Amaro: Happ's not going out of anywhere
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Amaro: Happ's not going out of anywhere
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said today that lefthander J.A. Happ will remain in the Phillies rotation for the rest of the season, and raised the possibility of a six-man rotation that would utlilize both Pedro Martinez and Jamie Moyer as starters.
"Happ's not going out of anywhere," Amaro said, providing the first definitive answer about the young lefty's future after a week of speculation surrounding a possible return to the bullpen.
The Phillies general manager lauded Happ for maintaining his focus throughout a trying month that saw his name bandied about in trade rumors. For the previous week, the club had not ruled out sending Happ back to the bullpen in order to create a rotation spot for Martinez, who drew rave reviews in what was likely his last rehab outing Wednesday night. Martinez and Happ pitched on the same night, which would have made for a seamless transition. Plus, Happ started the season in the bullpen, while veteran Jamie Moyer is not suited for such a role.
But Amaro indicated that Happ is simply too valuable as a starter to consider moving him to the bullpen, especially after a complete game performance against the Rockies Wednesday night in which he allowed four hits and no runs and struck out a career-high 11.
Amaro called it "maybe one fo the best games we've pitched this year."
So where does that leave the decision-making process? Although Amaro said no decisions are final, Martinez is likely to join the Phillies' active roster sometime this weekend. The GM said that Martinez "threw very well" in striking out 11 in six innings at Double-A Reading.
"I think he can get major league hitters out with his stuff," Amaro said. "I know it was a minor league club, but when you have 11 strikeouts and no walks, that's good in Little League."
Amaro said that Martinez threw harder in his final inning than he did in his first. His fastball sat in the 86-to-90 range, topping out at 92.
But Martinez's induction into the rotation does not necessarily mean that Jamie Moyer is out of a job. Moyer will make his next start, Sunday, against the Marlins. At that point, Amaro said the Phillies could experiment with a six-man rotation, pitching certain guys on normal rest -- think Joe Blanton and Cliff Lee, and maybe Cole Hamels -- and others on five days. Happ has thrown 115 innings and his coming off a 127-pitch effort. The Phillies certainly could make an argument that he deserves another day off in addition to Monday's off day. That would open up a hole for Martinez to start on Tuesday in Chicago.
"We still haven't made a decision," Amaro said. "It's not out of the possibility to go with a six-man rotation."
In other news, Amaro said Chad Durbin pitched well in his rehab outing Wednesday night. The righthander will make another appearance Friday, then will return to Philadelphia. At that point, the team will decide whether he is ready to join the active roster, or if he needs another rehab start. Regardless, barring set-backs, he should be back with the club within the next week.
Dull. You named yourself quite well....loser— Grazman- Let's not forget a six man rotation equals less starts for Lee, Hamels, Blanton. I know Moyer did great last season and helped us clinch a playoff spot, but I think the time has come to cut him loose. Amaro needs to grew a pair and make that tough call, it's the only way to move Pedro into the roster.— word
- A 6 man rotation is not going to work. They are just delaying an announcement of Moyer going out of the rotation to keep the media off his case for a few extra weeks. Why would you do a 6 man rotation? You don't want Lee, Blanton, Hamels or Happ getting LESS starts in favor of Pedro or Moyer. So those 4 would all need to stay on normal rest. You could skip Moyer for a turn or two and let Pedro start in his place but that would be more of a 5th starter by committee than a true 6 man rotation. Moyer isn't suited to throw out the pen? Neither is Kendrick but they've thrown him in the pen 3 different times now. Moyer isn't suited to be in the rotation right now. If you're not among the top 5 starters on the staff, then you've got to go to the pen and he can be a spot starter if someone's hurt or be a back-up plan in case Pedro doesn't pan out.— JimG
- Dull- my internet is broken. Can you tell me where the Phils are in the standings?— whofeelsit
- one more thing....so how many pitchers do we carry?— PaulDeon
- six man rotation is fine by me. Keep the arms fresh for October, especially when you look at how many days in between starts during the playoffs the guys had last year. No wonder they pitched great in October. They had a lot of 7, 8 day breaks.— seaonasdad
- KEEP HAPP IN THE ROTATION!!!! nuff said.— america
- I like the idea of a 5 man rotation with Moyer and Martinez swapping starts; niether one is getting any young and would allow additional rest between starts with the push toward the playoffs in August/September.— KH
- When did "not good enough" start translating to "not suited for"? All of these reporters seem to be denying the obvious - Moyer is probably done. Use the 6 man rotation long enough for pedro to prove he is better than moyer, then if he does prove it pull moyer. Moyer's contract is a sunk cost. Pitching him every 5 or six days makes the team worse than if he just sits on the bench and councils the young guys.— PhillyGuyInDC
- The real decisions revolve around the 25 man roster and the 40 man roster and who is available to them in the post season. There is still time for Pedro to make another AAA start to get a better idea of where he is at. Putting him on the 25 man roster now, bumps a regular off unless, certain players stay on the DL. The Phils need to be real careful with allowing Pedro to push them into a hasty decision. Don't forget Myers figures in this process also.— Wally 24
- Dull you are a knucklehead— jfknoonan
I'm lovin it.— gho_matt- If it comes down to a change its gotta be Moyer out.Yes he brings much to the table in experience but he allows to many runs in a game. If you remove him the team ERA drops considerably.Jamie we love ya but its time and you should clearly see it. The fans would hate it if you hung around lost games that might have put us in a better position for the playoffs. So please accept the IR if asked.— Bubba
- This was a no-brainer. But to let Happ swing from a noose for the past month was inexcusable.— Manor2009
- Dull is a complete idiot....— LF
