The Phorgotten One

R2C2, Phantastic Phour, Phab Phour, Phour Aces...ect.....Lost in all the nicknames is one pitcher, big Joe Blanton. Since the signing of Cliff Lee, all the hype, all the expectations have rested on the shoulders of Roy Halladay, Lee, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels, but people forget about Blanton. Blanton, is not a scrub, nor would he be a 5 on a majority of major league rosters. Big Joe was a 1/2 when we acquired him from the Oakland A's. So far this season, Blanton hasn't pitched terribily, nor has he pitched extremely well. But he is going out there, keeping the game close and eating up innings. Blanton is 0-1 on the season, but the Phightins are 2-2 in games Joe has started. Joe has improved tremendously since allowing 7 earned runs in his first start of the season against the NY Mutts. In his last two starts, Blanton has gone 7 innings each time and has an ERA of 2.57, not to shabby for your #5 starter! After the signing of Lee, rumors were running wild all over the internet that Joe Blanton and his $17 million contract for the next 2 years were going to be traded. These rumors upset me quite a bit. I wanted Big Joe to stay and am very happy he is still here. Last year, the Phillies traded away Cliff Lee to save on salary, as well as replenish the farm system. As we all know, this was seen as a huge mistake. However looking back, we would not have Roy Oswalt if Cliff Lee has not been traded. I was hoping the Phillies Phront Office would repeat the mistake of trading a proven starter. Though I think Kyle Kendrick will be a decent starter in the future, for right now, I want Big Joe in the back of the rotation. Joe is a gamer, who knows how to win. Let's face it, Joe Blanton has something the 3/4 of R2C2 don't have, but hope to have soon, a WORLD SERIES RING!