Joe Blanton hasn’t even thrown a pitch as a member of the Phillies, but they are already see positive results.  The Phillies have announced that Blanton will take Adam Eaton’s spot in the rotation, meaning he will be relegated to the bullpen.  Eaton obviously isn’t happy about this news, but will do what is necessary to stay a member of the Philadelphia Phillies. 

“As long as I can help this team win, I’m going to do that, regardless of what role it is,” Eaton said. “I’ve got three wins as a starter. J.C. Romero has four or five. I can rack up some wins that way and help the team, as well, fill some gaps to help these guys out, too.”

 Arguably the worst pitcher in baseball over the past season-and-a-half (13-18, 6.06 ERA), Eaton will now spend his nights in the bullpen, eating sunflower seeds and lighting ”hot Foots”.  He’ll be called to pitch a few innings when the game is out of reach or when other guys need a rest.  Essentially he’s become Clay Condrey.

Unfortunately this is still the wrong move in handling Eaton’s situation.  By keeping him in the bullpen, the Phillies now …

Although Jon Atwood made some good points in Strike While the Iron is Hot.  Trade Howard Now, I am of a different mindset.  Trading Ryan Howard might be one of the worst things the Phillies can do.

Howard is the premier power hitter in all of Major League Baseball.  Players like him come once in a lifetime to a baseball franchise.  The fact that he leads the National League in home runs (28), and RBIs (84), while only batting .234 is simply amazing.  Speaking of his low batting average, Howard has had his struggles at the plate, but he also leads the Phillies in batting average with runners in scoring position (.333).  Although he has some flaws, Howard creates runs and there’s no one better in the game at doing that. 

Of course the big knock on Howard is his strikeouts.  In fact if you take away his strikouts this season, and only factor in his at-bats when he put the ball in play, he’s batting .362.  Unfortunately you have to deal with strikeouts.  Strikeouts come with power.  Eight of the top 10 players who are on the all-time strikeout list (Reggie Jackson, Sammy Sosa, …

The first half of the 2008 Major League Baseball season has been full of surprises, from the Tigers to the Rays to the Padres to the Braves. Most surprising of all, at least to the Phillies faithful, is that at the All Star break the Phillies were in first place atop the National League East. The Phillies are currently a half a game ahead of the Mets and one a half games up on the Marlins.

Lets go through the majors and recap the season so far.

AL East

Perhaps the biggest story in the majors this year is the surprising play of the Tampa Bay Rays, who at the break were just half a game behind the first place Red Sox, and that’s with a seven game losing streak. The Rays have been bolstered by one of the most talented young lineups in the majors in years, as well as some timely defense and a great, young rotation led by ace Scott Kazmir. They are definitely the Cinderella, the darlings of the 2008 season, much to the chagrin to their division rivals the Red Sox.

Boston fans are upset that some of the media focus and the limelight has been diverted from their beloved Sox. The reigning champs …

Some rumors actually pan out.  Multiple media outlets are reporting the Phillies have acquired pitcher Joe Blanton from the Oakland Athletics for Adrian Cardenas, Josh Outman, and Matt Spencer. 

Blanton has struggled this season going 5-12 with a 4.96 ERA, and his ERA away from McAffee Stadium is less than desirable 5.73, so the Phillies definitely rolled the dice with this move.

Cardenas is considered the second best prospect by the Phillies.  A supplemental first-round pick in the 2006 draft, Cardenas is hitting .309 with 4 home runs and 23 RBI’s for Class A Clearwater.  He’s a prospect with a bright future ahead of him, but he’s blocked by Chase Utley, who’s signed with the Phillies until at least 2011.

Outman was once projected as a mid-rotation starter, but initially struggled after being converted to the bullpen.  Spencer appears to be a throw-in.  The outfielder possess some power, but has struggled this season at Clearwater batting a meager .249.

