Should the Philadelphia Phillies Be Concerned With Joe Blanton as Their Fifth Starter?

You have to look no further than all the recent posts on Twitter to see how Phillies fans feel about Joe Blanton. He’s the odd man out, the normal one in a rotation of all-world aces. He’s the only one who has no chance to win 20 games; after the way he started this season, you have to wonder if he even can reach 10. Should the Phillies be concerned with Blanton as their fifth starter? How much will he hurt the team this season? Is he on the decline in his career? No. He won’t. And not at all. Blanton is a very good fifth starter and although his starts so far this year don’t reflect his finest abilities on the mound, he should be steady for the team this year. His numbers this year: 0-1, 7.27 ERA, 3 GS, 17.1 IP, 24 H, 14 R, 14 ER, 4 BB, 14 K He was actually way worse than that before he put together a solid seven-inning, two-run outing in his last start. From the reactions of the fans, you would have thought Blanton had allowed 16 runs in each of his three starts this year. It’s ...