Happ gets dose of reality in Yanks’ loss to Astros
Pitcher striving to stay ready in new and not always clearly defined job description
The hunch is pretty strong and the message mostly clear: J.A. Happ isn’t overly fond of the direction starting pitching is going and as the drama builds in the ALCS, he will be powerless to alter it.
Two years removed from his all-star season with the Toronto Blue Jays, Happ had a rough go of it Sunday night in Houston as the Astros’ Carlos Correa lit him up in the bottom of the 11th inning for a solo homer and a walk-off win.
Shifted to the New York Yankees bullpen now as a corollary of Aaron Boone’s aggressive management of his pitching staff, these are learning, and trying, times for the personable lefty.
And in the larger view, you can bet Happ much prefers old-school starting assignments rather than openers and bullpen days, which is what Game 2 of the best-of-seven versus the Astros turned into once Canadian
James Paxton got the hook 21/3 innings in.
“We’re just not overthinking that,” Happ said when asked about the devaluation of a starter in today’s game and how it has affected him. “That’s probably a subject for another time.”
When Happ came into the game in the 10th, it looked certain he was going to be a huge player, no matter the outcome. It’s a situation most players crave, but throughout his career the Illinois native has been conditioned to have his influence felt some 10 innings and four hours earlier in the contest.
The first order of business was to clean up the mess started by Jonathan Loaisiga, who had walked Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman. Happ took care of that and with the bullpen mostly depleted, it was likely going to be his game for however deeply it went into the night.
One miscue by a guy prone to giving up the long ball made it a short outing and undesirable outcome. Happ was thinking high fastball and Correa was thinking the same and when bat crushed ball, the best-of-seven series was all square at a win apiece.
“One pitch in that spot is all it takes,” said Happ, who was dealt to the Jays for Brandon Drury and Billy Mckinney at the 2018 trade deadline.
Happ is too professional to get critical of the details at this point. He’s a good teammate, wants to win and could well have another key moment as the series shifts to the Bronx for Games 3, 4 and 5 beginning Tuesday afternoon.
But in his days in Toronto, we got to know him as an athlete of strict focus and preparation with each day between starts part of his meticulous regimen.
Adapting to life in the bullpen has changed that routine and in many ways made it more difficult.
“It’s quite a bit different, but it’s not anything I can can’t handle,” Happ told Postmedia after the post-game congestion in the Yankees’ clubhouse cleared. “It’s just different routines and that’s always been the case for starter and reliever.
“I don’t think it was a focus issue at all. I was ready to go. I wasn’t any less ready physically. I was fine.”
Happ’s regular spot in the rotation became unclear as the playoffs approached and he battled a brief minor injury. With Luis Severino back in the lineup and James Paxton and Masahiro Tanaka at the front of his rotation, Boone shuffled.
There had been whisperings that Happ would take over following a Game 4 opener on Wednesday, though that might not be the case given his work on Sunday.
So instead of starting, the message has been to be ready in relief whether for a short stint or long. The managerial caginess in this ALCS has just begun on both sides, a function of the new style, and an approach magnified by what’s at stake in the post-season.
“We knew the situation was dwindling down there,” Happ said of becoming the ninth and final Yankees pitcher on Sunday. Heck, even soon-to-be-retired veteran CC Sabathia came in to face one Astros hitter.
“I figured in that situation, tie ball game, extras, I was going to keep going.”
In other words, it was mostly Happ’s game to win or lose.
“There really isn’t much time to overthink it,” Happ said. “I think we move on and go back to New York. I think we’re always in a good spot going back there. We play well at home and hopefully that continues to be the case.”
I don’t think it was a focus issue at all. I was ready to go. I wasn’t any less ready physically. I was fine.
The 36-year-old Happ has seen enough to know he’ll be called upon again. It’s unlikely to be in the role that he’s been accustomed, one that has included four post-season starts, including a win and a loss with the Jays in 2016.
“I’m just trying to be ready,” Happ said of his new and not necessarily well-defined job description. “I was ready (on Sunday) and I’ll be ready again for Game 3. This was a hard-fought game of baseball right here. I think we should probably expect more of those. I’ll be ready and look forward to doing whatever I can to help this team win.”