...sure, i’ll take a hit of your doob…

I want him to take a “start” over All-Star Break against the bench to stretch out, and replace Blanton for the second half.

Can you imagine your fury if your pennant-contending team traded for chump-Blanton with an eye towards starting him in a playoff series? This guy can’t get outs against one of the worst offenses in baseball- how is he going to get outs in the playoffs?!?

you didn’t get my drift- Blanton is worth diddly-squat. The man should be sent to the bullpen, and traded to a team desperate for a #4 starter in the off-season.

(It’s catching on; I just know it is)

Oh wait, what we could get in return for him.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Blanton isn’t trade this July, this offseason, or even right up until he hits free agency. Having him around for the next couple of years, and the draft picks the A’s will get as compensation when he leaves, will probably be more valuable than whatever he can fetch via trade.

Why? Because the rest of the rotation consists of two significant injury risks and two young guys headed for a career high in innings. In short, we’re counting on a lot of guys who haven’t cracked 200 IP in years, if ever, and the situation will probably be similar for the next couple of years. A guy like Blanton who has a track record of going well over 200 innings will be crucial.

What about Haren? Of course he’s better, and that’s why Beane got six prospects for him, 3 of which are already paying off. And having Blanton to fall back on made trading Haren easier, I’d imagine.

by putting Blanton into the #1 spot to start the season. Blanton’s not an ace, he’s a solid #3 at best, so why not market him as that. Doesn’t seem to be any point in “dressing him up” like that. Having him face other teams aces only brings down his W/L record. Granted, his ERA would probably be roughly the same. However, there probably a Bavasi or Sabean who would bite on a deal just because of a (more) respectable W/L record, ERA aside.

Trade Blanton to the Dodgers for Jeff Kent, with the Dodgers covering some reasonable share of Kent’s remaining ‘08 contract (approx $4.5M for the second half). We use Kent as a part-to-full-time RH DH, with an occasional start at 1B against LHSPs (thereby allowing Sweeney the elder, if he ever comes back, to avoid playing D).

Kent pretty much sucks this year, but he could have some value if he focuses 99% on hitting and is plugged in when he has promising pitcher matchups (of course, the switch to the AL could mitigate against that).

Honestly, though, that’s probably the best we could with Blanton.

Which would be better than Jeff Kent in this case. As the dead line approaches I see some team(s) making an offer for Blanton. Will it be as good as it would have been this past off-season, most likely not, will it be as good as it could be if Joe picks it up the second half probably not. Any deal for just Blanton alone will not get the A’s back what they are giving up or the right handed bat that they need. But NY, Detroit, or another pitching starved team will be looking/hoping to fleece Joe at the deadline, but BB won’t let himself get fleeced.

There’s a lot of discussion on this thread about how Blanton, as our “ace”, has to match up against the other team’s ace. Elsewhere it’s been mentioned that after a few weeks into the season, the rotations get mixed up anyway, so our #1 won’t necessarily face their #1. Not knowing how true this is, I decided to do a little research.

Here is a list of the opposing starters Blanton has faced this season, with their ERA and where they rank on their team’s staff. The rank is somewhat subjective, so I defined it simply as how they placed when the team’s regular starters are ranked by their ERA as of right now.

3/25 v BOS - Matsuzaka   - 3.21 - 1
4/01 v BOS - Matsuzaka   - 3.21 - 1
4/06 v CLE - Lee         - 2.34 - 1
4/11 @ CLE - Sabathia    - 3.78 - 4
4/16 v SEA - F Hernandez - 2.83 - 1
4/22 v MIN - L Hernandez - 5.22 - 5
4/27 @ SEA - F Hernandez - 2.83 - 1
5/02 v TEX - Padilla     - 4.13 - 1
5/07 v BAL - Guthrie     - 3.50 - 1
5/14 @ CLE - Sabathia    - 3.78 - 4
5/19 v TB  - Shields     - 3.76 - 2.5
5/25 v BOS - Lester      - 3.48 - 2
5/31 @ TEX - Ponson      - 3.50 - 1
6/06 v LAA - Lackey      - 1.44 - 1
6/12 v NYY - Pettitte    - 3.98 - 3
6/18 @ ARI - Haren       - 2.85 - 1
6/24 v PHI - Moyer       - 4.13 - 2
6/29 v SF  - Sanchez     - 3.79 - 2

Shields is listed as 2.5 because he and Garza have identical ERAs at the moment. Ponsons pitched for Texas when Blanton faced him but is with the Yankees now. Since Ponson’s current ERA is better than that of any starters for the Rangers or the Yankees, I figure that makes him a #1 (in spite of the fact that Padilla also counts as #1 for Texas, since his ERA is better than that of any current Ranger).

Your mileage may vary. Change the ranking numbers if you like; that’s why the names are there.

My conclusion: Blanton really does face the opposing team’s best pitchers. In 10 games out of 18 he’s faced the other team’s #1. And in the 8 games where he didn’t, for half of those he faced the #2 (or tied for #2).

The four times he didn’t face the #1 or #2, his opponents were C.C. Sabathia (twice), Andy Pettitte, and Livan Hernandez — all experienced veterans with more than 100 career wins.

I don’t think he should be traded but if he were to be traded, this certainly isn’t the time to do it. Knowing how wildly the pendulum swings at the site, when he reaches the point where a trade should be considered, we’ll hear screams of, “Blanton’s on a roll! We can’t trade him now.”