Yardbarker: Joe Blanton

Phillies Free agents, Arbitration Eligible

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:37:00 -0500

For the record, here is a list of the players on the Phillies' 2009 roster that will be available for free agency and are eligible for arbitration. Links to the latest posts about each player are also included.Players acquired by other teams will be highlighted in red. Players re-signed will be highlighted in green.FREE AGENTSC - Paul Bako2B - Miguel Cairo3B - Pedro Feliz - Phillies decline 2010 club optionOF - Matt StairsSP - Cliff Lee - Phillies pick-up 2010 club optionSP - Pedro Martin...

Phillies-Yankees Game 4 Notes

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 23:47:00 -0500

> In the first, Joe Blanton had no movement on his pitches, not that he's usually drowning in it, and wound up surrendering two runs after the first two men reached base. Adding to the interest was watching A-Rod get hit, the third time that's happened in the last two games, leading to a warning to both dugouts. That's always good fun, really, when you are rooting for the team that's been doing the plunking, but A-Rod's pointed stare into his dugout more or less gave up...

2009 World Series: Game 4

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:31:48 -0500

Next Game New York Yankees @ Philadelphia Phillies Sunday, Nov 1, 2009, 8:20 PM EST Citizens Bank Park CC Sabathia vs Joe Blanton Complete Coverage > W-L ERA WHIP K BB 2009 - CC Sabathia 19-8 3.37 1.15 197 67 W-L ERA WHIP K BB 2009 - Joe Blanton 12-8 4.05 1.32 163 59 So the Yankees are up 2-1, and I can't figure out how to get the pitcher stat...

2009 World Series: Game 4

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:31:48 -0500

2009 World Series: Game 4

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:31:48 -0500

Phils-Yankees Game Four: Can history repeat itself for CC, Blanton?

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:16:27 -0500

The Eagles have already dispatched their half of the battle against New York, and now the Phillies simply have to the same. Tell me if any of this sounds familiar. The Phillies are about to face CC Sabathia in a playoff game on short rest, at home in CItizens Bank Park. Joe Blanton will make a start in the World Series, in the National League park, so he has to bat? You... uh... You ever seen either of those things happen?Of course I don't need to remind you of what happened to CC, then ...

Do you think Joe Blanton feels bad that CC Sabathia, on three days rest, is better than he is on...

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 18:40:20 -0500

Do you think Joe Blanton feels bad that CC Sabathia, on three days rest, is better than he is on full rest? I asked this question to a few people early, via sms, and I liked the responses. Let's see what we can, collectively, come up with.

Sunday: Phillies hoping for bounce back peformance

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 14:27:59 -0500

Faced with their first series deficit in two postseasons, the Phillies send righthander Joe Blanton to the mound in Game 4 against lefthander CC Sabathia, who will be working on short rest. Preview: Following last night's 8-5 loss, an unfamiliar, uneasy feeling is creeping in among the Philadelphia faithful. The Yankees used three homers to rip home-field advantage right back from Cole Hamels and the Phillies last night, while a number of sluggers, including Ryan Howard, continued to look out...

Joe Blanton to Start Game 4 of World Series

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:55:09 -0500

For Game 4 of the 2009 World Series, Philadelphia Phillies manager Charlie Manuel had a dilemma. Should he start ace Cliff Lee on short rest or should he go with Joe Blanton? As it turns out, Manuel has decided to go with Blanton. Lee has been very good in the postseason but he has no professional experience starting on only three days rest. Apparently, Manuel didn’t want to see whether or not Lee can be effective on short rest. Instead, Lee will get the baseball to start Game 5. Going ...

Breaking news: Blanton will have the ball for Game 4

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:43:14 -0500

After splitting the first two games in New York, Charlie Manuel has opted to go with Joe Blanton for Sunday's Game 4 rather than pitch Cliff Lee on three-days rest following his 122-pitch complete game Wednesday. It would have marked the first time in Lee's career he was used on short rest. Blanton, who's pitched as both a starter and reliever this postseason, allowed four runs over six innings in Game 4 of the NLCS. The right-hander finished the season...

Today in Philly Sports History: Joe Blanton Goes...Well, You Know, 2008

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 08:00:00 -0500

You just kind of know that things are going good when your ninth-hole hitter--also known in National League speak as "The Pitcher"--is going deep for you in the World Series. When Joseph Matthew Blanton stepped to the plate in the bottom of the fifth inning of Game Four against the Rays on October 26th, 2008, his aspirations were far from lofty. "I just closed my eyes and swung hard in case I made contact," said Blanton after the game. Indeed, it would have been unrealist...

Blanton better served in bullpen this postseason

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:56:04 -0500

Just a couple of leftovers from last night’s thriller Joe Blanton: Relegated to a bullpen role in the division series, Kentucky Joe had the look of a reliever called on to make a spot start last night. He started strong, retiring the first 10 batters, then nibbled through the second turn. By the fifth, Los Angeles had him solved, and by the sixth, I was shocked Blanton was still in the ballgame. Blanton may have been a workhorse this season,...

2009 NLCS Game Four: Phils Hope to Go Joe Blanton All Over the Dodgers

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:03:44 -0500

I was walking to my job in midtown Manhattan today wearing my Cliff Lee jersey (a nice button-down job, although it has a somewhat incongruous "2008 World Series Champions" patch on the sleeve) when someone--a Yankees fan, presumably--called out to me on the street. "Hey! We got you next! Yeah, kid, Game One in South Philly!" (Apparently he missed the All-Star Game this season). I smiled and responded "See you there," and as I walked the rest of the way to my bu...

Joe Blanton to Start Game Four

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 15:14:24 -0500

With the taste of yesterday's horrible loss still lingering, news that Joe Blanton will be the game four NLCS starter can refresh the fan psyche and help us look towards winning the games ahead. Blanton was perhaps the most consistent of all the Phillies starters all season long and the decision to give him the ball for the first pitch of the game instead of using him out of the pen is a welcomed one.And not to dwell on the past, but Chase didn't make any excuses after the game yester...