Joe Blanton Officially Comes Off The Rails

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Not gonna lie, I was a little surprised to see Joe Blanton on my television as the bottom of the sixth got underway. Maybe it's because he had only thrown 81 pitches up to that point, or maybe Charlie Manuel just wanted to give him a chance to pitch out of a slump -- perhaps both. Whatever the reasons, New York tacked on two more runs before Blanton ever recorded an out, and the Phillies finally ran out of fight, falling to the Mets by a score of 6-3.

The game itself was just one of 162, but Heavy B's demise is still ongoing. Since throwing a complete-game shutout against the Braves on May 3, Blanton has been totally unreliable, especially in his last three appearances. The big righty has surrendered 19 earned runs in 13.2 innings, which equates to an ERA over 10.00, and therefore was not deemed worth calculating. However, just four weeks ago it was 2.83 for the season -- now it's climbed to 5.05.

While Blanton was not counted on for the bulk of last season, or during the 2010 playoffs for that matter, his absence as a credible arm in the rotation could become problematic very fast in 2012. Even though Vance Worley is expected back from the disabled list soon, the staff is already stretched to the limit whenever Kyle Kendrick enters the mix. If he or Blanton aren't cutting it, or anybody else should require time off, I'm not entirely sure who is next in line.

That he is becoming increasingly useless carries additional implications, namely his becoming less attractive to other teams. Not that GMs were lining up around the block to swap for Blanton's services, but when on his game, he can help a ball club win a World Series the way he did here in '08. The Phillies weren't going to uncover the Holy Grail or anything, but at this rate, I'm not sure how many more times they can afford to trot him out there, let alone how they go about finding takers.

Maybe we're getting ahead of ourselves a little bit there, but Blanton's regression is disappointing from any angle. Whether you're stuck with him for the remainder of this season or not, the Phils can't keep tossing a starter who allows six or seven runs per outing. Who's built for that?

It's actually quite gripping the way every little cog in the wheel matters so much more in what has all the makings of being a hotly contested NL East -- or Wild Card chase should that be the case -- all summer long. Blanton missed the majority of 2011, but it was barely worth mentioning. Now the Phillies almost require him to step up, and he's shrinking.

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