JA Happ pitched into the seventh inning Wednesday night, earning deserved praise from everyone for his poise and his stuff. But now Happ will have to find praise back in Allentown — Happ was optioned to AAA Lehigh Valley today.
Happ was 0-0 with a 3.27 ERA in 11 innings — two starts. In his place comes Mike Cervenak, an infielder who is hitting .310 with 7 HR and 52 RBI this season with the IronPigs.
But don’t worry, guys. It’s more than likely Happ was sent back down to get a couple starts in. According to Charlie Manuel, Happ wouldn’t get another turn until July 22 or 23. It’s probably better that Happ gets some work in and not sit on the bullpen pine. Cervenak provides a nice change of pace for the offense, but why not bring up a reliever to help the ailing bullpen for the final three games?
By the way, you can still give Happ a nickname here.
Tim MalcolmTim first found the Phillies as a little infant at Veteran’s Stadium, cheering on a Juan Samuel game-winning home run in his very first game. With the pinstripes in his blood, he witnessed Terry Mulholland’s 1990 no-hitter, “Steve Carlton Night” at the Vet, game three of the 1993 World Series, countless games during the charmed 2008 championship season and various road excursions. Since November 2007 Tim’s been writing about them daily at Phillies Nation, becoming one of the world’s most popular Phillies scribes. You can catch him on Twitter and Facebook, as well. When he’s not talking about the Phils he’s relaxing with a St. Bernardus ABT 12 or one of his many favored brews.
