As it pertains to tonight's game, which is the more interesting statistical trend in the Joe Blanton in-season trajectory? Option A: His ERA gradually fell from 5.08 on July 5th to 3.80 on September 5th over a string of eleven straight quality starts; Option B: His ERA rose from 3.80 to 4.11 in just under two hours on September 10th.
You may recall that the September 10th game was against... That's right! Tonight's opponent, the Natties!
Hopefully that freak 8 ER occurrence doesn't have much bearing this evening. If they can get the game in despite the anticipated rains, Blanton should have more than enough of an innings appetite to beat Livan Hernandez. Right? I mean, how likely is it that Livan and the Nats get the better of him twice in a week? I know what you're thinking. Stop asking so many questions and just write the game thread without wasting our time with all these stats we could have looked up on his ESPN player profile. Funny you should mention stats, italicized reader!
A third statistical occurrence to keep in mind... The Phils haven't allowed a run in their last two games. Not one. It's statistically unlikely that trend will continue, but hey, it is the Nationals after all, though they have been productive in the second half. Statistically speaking. In real life, they still really suck and no one cares about them.
We've also seen the return of the Phillies' bats over the past week. Aside from the one-run effort two games ago (which was just because that was all Pedro needed, thank you), they've been producing at a decent clip, even mixing in the rare delicacy known as "small ball" last night.
My guess is, despite the forecast, the Phils will have a lot of asses in the seats when they take the field tonight. Maybe one will become the next overnight internet superstar...
Original Story:
http://www.the700level.com/2009/09/ph...
