pit his new starter against the formidable Johan Santana. With the series at Atlanta already decided in Philly’s favor, I’m not sure why Happ didn’t start last night, allowing staff ace Hamels to face off against New York’s primary weapon.

Santana, despite his intimidating reputation, has not exactly set the National League on fire so far. After 17 starts this season, his record is an unimpressive 7-7, with a 3.01 ERA. Santana has lost his last four decisions, and the Mets are 0-5 in his last five starts. That’s worth $138 million — right, Mets fans?

In his only start against the Phils this season, Santana gave up three earned runs and struck out ten batters in a 6-4 victory for New York. With the Phillies’ offense slowly reviving, we’ll see if they can get him to leave town with a record below .500 for the first time since April 12.

Have a great Independence Day weekend. GO PHILS!

As the Phillies ponder what to do with their troubled man-child, speculation abounds as to whom the front office might call up from the farm system to test their skills on the big-league level. Their prime candidate is J.A. Happ, currently pitching for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (team site).

So far this season, the 26-year-old Happ is 5-6 with a 3.54 ERA. According to Paul Hagen at the Philadelphia Daily News: “In his last five starts, he’s allowed 24 hits and eight walks during 32 1/3 innings while striking out 33. His ERA in those games is 2.51.”

Happ’s age and potential make him more desirable than Brian Mazone, the 32-year-old IronPig lefty who leads the team in wins, as well as having a lower WHIP and ERA than Happ and a complete game shutout to boot.

Here’s his website, appropriately titled “What’s HAPPening.” (I get it, like the TV show!) Either Happ’s forgotten how to save new posts, or he’s suffering from a severe case of writer’s block.

• Watrick on Top 15 Moments of 2009, Number 11: J.A. Happ’s Shutouts
• I want to go to the zoo with Roy Halladay on Your Lenny Dykstra Disaster Update
• ChickPhilA on Your Lenny Dykstra Disaster Update
• I want to go to the zoo with Roy Halladay on Top 15 Moments of 2009, Number 11: J.A. Happ’s Shutouts
• HummerX on Your Lenny Dykstra Disaster Update