With the bases loaded and 2 outs in the 7th inning of a 1-1 tie, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel allowed pitcher Joe Blanton to hit. Yes, Blanton, Joe. Yes, he of the .124 career batting average and a whopping two RBI. Shockingly, Blanton, Joe struck out. Almost predictably, the right-hander's first pitch of the bottom of the seventh was hit for a go-ahead homer by Cardinals slugger Matt Holliday. This is what Manuel had to say after the game...
“It’s 1-1, he had a chance to win the game. It didn’t work out. You’ve got to make it one way or another. Is it tough? Hell, no. Nothing tough about it. What you do is what you do.”
I understand what he's talking about when he says it didn't work out. As for the rest of his explanation?...I don't understand any of it. Then again, I can never understand Charlie Manuel, especially when you have to actually listen to what he says (the man sounds like he has dentures, but forget to wear them).
I'm not sure what inspired Manuel's confidence in Mr. Blanton. He's certainly not the second coming of Cy Young. He is 3-6 with a 6.03 ERA this season. That 6.03 ERA is the worst in the entire National League (among starters that qualify). It's not like this is a really down year either. Blanton's career ERA is 4.36. Paul Maholm's is 4.29. Enough said. Holliday, a right-handed hitter, was set to lead off the inning. Right-hander's are hitting .314 against Blanton (34 pts higher than lefties). Maybe Manuel thought Cardinals hitters would be intimidated by that disgusting dirt on his chin (see below pic). Just another poor decision that led to another bad loss and an even bigger deficit in the NL East (Phils trail the Braves by 7 gms).
Second-guessing the Phils starts with Manuel, but it doesn't end with him. Philly GM Ruben Amaro is catching his fair share of flack too and for good reason. The Phillies could and should have Cliff Lee right now. Lee is making roughly $8 million in the final year of his deal this season. Philly signed Joe Blanton to a 3-yr, $24 million dollar deal this off-season (roughly 8 mil a year). Clearly, money wasn't THE reason why Lee isn't in the city of brotherly love. Nor is Roy Halladay. Experts say the Blue Jays were willing to trade Halladay to the Phillies straight up for a package of prospects (Drabek, Brown, Taylor perhaps). Philly decided to move Lee to Seattle for prospects in an effort to avoid depleting its farm system. It looks like Amaro sacrificed the present for the future. Even with the Phillies offensive struggles, one has to think they'd be right with the Braves with a starting rotation of Halladay, Lee, Hamels, Moyer and _____ fill in the blank. Oh yeah, don't forget that Lee went 4-0 with a 1.56 ERA in five postseason starts, including two victories in the World Series. Ouch.
Give the Kid Some Love
The man who struck out Joe Blanton with the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh inning of a 1-1 game was Jaime Garcia. Garcia allowed just four hits and one run while striking out six en route to the victory. The Cardinals left-hander continues to fly under the radar. Garcia is now 9-4 with a 2.21 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 90K's in 110.IP. The Cards rook got exactly 5 secs. of air-time for his dominating performance last night. Meanwhile, SportsCenter pimped Stephen Strasburg for eight minutes for his pedestrian outing (5.1IP, 7H, 3ER). Garcia has the better ERA, has 5 wins against winning teams to Strasburg's two and is pitching under the pressure of a pennant race. Just sayin'.
Blackout
If the season ended today, Padres skipper Bud Black would win the NL Manager of the Year award. Don't look now but, San Diego has the best record in the National League. Better than the Cardinals, better than the Braves, Mets, Giants, Dodgers and Phillies. Crazy. How crazy? Consider this. Only one everyday starter in the current Padres lineup has ever made an All-Star team (Adrian Gonzalez). Quick, name one of San Diego's starting pitchers. If you can't, you're not alone. The rotation of Jon Garland, Matt Latos, Kevin Correia, Clayton Richard and Wade LeBlanc is arguably the least heralded group in the league, but worthy of high praise. San Diego ranks 2nd in the MLB, behind St. Louis, in starters ERA.
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