I like this trade.  While the Phillies gave up one of their better prospects in Cardenas, they land a mid-rotation starter who consistantly get deep into games.  While Blanton has had struggles this season, he’s only twenty-seven, and has a …

The Phillies have been actively working the phones over the past several weeks trying to make a trade that would bolster their pitching rotation. The Phillies lack of serious starting pitching was made to look even weaker after the Milwaukee Brewers traded for Indians’ ace CC Sabathia and the Chicago Cubs traded for Oakland star Rich Harden last week. The Phillies were one of a number of teams that were in negotiations with Cleveland to acquire Sabathia’s services, but in the end they just didn’t have enough to offer. Instead of being able to trade for Rich Harden, who when healthy is arguably the best pitcher in baseball, it looks like the Phillies will wind up acquiring Joe Blanton from the Athletics. Blanton is Oakland’s number two starter and despite showing some serious talent in previous years, has really struggled this season, going 5-12 with a 4.96 ERA.

The Phillies have reportedly been negotiating with the Seattle Mariners over the past couple weeks in an attempt to acquire their disgruntled ace Erik Bedard, but it appears that they’re not going to be able to pull off that deal, and Bedard is currently on the DL and wants out of Seattle. Even more importantly, Seattle wants Bedard …

The day after the Midsummer Classic is always the slowest day in sports. With only the AAA & AA All-Star games going on, it’s one of the few days of the year where there’s not one major sporting event.  It doesn’t stop the trade rumors from flying around.

The Philadelphia Inquirer is reporting the Phillies have begun to look at the Athletics Joe Blanton.  Blanton has had disastrous 2008 campaign going 5-12 with a 4.96 ERA.  I’ve always felt Blanton was a pitcher who had more hype surrounding him then actual ability.  Entering 2008, Blanton was 42-34 with a 4.09 ERA.  Although those numbers aren’t terrible, they hardly support the hype that surrounds him. 

Given his current rough first half, Blanton would come at a cheaper asking price then what he was shopped for last off-season, but I honestly don’t see him being traded by the deadline.  Athletics GM, Billy Beane, only trades players when he knows he’ll get the most value out of them.  Since Blanton is under organizational control until 2010, there’s really no reason for the A’s to trade him, unless they get blown away by an offer.  Given how he’s …

Instead of recapping what happened last night (The AL won, they now have home field advantage in the World Series, again. End of recap.), I am going to take this opportunity to rant about the absurdness of the game.

Well, maybe I’ll do a little recapping. First of all, it actually was not a bad game, as all star games go. It wasn’t an obscene slugfest with no defense (Dan Uggla aside) and shotty pitching. There were actually some really exciting defensive plays, like Nate McLouth’s game saving throw to the plate, and catcher Russell Martin’s superb catch and tag on the same play. Not to mention the delightful meltdown of closer Billy Wagner in the eighth inning, giving up the tying home run to Red Sox outfielder J.D. Drew, the All Star MVP. In classic Wagner fashion, with the game on the line, he choked. The greatest thing that Ed Wade ever did for the Phillies was bring Wagner to Philly, allowing Brad Lidge to become the new closer in Houston, then allowing the idiot Texan (Virginian) go irritate the Mets, and then trading Lidge to the Phillies for mediocre trash.

Yea yea, Mets fan, I know …

Everyone knows that the Phillies are in the market for a legitimate starting pitcher, especially after their National League rivals the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers made serious acquisitions last week. They have been trying to work out a deal for Erik Bedard from the Seattle Mariners, and have expressed interest in A.J. Burnett, Bronson Arroyo, Jarrod Washburn, and Randy Wolf. As you can tell, there isn’t a lot out there in terms of premier pitching talent, with arguably Bedard being the only bona fide ace. Phillies GM Pat Gillick has publicly stated that the Phillies are not willing to part with the few top prospects they have in their farm team for less than acceptable pitching. That basically means they are going to make a deal for Bedard, or they’re just going to stick with the pitching they have, unless they can convince a team to deal a “B” or “C” list pitcher for lesser prospects.

