Joe Blanton’s performance in his two starts this season were terrible, and that’s putting it nicely. Saturday’s rain out gave Charlie Manuel the chance to skip Joe Blanton’s spot in the rotation, yet Manuel elected to pitch Blanton tomorrow against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Bad move Charlie, Joe the pitcher is turning into the 2011 version of Adam Eaton. All spring the media told the fans Blanton is a great 5th starter, Blanton would be a 3rd starter on most teams. Really?
A 10.45 earned run average is good for a 3rd starter? Two starts would normally be too soon to pass judgment on a pitcher, but Blanton was rocked by the Washington Nationals and New York Mets. If Blanton can’t get past those teams, what is going to happen when he faces the Braves and the Giants?
If Blanton struggles against the Brewers, the Phillies need to look into other options at the five spot in the rotation. Blanton has allowed 12 runs on 17 hits in 10 and a third innings pitched.
How long do the Phillies need to realize Blanton can’t get it done? Phillies’ rookie pitcher Antonio Bastardo deserves a chance at the 5 
spot.
In 5 and two-thirds innings out of the bullpen this season Bastardo is 1-0 with no runs allowed and 9 strike outs.
The Phillies would be better served letting a rookie develop and make his mistakes in the 5 spot behind their four aces, instead of a washed up veteran who leaves fans thanking God he got through 6 innings and only allowed 5 runs.
Interesting point about letting a rookie develop… but only if he’s at least as good as Blanton was last year. The basic answer to this headline should be, hell no. The team is doing GREAT. And when that’s the case, no need to fix what’s not broken. Give Blanton more time, if he’s sucking like this consistently through May, then maybe you think about moving him. I think it’s way to early to make that move. Maybe it’s just me…
Why does Gary keep allowing these morons to post articles using his site? It’s April. We’re 10-4. It’s April. Let the man (fat joey b.) earn his paycheck.
Birdo,
At first I would agree with you but, the dude actually made a logical point about letting a rookie pitcher develop behind the aces,had this been just a flat out Blanton bashing I would be on board, but the dude used stats, and logic…
from an administration aspect you dont bench him. He is making a ton of money this year and you just dont give up this early on a guy you invested in. Im all for seeing young talent develope but you dont throw him to the wolves in hopes he can do better than the last guy.
bird. joe b actually lost weight coming in this season.
Well…. he isnt really a rookie. He’s been on and off the team since 2009 and he is 25 years old. He had a go around as a starter during 2009 and it didnt go so well. Most people regard him as a loogy. I like him as our 7th inning guy, Aka our third best reliever.
Blanton is an accomplished vet, Im not gonna throw a bunch of stats out there, But he is a true #3. yes he is off to a bad start, but two starts is way too soon, Lets talk again in June.
Too early to put him on trhe scrap heap!
and this is why you’re a journalist* and not a GM.
*term used loosely
Blanton’s a slow starter and will find his rhtyhm once it’s warm out..
He is overpaid but that’s not his fault.. Maybe if he pitches well for a while the Phils can use him as trade bait and get some younger players in return to re-stock the farm team with some young IF/C/OF prospects.. Some Teams come June/July will be desperate for Pitching to make a Playoff Run..due to injuries, underperfomance by other Pitchers on their Staffs..
Phils can only show Blanton’s value by using him and pitching every 5th day
but watch some American League Teams may be interested come Trade Deadline .. (Red Sox/Tigers/Twins/White Sox/Rangers)
Good article by Jerry and welcome aboard.
To Bird Brain, If you don’t like what other fans/posters have to say, then don’t read it or skip over them..The more articles/postings and input from more people, the better …
When Blanton is 0-5 your point will be valid.
Sorry, Mr. Brennan, I really disliked this article. Charlie is giving Blanton a chance to straighten out his problems. The season is still young, and he was OK for the Phils last year. And who knows whether Oswalt will be alright? Furthermore, Bastardo is a sorely needed left-hander in the bullpen. Why make him a starter instead of other candidates like Kendrick or Worley? Nah, I can’t agree with you.
