I don't think anyone's quite ready to announce "the arrival" of Joe Blanton as anything more than what he is: a reliable young innings-eater who will give up fewer runs than an average starter.
But that was one heck of a pitching display by Blanton (and by Silva, for that matter).
And while there are plenty of concerns coming out of tonight's game (most notably that someone poured boiling water in Bradley again), we can once again console ourselves that at the very least we will remain competitive all year thanks to our rotation.
Mark Ellis certainly deserves praise as well for mustering strength and attention when he's in all likelihood exhausted and distracted. And Kendall, while still not actually hitting well, has been enjoying a BABIP progression to the mean (yes, that is the highest praise I can muster for him).
(And a stray comment I forgot to toss in last night: is it really a surprise to anyone that Chavez managed to homer off of a pitcher named "Slowey"?)
