Crossing Broad

The Season is in Joe Blanton's Hands

Written by Crossing Broad's newest writer, Patrick Kelly.

Panic Button time? Not yet, but you should get it out of the closet and dust it off. It’s probably right next to your collection of “Relentless” t-shirts and T.O. bobble figurines. You don’t have to get it now, but come 11pm EST Wednesday night, you might need quick access to that panic button.

With the series hanging in the balance, and with Joe Blanton set to take the mound on Wednesday for his first start since September 29, the Phillies faithful are a justifiably nervous bunch. Blanton hasn’t been the most trustworthy starter this year (not even close), and here he is with the keys to Ruben Amaro’s $145 million Red Lamborghini. Ruben promised he’d take us all to Disney World again this year, but he didn’t say Joe was gonna drive for the scary parts.

This season, when Joe Blanton was set to make a start, Phillies fans could be seen grunting their way to the ballpark. They cursed Joe Blanton, the Phillies rotation and the rotation of the planet itself for landing Joe Blanton on the tickets they bought three months earlier. But more often than not these pessimists left the park eating crow, having seen a Phillies “w”, and an offense come to life.

Despite Blanton’s 9-6 record, his 4.82 ERA, and his general inability to go deep into games this season, the Phillies won the vast majority of his starts, going 17-11. Contrast that with a 22-11 record in Roy Halladay’s starts, and an 18-15 record in Hamels’ starts, and maybe you’ll start to think that Blanton is almost as good as those guys. You’d be wrong, but you’d have some numbers to back your stupid case.

The truth is that the Phillies’ bats had just a little extra pop with Joe on the hill this year. The numbers bare this out, as Blanton received more run support of any Phillies starter, 5.7 runs per game. Comparatively, Hamels got only 3.3.

Doc, a Day Later

Written by Crossing Broad's newest writer, Patrick Kelly (he's Irish).

How many watchable Super Bowls have there been? How many times has Lebron James ended up not being Michael Jordan? How many times have Crispy Chicken Nuggets been all that crispy? How many times have things just fallen so far short of expectations that we have all instinctively learned to keep our expectations low?

Let’s think about that.

Think about all the steroid-driven home runs and Photoshopped models. Think about all the comedies we’ve seen that just weren’t very funny. Think about a much touted running back named Ricky Waters, who rode into town on a high horse named For Who For What. And then let’s think about Roy Halladay, the real deal, the genuine article. A man who allowed us to expect greatness, and who delivered something even better in return.

Roy “Doc” Halladay took a postseason mound for the first time in his illustrious career on Wednesday, with all the bloated hopes of the franchise that traded for him resting squarely on his shoulders. Pile on top of that, his own expectations of getting a World Series ring after so many years of toiling in Toronto without an opportunity. Add to that the fever pitch expectations of a demanding fan base desperate to cry out “Dynasty”.  Add to that the fact that Doc found himself in this pressure packed spot as a the man who precipitated the exodus of 2009 postseason hero, Cliff Lee, a move that left fans across Phillies Nation asking a lot of questions.

“An ace for an ace,” they all asked. “It makes no sense. Why not keep both? Don’t they want to win. I’m sure Roy Halladay is a damn good pitcher, but how could he ever top what Cliff did?” A good question to anyone who watched Cliff Lee a year ago. You can’t pitch better than that. Yet somehow Roy did. What’s better than Perfection? I have no idea. You’ll have to ask Roy Halladay.

Playoff Preview: Good to Go

Welcome Crossing Broad's newest writer, Patrick Kelly (he's Irish).

The playoffs are finally here. I would say “Red October”, but I don’t want to give these Reds Fans any more confidence than they already (kinda, maybe) are pretending to have. This postseason is different from the previous three for the Phillies. They are no longer the team that was just happy to be there (2007), or the team that got hot at the right time and won the whole thing on the backs of a young World Series MVP (2008), or the team that was poised to get back to the World Series, but would have to knock off the “best team” in baseball and a guy named Godzilla to repeat (2009).  These 2010 Philadelphia Phillies are entering the postseason, for the first time in their history, with the best record in baseball and as the prohibitive favorite to win it all.

Everyone from Bridgeport, CT to Vegas pretty much agrees, the Phillies are the team to beat. Even John Smoltz is on the bandwagon. And for good reason. The Phillies' All-Star lineup is finally healthy and intact.  

Charlie Manuel (my candidate for manager of the year), can now, if he so chooses, write it down like this: J. Rollins, SS; P. Polanco, 3B; C. Utley, 2B;  R. Howard, 1B; J. Werth, RF; R. Ibanez, LF; S. Victorino, CF; C. Ruiz, C; Cy Young, P. That’s a pretty picture, isn’t it? Especially in a season where it often looked like this.

On the mound the Phillies are downright scary, showing Trip Aces before the flop. But this is no time to talk about gambling. This is a rotation that’s as close as it gets to a sure thing, flashing Roy Halladay in game one, winner of 21 games, perfect game hurler, and early runaway favorite for the NL Cy Young. Then there’s our newest RoyToy, Roy Oswalt in game 2, who has been dominant since joining the Phillies, dominant at Citizens Bank Park, and dominant against the Cincinatti Reds (23-3, 2.81 ERA) for his career. And then comes the resurgent Cole Hamels who is even better against the little red machine (6-0, 1.18 ERA) in his comparatively brief career.