…is not Raul Ibañez.

No, it is not the man who has replaced a true Phillie legend–both on and off the field–in a fashion that has exceeded even the most optimistic of our wildest dreams.

Nor is it Uncle Charlie, who despite more adoration and acclaim than at any point in his career, has done absolutely nothing different than before. It’s just that we’re finally paying attention.

And it is not the reinvigoration of the immensely talented and consistently motivated Jimmy Rollins, whose ability to swing the stick has finally begun to catch up to the wizardry he possesses in his glove.

As a matter of fact, in order to understand the key to the Phillies’ success during this winning streak which has finally jump-started their season, you have to look no further than a simple personnel realignment.

Welcome to the starting rotation J.A. Happ! How would you feel about being best starter on the World Phuckin’ Champs while Cole Hamels attempts to regain his World Series MVP form? In your first full season in the bigs, by the way. And you’ll take the mound in new Yankee Stadium on a nationally televised FOX game to begin this assignment. Thanks.

Welcome to the ‘Pen Chan Ho! How about this. Be as GOOD in relief as you were HORRIBLE in the rotation. And simultaneously become my favorite character on a weekly HD-sports television show that follows the pulse of the summer in this city right now? Good talk. See ya out there.

Yes, the switch that should have occurred out of Spring Training, if it were not for a very public promise by Ruben Amaro, finally took place on May 19th.  Since that change, the team has gone 33-22, including the current doozy of a 10-game streak. Take nothing away from Joe Blanton, whose performance in the past ten starts has been stellar. But the decision to abandon the ‘Please wake the entire nation of South Korea at 3am every 5th day’ plan and bring in J.A. Happ was the catalyst. On a tangential note, does anyone remember the point when his name stopped being Jay. A.? I’m convinced it was only changed because Sarge mispronounced it and the rest of the guys rolled with it.

How big a deal was the move? Just look at the numbers.

As a starter, Happ is 5-0 with a 2.74 ERA. He’s allowed 47 hits in 51 2/3 innings, with only 10 gopherballs in the rotation, best of the staff. Brett Myers had allowed SEVENTEEN bombs–Seventeen? yikes–in only ten starts. To sum up how successful Happ has been as a member of the rotation consider this. Not only is his name being prominently mentioned as a potential Rookie of the Year candidate, but he’s apparently being discussed as a centerpiece of a Roy Halladay-to-Philly deal…if the Phils refuse to include Kyle Drabek. Oh. And wait. There is a LEGITIMATE and strong sentiment amongst a growing core of Phillies fans that they don’t want the organization to include him in a trade. For Roy Halladay. I repeat. The Philadelphia Phillies could hypothetically refuse to make a deal with Toronto to acquire Roy Halladay because they didn’t want to include J.A. Happ and a large section of the fan base would be in agreement with this decision. That this is even a discussion is a testament to how good Happ has been.

As a reliever, Park has an ERA of just north of 2.00, including a 1.84 ERA in his last 24 2/3 innings. This is the same pitcher–albeit with a much better goatee–who gave up twenty runs in his first twenty innings as a starter. It’s a truly astounding turnaround for a player most people seemed to be rooting against from Day 1 in Philly. And he’s not just scraping by either. Consider this. In his 21 relief appearances, he’s registered an impressive TWELVE multi-strikeout games, including a stretch of ten such outings in twelve appearances . He’s been a tremendous asset to Uncle Charlie and R$ch Dubee for his pure filth and his ability to go multiple innings, prompting me to wonder: Wouldn’t a Chan Ho Park ‘5-Hour Energy’ commercial be the greatest thirty seconds in television history? Watching him do long toss and get fatigued only to have Scott Eyre’s beard grab him a small bottle full of B-Vitamins for Energy and Amino Acids, for FOCUS! Instant revitalization. There would be no trip to the fridge on that one.

Wow we sucked in April, huh Chopper?

Most importantly, Happ’s emergence as a top-of-the-rotation presence has lifted the early-season pressure off of Blanton, slotted Jamie Moyer a spot back and allowed Hamels’ struggles to go largely undissected, which one can argue convincingly that Cole deserves after the load he carried last year. Concurrently, Park’s success has eased the burden on the back end of the bullpen. His efforts to add to Shane Victorino’s All-Star vote totals should also not go unnoticed.

To field a World Champion baseball team, you need contributions from everyone. See Jenkins, Geoff (2008): Leadoff double in World Series Game 5, Part II. The most significant contribution to the 2009 Phillies is yet to be determined. It could be Chase and J-Roll connecting on a once-in-a-season type of double play to win a ball game. It could be Brad Lidge regaining his Lights Out form and harnessing his ‘Eric Hinske, thanks for coming out’ pitch. Eric Bruntlett could shave his beard. Or release himself.  Doc Halladay could be our CC-to-the-Brewers all over again. Except without any pesky Hawaiian, Little-League helmet wearing grand slams.

But if we are able to look back on this season with the same sentiment as the still-fresh-in-our-minds feeling we had last Fall, the event that could have very well sparked the run that has us dancing again was nothing more than a simple switch of departments for a couple of crucial employees.