A hard throwing lefty in the bullpen is hard to come by. A young one is even harder to find as usually what happens is pitchers migrate to the bullpen to find their success. We can see a very clear example of that in the Brett Myers experiment of 2007. Might it be that all of this confusion in the Phillies bullpen could open the door for the JA Happ Experiment?
Let's use Jonathan Papelbon as a comparison. For the first two plus years of Papelbon's professional career, he was used and proudly daunted as an above average starter in the Boston minor league system. He started 48 of his 58 appearances for the Lowell Spinners, Sarasota Red Sox, and Pawtucket Red Sox, compiling a 19-11 record with an era around 2.50. Then, Keith Foulke blew up the Sox pen and the Red Sox turned to former starter Curt Schilling to close out the games at the end of the season, before handing off to Papelbon. Papelbon started the year in the bullpen, toyed with starting, and finished as the future closer with a 2.65 era.
This year, JA Happ fought for the 5th spot in the starting rotation only to be outdone by Chan Ho Park. So off to the bullpen he went. When Park started to falter in the 5th spot, Happ came into the rotation to take his place. Just as the Red Sox found out towards the end of the season that something was needed for the 9th, Happ may face the same situation. Phillies manager Charlie Manuel made several statements after yet another blowup of the Phillies bullpen Saturday night that might lead you to believe Happ could be potentially given the role of closer. "I think he's got the stuff," Charlie said referring to a reporter's question about Happ's possible trip to the bullpen role. "His high heat can get anyone. Being a lefty too is a big deal to the closer role."
We will have to sit back, buckle up, and take in the ride. Hopefully, there won't be any sharp curves or potholes along the way.
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