I understand the point of this article, but I disagree for a number of reasons. 1) it is still too early to do this. 2) If he stops pitching now, they will never be able to trade him and they will eat his salary. There is no role for him down the stretch or in the playoffs, so the Phils will definitely try to move this guy even if it is for nothing like when they traded Abreu. 3) Bastardo? To use your term really? I would rather have Kendrick than him. But both of those guys aside, the pitcher to develop is Worley. He should be the 5th starter if Blanton does get traded.
Blanton throws 200 innings a year. Your ready to give up on him after 10? Are you serious? Blanton has always started slow. He is a very good pitcher, and will get back to form sometime in June. There is this thing youi dont do durring april of a baseball season. I cant remember the term, but i think it rymes with manic. Stop the madness!!!
Also, Kendrick has earned the right to the 5th spot if something goes wrong. He has pitched very well thus far, includding outpitching blanton all spring.
@bugsy — I was saying the same thing when I was arguing with my brother about Fat Joey B. If we do get rid of him or sit him down, the ONLY pitcher I want to see take his spot is Worley. The kid looked good last year in his spot starts and is young enough to grow behind the deck of aces.
not a very well thought out article. as others have stated, it’s way too early to give up on Blanton & he is a notoriously slow starter. if they bench Blanton what are they going to do with him? he doesn’t have the stuff to come out of the pen, and you’d never be able to trade him if he’s benched. if you do replace him at some point, Bastardo certainly isn’t the guy to do it. he’s been great out of the pen, and he already has trouble staying healthy. his days of trying to start are in the past. Worley is the guy who would/should get the shot at the 5th starter spot if Blanton is traded. his stuff is much better than Kendrick, and he gets more strikeouts. Kendricks downfall will always be that he’s a contact pitcher, and a nibbler. im tired of seeing him on this roster.
on another note, i just want to say there was some horrendous in game managing by Charlie last week. i’ve always been a fan of his, and wouldn’t replace him on this team for anyone. but he made some very questionable decisions last week. keeping Doc in for the complete game was nonsense, he should have been replaced after 8 because the bullpen needed work anyway and Madsen and Contreras have been great. in the first game in the Nats series you can’t pinch hit with Mayberry against Livan, a soft tossing righty. that was asinine. Gload has to be in that spot and then you save Mayberry for Burnett, the hard throwing lefty that you knew you were going to get. instead he had to pinch hit Mike Martinez in a big spot with the bases loaded and Martinez and Mayberry both struck out. the only run they got in those bases loaded 1 out situations was on a wild pitch. then in the last game, Oswalt shouldn’t be staying in there to bunt in the top of the 7th with Pete Orr on first with one out. you pinch hit for Oswalt, and let Pete Orr try and steal 2nd. then the 7th inning guy right now HAS to be Bastardo. he has the best stuff of the rest of the bullpen guys, and he is the best strikeout guy out there. just because Danys Baez had a 0.00 era doesn’t mean he was throwing great. he has been throwing OK, but he’s not getting any strikeouts right now, and guys who pitch to contact with almost exclusively a fastball are not going to do well in the long run.
I agree with you Hot about Charlie game managing last week — but you have to take it with a grain of salt. It wasn’t the playoffs. He needs to get his bullpen work — and thats what he was trying to do.
So does everyone still think the Phils will win 120 games…
Charlie has his system and doesn’t like to deviate unless forced too..
Sometimes he gets a little set in his ways instead of being a little more flexible
I agree with everything Hot97x states about last weeks qustionable calls
like leaving Halladay out in the 9th, Pinch hitting MAyberry instead of Gload and the Oswalt deal.. They have been winning despite this but what’s going to happen when the play the better teams with better Managers.. Some of these type of questionable decisions will come back to bite them..
Silly … Blanton always starts off slow. Let’s revisit this conversation in mid-May and if he still has a 10+ ERA then it’s time to make a change. In April? Hells no.
