J.A. Happ – Wikipedia.org

Last night against the Tampa Bay Rays, former Phillie pitcher and current Toronto Blue Jay, J.A. Happ took a line drive to the head.  He was carted off the field and diagnosed with a concussion and laceration on his left ear.  He’s stable and in the hospital, but could be released later today.  Which is great news.

ESPN – J.A. Happ (Hit in head by line drive)

WPVI.com – J.A. Happ

I know he’s not the first pitcher to take a full on hit like that, but as a mother of a 13 year-old son who pitches, seeing this scares me.  Let me state, that watching him pitch, especially now that he plays at the Babe Ruth level (a 60/90 field) is quite rewarding.  He loves pitching and getting better all the time.  That said, he’s also the most vulnerable on the field when that ball pops off a hitter’s bat.

And the older he gets, the bigger and stronger the players get as well.  There have been close calls but usually he manages to snag the line drive that’s coming right at him.  However, sometimes there just isn’t enough time to react.  Last year, when he was still playing 46/60 he took a line drive off the side of his knee.  He was able to finish pitching the inning and ended up with just a huge bruise, no serious injury.  But thankfully, it was just his leg.

Rawlings Compression Shirt

We already make him wear a Rawlings heartguard (compression shirt) underneath his baseball uniform to help protect against a line drive hitting the chest area.

But apparently MLB has been mulling the idea of adding a Kevlar liner to pitchers’ hats, which would help lessen the blow of a line drive to the head. One would assume that if MLB players agree to something like that, it would eventually trickle down into Babe Ruth and possibly Little Leagues as well.  But who knows if it will ever come to fruition.

As a parent, protecting my child is my number one priority.  So I’m all for better ways of keeping him safe, especially on the baseball field.

I wish Happ well and hope he will be fine.

Heather Carnassale is a contributing Phillies Writer for Aerys Sports. You can follow her on twitter @heatherc531

Yeah, I’m not going to be sad about the Astros going to the American League!

Or at least until 2014!

We all kind of saw this coming.  So when the trade deadline came and went and right-hander Joe Blanton was still on the Phillies, I was kind of surprised. But he’s gone now.

Joe Blanton – photo credit: Steve Trapani

According to WPVI-Action News, Blanton has been traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a later named player or cash considerations.  Blanton was slated to start tonight when the Phillies open up a three-game home series against the Arizona Diamondbacks.  Kyle Kendrick will now start.

The 31-year-old Blanton is 8-9 with a 4.59 ERA in 20 starts and one relief appearance. He is making $8.5 million and, like Victorino, can become a free agent after the season. – WPVI.com

Blanton joins fellow former Phillie Shane Victorino, who was also recently traded to the Dodgers.  Blanton was a key player in the Phillies 2008 World Series Championship and with him leaving, the number of current Phillies who were apart of that 2008 team is dwindling.

Photo courtesy of Steve Trapani – Flickr Follow him on twitter: @Trap_33

Heather Carnassale is Contributing Phillies Writer for Aerys Sports. You can email her at viewfromsection116@gmail.com, or follow her on twitter @heatherc531 and @viewfromsec116.

It’s a Phire Sale in Philadelphia.  Well kind of.  It’s more of an outfield sale

Ruben Amaro Jr. traded his All-Star Center Fielder to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In return, the Phillies got a solid bullpen piece in Josh Lindblom.  Lindblom is a 25 year-old RHP.  He has a 3.02 ERA in 48 games.  Which, is a lot better than a good majority (i.e. everyone) of the pitchers in the Phillies bullpen.  You can follow him on twitter @JoshLindblom52.

The Phillies also brought over Ethan Martin.  Martin is a 23 year-old RHP having a solid season in AA.  I am guessing that he’ll end up in Reading.

The final piece of this puzzle is a Player To Be Named Later.

For a 2-month rental, this isn’t a bad haul.

Shane Victorino (and his foundation) tweeted his good-bye to Philly:

Mahalo to the @phillies and the AMAZING fans in Philly for a great run. A lot of unforgettable memories in this city. I’ll miss you guys!

— Shane Victorino (@ShaneVictorino) July 31, 2012

Mahalo 2 an incredible team of friends who provide invaluable resources to make our @svictorinofdtn such a success! Luv u Philly!

— Shane Victorino Fdtn (@SVictorinoFdtn) July 31, 2012

As soon as that storm finally settled, Amaro stirred everything up again by trading Hunter Pence.

» Continue reading “An Outfield Phire Sale In Philadelphia!”

I know many of you missed the ending of last night’s game.  (Ok, so many of you may have missed even the beginning.  That’s the problem with West Coast games.)  And when you went to bed, the Dodgers were up 2-1.

That’s when 2 miracles occurred.

1) It took 39 chances for it to happen, but last night it finally occurred.  In 2011, it was occurred in the first game of the season, not so this season.  For the first time in 2012, the Phillies came from behind to win the game.

Yes, you read that correctly.  39 times before the Phillies were trailing after 7 innings, and all 39 times, they lost.

Last night in LA, that all changed.

» Continue reading “Phillies Had A Night Of Miracles! (Can We Have More?)”