It appears that as a result the Phillies have turned their sights onto acquiring a significant offensive upgrade. One name that has been out there as being on the block is Pirates’ outfielder Jason Bay, who has struggled over the …

The Major League Baseball All Star Game, the Mid Summer Classic, the place for the Boys of Summer to really shine, is a sham. That’s right, I said it. The All Star Game is a sham that offends my moral (baseball) sensibilities. The only thing more morally reprehensible in baseball is that abomination called the designated hitter. Why, you may ask, do I so strongly believe the All Star Game to be an embarrassing blemish on the legacy of our Nation’s Past Time? Well don’t you worry, I’m going to tell you.

In 2004, Major League Baseball, led by the eternally incompetent and unimpressive Commissioner Alan “Bud” Selig, entered into an agreement with the equally inept Player’s Association to award home field advantage for the World Series to the league that won the All Star Game. This was done to add incentive for the player’s to play hard, for the fans to tune in, and most importantly, so it would be more lucrative to Fox and MLB could sell the broadcasting rights for more money.

Making the outcome of this exhibition game, whose members are chosen in large part by the fans (which is just a glorified popularity …

Last night, Phillies All Star Second Baseman Chase Utley, while being introduced before the Home Run Derby at Yankee Stadium, gave New Yorkers a standard Philly salutation in return for their warm welcome.

“Boo? *uck you!”

It is unfathomable that Utley got away with such an act of blatant disregard for all Phillies fans. Utley has been given complete immunity for his recent slump by Phillies fans, but last night was the final straw for me. I hate to be a Monday morning quarterback but Utley should have played this much differently. Here’s how.

Picture Utley as the Puerto Rican guy in the Dave Chappelle movie “Half-Baked”. Remember the scene when he got fired and had a Jerry Mcguire type “flip out”? That’s what we here in Philly expect from you Chase. So when you walked into the locker room last night and saw Milwaukee’s Corey Hart sitting in what should have been Pat Burrell’s locker, you should have immediately punched him in the face and said, “*uck you!”.

After the dust settled on that one and you walked by old Mets catcher (and perm guru) Gary Carter (in town to play celebrity …

It seemed Brett Myers has finally found his groove; at least in the minor leagues.  The twenty-seven-year-old has been had some impressive outings since his demotion on July 1st, going 1-2 with a 3.10 ERA between Triple & Double A.  In his last start against the Akron Aeros, he allowed two runs in eight innings while taking the loss.  More importantly, he established he found his command, only walking two while striking out ten.

It’s exactly what the Phillies management was hoping for, as Myers will be recalled to pitch on July 23rd against the Mets.  Myers will make one more start this Friday night at Lehigh Valley, before joining the team in Flushing. 

Saying July 23rd will be a make or break day for Myers is an understatement.  Myers needs a good outing to build some confidence and once again realize he’s a starting pitcher.  It’s bigger for the Phillies, given the current state of their rotation.  With the recent performances by Adam Eaton, and not nuch available via trade (at least to the Phillies liking), they need him to fill a big void.

Keep an eye on Myers in the first inning, as that’s been his biggest problem this …

Last week Pat Gillick told the media that if things on the trade front didn’t progress as he hoped, he would have to turn to his “B List”.  I thought it was just another example of Gillick smoke-screening the media, and not letting them see his hand.  Unfortunately after hearing the most recent trade rumors, I’m starting to believe it. 

The latest rumors are the Phillies are scouting Mariners left-hander Jarrod Washburn.  Washburn is 4-8 on the season with a 4.83 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP.  Not exactly the pitcher the Phillies need for a stretch run.

In Washburn’s defense he struggled early in the season, but has rebounded recently, going 2-1 with a 2.75 ERA in his last six starts.  Even so, he’s Seattle’s version of Adam Eaton.  Since signing a four-year deal prior to the 2006 season, Washburn has been a complete disappointment going 22-37 with a 4.56 ERA.  In fact, Washburn hasn’t had a good season since 2002 when he went 18-6.

Aside from his poor play on the field, Washburn is under contract for the 2009 season, and is set to make $10.39 million.  Is that the kind of salary the Phillies really want to …