There was nothing wrong with leaving oswalt in. You people are forgetting, this is why you have 4 aces. They pitch 7-8 innings and complete games when they can. That was halladays game to loose that day. They wanted to save gload for later in the game. Every decision a manager makes is questionable. There was nothing charlie did that was wrong. They may play better teams, but they are a damn good team, and I do think they will win 100 games, and have shown nothing for you to think your assanine predictions of them finishing behind the braves and mets are even close to correct. They have a bullpen with holes, and these holes will be covered up by starters whom you ride through 7 or 8
119 wins is still my prediction and I will keep it until its mathematically impossible. I don’t backtrack like you Paulman.
Still don’t think Hamels is a top ten pitcher? LMAO — for every bad game, he’ll throw 3 gems.
Whose backtracking Birdo,
I still predict Phils in 2nd place in the very weak NL East behind the Braves
I see Braves pItcher J Jurgens came off the DL and threw a strong game yesterday for a Victory..
Hamels is still not a Top 10 Pitcher in Baseball,in my opinion either..
Birdman,
Phils are 10-4 so far after 14 games with a 147 games remaining to play
In order to win 119 games as your predecited, they would hvae to win .74 % of their remaining games. They haven’t even played a winning team yet…
Very unlikely Birdman..
Paul, must be real fun for you down in the boonies rooting for the phils to fail so you can feel important, smart, on gcobb, sorry, ain’t gonna happen, birdo’s assessment closer to reality than paulie’s
I don’t see any team winning 120 games in today’s competitive divisions/leagues.. I am not rooting the Phils to fail, I hope they win it all, but it doesn;t mean that I am ignorant and think they are the best team ever assembled for it’s not the case.. I think it will be a struggle the entire way and that some of their deficiencies will come out once they start playing better teams..
The Phils need to go 109-39 the rest of the way to get to 119 — I can see it. With this pitching staff, there aren’t going to be many losing streaks. They haven’t had one yet 14 games in.
Now that bats have been making me a little leary the past week but with the return of #26 right around the corner, that will get cleared up real quick.
And what the the hell do you mean they are not one of the best teams ever assembled? If they are not the BEST team ever assembled, they are damn near close. Let’s take a closer look:
Ryan Howard — the only first baseman better is Pujols. Former NL MVP.
Chase Utley (when healthy) — best second baseman in baseball, case closed.
Jimmy Rollins — Top five SS and former NL MVP.
Polanco — More than formidable third baseman and All Star player.
Chooch Ruiz — One of the best catchers in baseball and one of the, if not THE best #8 hitters to ever play the game.
Ibanez — Formidable. Has pop at the plate.
Francisco — proving himself but is up to the task as an everyday player
Victorino — 3 time gold glove winner, all star player, the catalyst of the team. When he gets going, we can’t be stopped.
The outfielders as a whole are the “weakest” part of the team — if you want to call it that.
The pitching staff — the two BEST pitchers (1-1a) in baseball and two others that fall into the top ten.
The bullpen is proving they are formidable.
How can you hate? How can you call yourself a Phillies fan and not believe this is the best team ever assembled? GTFOH — don’t celebrate with me in October you POS.
So the Phils are going to play at .736 winning % the rest of the Season..
Your nuts…
and they haven’t even played any of the good teams yet (like the Brewers,Cardinals,Reds,Rockies,Giants,Dodgers) now who is sounding silly..
We’ll see Birdo, it’s a long season and a marathon..
I agree with you in one area,,, Chooch is probably the best All-Around Catcher in Baseball and a outstanding #8 Hitter..
Utley the best 2B in Baseball.. maybe 2 years ago, but not any longer,
I would take R Cano, B Phillips in a heartbeat over Utley any day
So you would take Cano and Phillips over the MLB All-Decade Team Second Baseman when healthy?
Think about that.
Repeat what I just wrote.
Now who’s nuts?
