Bob Ford: Happ's place is in rotation for playoffs

For the final month of the season, as the Phillies lazed toward their third straight division championship, the most popular parlor game in Philadelphia was deciding which pitchers should make up the playoff starting rotation and, more heatedly, which pitcher should be the arm of last resort in the bullpen.

The debate, theories, and speculation end after today's final game of the regular season, when the front office, field staff, and scouting chiefs meet to determine the postseason roster and to sort out the various roles within that list.

This won't be the first meeting on the subject. Even though manager Charlie Manuel, pitching coach Rich Dubee, and general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. steadfastly said the decisions haven't been made yet, it hasn't been for a lack of meetings.

"We meet all the bleeping time," Manuel said the night the Phillies clinched the division. "We talk about everything. I was here at 9 o'clock this morning for a meeting. There isn't anything we haven't discussed."

What those meetings have determined, in all probability, is there are no easy answers this time around. Last season, the starters through the playoffs were Cole Hamels, Brett Myers, Jamie Moyer, and Joe Blanton. The closer in the bullpen? It would have been laughable to even ask.

This year, the roles aren't as defined, and the path to the World Series isn't as well marked. And, amazingly enough, the key to the whole process might be a pitcher who entered this season with a 1-1 record in just nine major-league appearances.

J.A. Happ will turn 27 this month. His postseason experience is limited to one three-inning appearance during the National League Championship Series last year against the Dodgers. Before this season, Happ was nearly an afterthought in the Phillies' plans, a starter who wasn't judged good enough to beat out Chan Ho Park for the fifth starter's role during spring training.

He is far from that now, however. Happ didn't get his first start until May 23, after Park flamed out in the starting job, but Happ has compiled a 12-4 record with a 2.85 earned run average. He has given up more than three earned runs in a game just twice since June 14.

And yet when the discussions have turned to which member of the starting rotation might be flopped into the bullpen for the postseason, perhaps to pick up the closer's job that has been fumbled by Brad Lidge, Happ has been a popular choice. Manuel indicated he's leaning that way, too.

With some of the other starters faltering and with the bullpen in chaos, Happ has seemed like the popular choice for all of the jobs. So, which will it be?

Guessing along with the Phillies is dangerous business, but I think it would be a mistake to take Happ out of the rotation, at least during the first round of the playoffs.

With Cole Hamels having a light tune-up in yesterday's 4-3 loss to the Marlins, Hamels could still start the playoff opener Wednesday at Citizens Bank Park. Then, particularly if the Phils' first opponent is the Colorado Rockies, Happ should go to the mound for Game 2.

The Phils were assured yesterday of having home-field advantage in the divisional series, and unless the Rockies beat the Dodgers on the coast last night and trump that with another win today in the finale, Colorado will provide the opposition.

The Rockies are barely .500 against lefthanders this season, and more than 20 games over .500 against righthanders. Starting the series with a pair of lefthanders, Hamels followed by Happ, makes the best sense, and also would allow the Phils to come back in Game 3 with another lefty, Cliff Lee.

The bullpen could use a lefthander, too. J.C. Romero is out for the season, Scott Eyre is pitching despite elbow problems, and the replacement candidates don't inspire a lot of confidence. But taking Happ from the rotation isn't a good solution because he has been nearly the only reliable starter down the stretch.

Hamels had just three wins after Aug. 1 and, before yesterday's mini-outing, had given up at least four earned runs in three of his five previous starts. Lee, after a 5-0 start with the Phils, was 2-4 with a 6.13 ERA. Blanton has given up more than three earned runs just four times since May, but three of those outings were in his last five starts. Then there is Pedro Martinez, who hasn't seemed the same since a 130-pitch outing on Sept. 13.

The starters have been forced to go deeper into games because Manuel often was operating with a short bullpen, or at least an ineffective one. The most obvious failing has been that of Lidge, who suffered 11 blown saves this season.

Figuring to plug that hole with Happ, whose next major-league save will be his first, seems like a stretch. And it also seemed that Manuel sent a clear message on the night of the clinch when he handed the ball to Lidge and had him finish off the game. Yesterday's 1-2-3 ninth inning was encouraging, too.

Maybe that was mostly for show, and the final innings of postseason games will be handled by committee, but it doesn't seem smart to make Happ part of that committee.

There are still a few meetings left for the Phillies' brass, however, and anything is possible. J.A. Happ, considering where he was at the start of the season and where he is now, has proved that.

at 215-854-5842 or bford@phillynews.com. Read

his blog at http://philly.com/postpatterns.