J.A. Happ press conference

The Blue Jays had a press conference to answer questions about the J.A. Happ contract. It won't come as a surprise to you that there wasn't all that much that was interesting that came out of it.

• Happ said the contract was agreed to before they knew that Ricky Romero was going to be sent down and before Happ was part of the rotation. When he signed he figured he was going to Buffalo.
• He also said he wasn't a 'disgruntled employee', that the term frustration came up in a question from a reporter. He felt he had a good attitude in camp.
• Alex said that an extension was discussed in the off-season, and it had nothing to do with him making the team.
• Alex talked about Happ being 'depth', Happ said 'I don't see myself as depth'. He expects to be a big piece on the team.
• Alex said part of the reason it was done was because 'we can afford to spend more now' and that this wouldn't have been done a couple of years ago. Personally, I think they have discovered oil under Rogers Centre. Soon they will be moving to Beverly. Hills that is.
• Happ said he did talk to Alex a few times during camp. Said he wanted Alex to see his face.
• Asked about off-season injuries, he said he feels he's really good right now, that his mechanics and arm strength are where they need to be.
• Alex was asked about what would happen when Ricky Romero was ready to join the rotation. He said that 'things tend to work themselves out'. That only the Reds made it through last season with the same 5 starters. And that J has earned a spot in the rotation.

There wasn't much else of interest to come out of the conference, though they had some troubles with the phone lines, and I missed a few minutes at the start. I don't think they had tried a phone conference from Dunedin this spring, it didn't all go perfectly.