Golson, Happ Are Signs Of A Playoff Team
Posted by Tim Malcolm, Tue, September 23, 2008 10:18 AM | Comments: 9
Posts
“No knock on Reading, but it’s a little bit louder here. That’s something I’m going to remember for a long time.”
In the eighth inning of last night’s Phillies win, Rudy Seanez, Scott Eyre, Greg Dobbs and Greg Golson — quoted — made huge contributions. Jayson Werth, Pat Burrell, Jimmy Rollins and Carlos Ruiz also came up big.
Experienced veterans, established role players, waiver-wire players and prospects all contributing to a big win? That’s a playoff team.
Oh, yeah, another rookie came up big:
“I tried to put myself in that position where if an opportunity came up that I could be a guy who could step in. I’m just happy to be a part of it right now.”
That’s JA Happ, who pitched 6.2 strong innings to give the offense the chance to win. And they did. Once Seanez and Eyre got out of the eighth, it seemed — to me — pretty inevitable the Phils would get a run in the bottom half to grab the lead.
Maybe it’s me, but when you get to this point of the season, you notice things will happen before the fact. And you find everyone gets in on the action. Golson and Happ made the most of their moments on stage, as most new players on a playoff-bound team do.
Posts: 0 Gabriel
these guys are playing exciting baseball right now. anyone see the sarge’s hat before the game started? where does he even find those things? i love the combo small/big ball and not entirely having to rely on the long ball to get it done… happ is this years kendrick for sure – there is zero reason he shouldn’t have replaced him 7 or 8 starts ago. i’m convinced he is a lefty clone of ryan madson – with an injection of confidence for good measure. golson’s speed is one of our biggest assets right now, a late game pinch runner can make all the difference and last night showed just that. we would be foolish not to retain eyre’s services for more year – he says he wants to come back and he would sign a one year deal – no brainer.
Posted: 10:41 AM on September 23, 2008
Posts: 0 T
If we were Boston or NY, ESPN would be praising Happ as the next great legend already. I will say that he seems to have the mindset to be a winner in the majors and some really fluid mechanics. A natural pitcher, no doubt.
Let’s hope Golson realizes how big of an opportunity he has right now. He could earn national acclaim if he is the sparkplug off the bench that he certainly could be. Great athletes seize the moment, let’s hope that these Phils can do it.
Posted: 11:31 AM on September 23, 2008
Posts: 0 KM
I love Golson, as many of you guys probably have noticed. I just think he has game-changing talent – good popin his bat, solid defense, and speed for days. Once he gets better at getting on base he will be a force to be reckoned with.
I can’t say anything bad about Happ. He has had 4 great starts this year for the Phils, and has come up big every time they asked him to. I hope Happ has a chance to crack the rotation next season, he sure has earned the right to be considered.
I wouldn’t give up completely on Kendrick. Maybe I send him to Triple A to develop a third pitch, or maybe I would plug him into the bullpen as a long-man/spot starter, where he really doesn’t need to have a third pitch. If he could just learn to throw a 2-seamer to lefties I think he would improve drastically.
Posted: 12:12 PM on September 23, 2008
Posts: 0 KM
Every time out Happ gives us 6+ solid innings, and in a couple of the starts they pulled him early when his pitch count was in the 80s. Realistically, he could be averaging 7-8 innings a start for us if he was given the opportunity.
Posted: 12:14 PM on September 23, 2008
Posts: 0 irishlass
awesome pat the bat happ we must beat the mutts5
Posted: 12:23 PM on September 23, 2008
Posts: 0 irishlass
magic #3 lets go phils
Posted: 12:42 PM on September 23, 2008
Posts: 0 Don M
Chill with those magic number mentions…
Posted: 12:43 PM on September 23, 2008
Posts: 0 Rory
Tim-
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Posted: 03:15 PM on September 23, 2008
Posts: 0 ryan
golson needs to be on the playoff roster . i guess he could take taguchi’s spot. he could be a huge help as a defensive replacement / pinch runner. those are the little things that can be the difference between a title or not
Posted: 03:39 PM on September 23, 2008