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.

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