Comments on: J.A. Happ Interview http://phuturephillies.com/2007/05/07/ja-happ-interview/ Phillies Prospects Sun, 27 May 2012 03:33:29 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Corkster http://phuturephillies.com/2007/05/07/ja-happ-interview/#comment-3434 Tue, 05 Jun 2007 23:21:49 +0000 http://phuturephillies.com/2007/05/07/ja-happ-interview/#comment-3434 I believe her prefers, “Jay”.

]]> By: olgrandad http://phuturephillies.com/2007/05/07/ja-happ-interview/#comment-2005 Wed, 09 May 2007 19:26:22 +0000 http://phuturephillies.com/2007/05/07/ja-happ-interview/#comment-2005 Well, if we’re looking for help at the big league level soon, I
would say he’s not ready. Being a good AAA pitcher is not good
enough IMO. All those walks suggest to me that he doesn’t go
after hitters, and that will make it difficult for him to succeed in the bigs.

]]> By: phuturephillies http://phuturephillies.com/2007/05/07/ja-happ-interview/#comment-1996 Wed, 09 May 2007 15:30:23 +0000 http://phuturephillies.com/2007/05/07/ja-happ-interview/#comment-1996 I wouldn’t say he’s a “long way” from the majors. Happ has allowed less than a hit per inning and only a .333 slugging %, that’s not bad, plus more than 1 K per inning, that’s certainly good. Yes, the walks are a problem, but I’m willing to give him another month of time before commenting one way or another on how far away he is to being a solid big league contributor.

]]> By: olgrandad http://phuturephillies.com/2007/05/07/ja-happ-interview/#comment-1975 Wed, 09 May 2007 04:27:37 +0000 http://phuturephillies.com/2007/05/07/ja-happ-interview/#comment-1975 Happ seems to be an intelligent kid. That’s not unimportant. I
certainly am pulling for him, but, at this point, I’m not so
impressed with his performance in AAA. I don’t like the walks,
and he certainly isn’t dominating. IMO he’s a long way away
from the majors right now, but I hope he continues to grow.

]]> By: phuturephillies http://phuturephillies.com/2007/05/07/ja-happ-interview/#comment-1958 Tue, 08 May 2007 17:02:32 +0000 http://phuturephillies.com/2007/05/07/ja-happ-interview/#comment-1958 The whole mentor thing is really tough to figure out. On one hand, the effect is probably overrated, but on the other hand, it can’t hurt to have someone who pitches in a similar fashion to help explain to you the art of setting up a hitter, changing speeds, etc etc. Happ and Moyer are both fastball/changeup guys, and until this past season, Happ only had mediocre velocity. I think the effect Moyer has on guys is overblown by the cliche driven media, but I think the effect is real to an extent.

As we have seen with Rosario and others, if you don’t throw strikes, you can’t succeed in the majors, especially the bullpen. The D-Backs announcer made a good point last night (and I can’t stand him, though I like Gracie), that young pitchers often make a good pitch, and then try to make an even better pitch. Rosario was guilty of that, and it led to a run scoring. If Happ comes up, throws strikes, and just has confidence in his stuff, I have no doubt he can be effective. But if he comes up and nibbles, it won’t be pretty.

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