Say Hello To Madman Kentucky Joe Blanton
The Phillies traded minor leaguers for SP Joe Blanton and in typical phan-phashion, Phillie blog reactions have been derisive and shrill.
Immediate quotes from the Beerleaguer comment section:
“I would have been happy trading for Burnett, but Joe Blanton? Why bother?“
“I’m going to go start drinking now“
“Wow. Just unbelievable. Why oh why“
“ARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!“
So, they’re really taking a wait-and-see approach. I do have one source who was a big Joe Blanton fan from Oakland. But, when I interviewed her for this story, the best anecdote she could recall was that Blanton pitched so quickly on Fireworks night that the game ended early and everybody had to wait two hours before fireworks started.
Now, that is a solid endorsement.
Also, she claims his nickname is Kentucky Joe. A second source confirms this.
I think it’s a good move, and I think Blanton will at least calm things down. The Phillies rotation was in full-on crisis mode. He’s a major league arm coming to a weaker hitting league. This has a decent chance of working out.
Even Wikipedia sez: “Blanton throws a low-90′s fastball, along with a 12-6 curveball, a slider, and a straight changeup. His curveball is by far his best secondary pitch, drawing comparisons to former teammate Barry Zito’s famously baffling 12-6 curve. His slider and change are only league-average, but Blanton appears to have solidified his position as a quality starter.”
That’s gotta be true, right?
Read Big Joe’s Bluegrass Blog on the MLB sanctioned mlblogs.com. Nothing about the trade as of press time, but stay tuned!
Updated: Apparently video of the Blanton-Shoves-Ichiro Incident does not exist!
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This entry was posted on Thursday, July 17th, 2008 at 7:55 pm
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[...] getting pulled early. It’s not looking good for the new guy, ol’ Kentucky Joe. I defended the move when the Phils picked him up, so I’m gonna do what I gotta do to help him be [...]