Stopgoat…everything was wrong with those moves. you don’t “save” Gload when your down 5-1 or 6-1 whatever it was in the 6th inning and the bases are loaded with 1 out. pay attention. Mayberry is never going to hit a soft tossing, crafty right hander like Livan. and i and everyone else in the world knew that Burnett, a very hard throwing lefty would be in the game in the 8th. Mayberry crushes lefties. there’s no defense for what Charlie did here. it was just horrible. Gload vs. a righty and Mayberry vs. a lefty, or Mayberry vs. a righty and Martinez vs. a lefty? tell me which you would rather have. as for the Halladay thing, they don’t need him throwing 250 innings like last year. they had a 3 run lead. both Madsen and Contreras needed work. it was a stupid decision to leave him in just so he could get a complete game. now once he went back out in the 9th, then yes they needed to leave him out there and not bring someone else in. but he never should have been out there for the 9th.
Birdo: everyone who follows this site knows that i rarely agree with paulman, but i do agree that you are overestimating this team. i would bet you any amount of money that they don’t win 119 games. and i also would take Robinson Cano over Utley even when healthy. and i think you are also overrating the outfielders. i love Victorino. but Ibanez is not formidable right now. i can’t wait to have Dom Brown replace him next year in the lineup and then switch Francisco to LF. Ibanez has a noodle arm, doesn’t hit for any power anymore, and doesn’t really take walks either. i like the guy, just not that much as a player. i also would disagree that Howard is the 2nd best 1B. i am a huge Howard fan and am not going to bash the guy by any means. but i would say Adrian Gonzalez is at least as good as him, and i would take Miguel Cabrera over him at this point also.
To Birdo,
The point is that Utley is not heatlhy and his body is deterioating rapidly.
his Hip & Knee issues will only get worse with time, not better so yes, I would take a Robinson Cano who will continue to be a stud for the next 6-8 years while Utley is probably a DH somewhere 2 years from now in a New York Minute if I were building a team.. Too many fans get too personally attached to certain players and can’t see thru their Rose colored glasses clear enough when their hero’s begin to fade until it’s too late.. It ok to do, as a fan, you have every right to build up your favorite players.. I on the other hand like to see their recent perfomrances, their recent tendancies and for Utley, his best playing days are behind him… It’s a shame but it is what it is … same as Lidge & Ibanez.. does it mean I hate these players and don’t like the Phils any longer..of course not, but I tend to look at the what have you done for me lately performances and what can you do for me moving forward, as opposed to clinging on to fond memories of greatness gone by…
There u go paulman, now you got a buddy that agrees the Phils will only win 90 games and finish second in the NL East. Congrats bro!
who gives a damn if a fan like birdo overestimates the phils, why bust him over that, why don’t you take a look at the ridiculous trash paulman spews about the phils, calling their lineup triple a, calling the phils a “lite” team, saying the bull pen is a disgrace, predicting 90 wins and 2nd place behind the braves, but wait while the phils continue to win you will hear a different story
birdo: where did i say the phils will only win 90 games? so because i don’t think you are realistic that means im a phils hater? i think they win the division and win 96-103 games. that doesn’t change the fact that i think it’s darn near impossible for this team to win 120 games.
jakedog: you haven’t been paying attention my friend. i have been coming after paulman for weeks, and im sure he would tell you the same. i call him out on everything he says that i think is ridiculous. does that mean i can’t agree with him on a separate issue? ive had arguments with him on how many games they will win, if the braves are better, how good hamels is and all the hilarious names he would take over hamels, and on how good the bullpen is.
For the Rocrd,
I just added Dick K to the list Hot97x,
He tossed 7 Innings with 1 hit allowed, no runds and 3 K’s.. (his ERA is now down to a respectable 6.43)
Should be Dice K and not Dick K…
Respectable? Come on Paulman. Hammels is a top 10 pitcher in baseball. Find me an executive who thinks otherwise, and Id bet he runs the mets.