Phillies' Joe Blanton pitches against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 4 of the National League Champio
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Joe Blanton can't recall his earliest memory of the World Series.
No matter. The Phils' 27-year-old right-hander is looking to make lasting memories when he takes the ball in Game 4 of this Fall Classic against Tampa Bay at Citizens Bank Park. Call it a critical assignment for Blanton and his opposite, Rays righty Andy Sonnanstine, since the outcome will either square the series at 2-2 or put Philly or Tampa up 3-1 and a win away from a world championship.
"My first memory (of the World Series)? I don't know if I can recall one exact moment," Blanton said Saturday night. "I can remember the whole playoff experience when I was younger, not necessarily the World Series.
"Being a kid, staying up late, getting to watch it, and just the excitement in the games, it brings a new intensity. Baseball can be a long season with 162 games, but once you get here, it's like those 162 don't matter anymore. Everybody starts over. And it's definitely a fight to the last pitch, full of intensity the whole time."
Blanton's postseason experience prior to this October was limited to a brief relief appearance against Detroit in the 2006 ALCS when he was with Oakland. He threw two innings, struck out two, walked two and did not surrender a run or hit.
He enters the World Series with a better feel for playoff baseball. The former Oakland starter earned all A's for his Game 4 win at Milwaukee that clinched the NLDS, and he followed with a no-decision in Game 4 of the NLCS in Los Angeles. He'll carry a 3.27 ERA into his start against the Rays with 11 strikeouts in 11 innings. He's given up 12 hits and four walks, and surrendered four runs, all earned.
At 6-foot-3 and 257 pounds, Blanton is bulldog-durable, both physically and mentally. He was just 2.1 innings shy this season of his third 200-innings campaign (he threw 194.1 in 2006) in four years. He was the A's starter against the Red Sox when the regular season opened in Tokyo on March 25, and here he is, with November fast approaching, still grinding his way through opposing lineups.
Acquired from the A's last July 17, he went 4-0 after arriving in Philly and the club went 9-4 in his 13 starts. The deal met with mixed reviews from the Phils' faithful during the late summer playoff run, but manager Charlie Manuel likes what he's seen from a guy who, having pitched his way through a recent bout with tendinitis, has proved he's no ordinary Joe this postseason.
"The game against Milwaukee, I felt like that was his best game I've seen him pitch," Manuel said. "He was very aggressive and in the strike zone with all his pitches. He had command and stayed with the game plan. I liked everything he did that day. He pitched a heck of a game for us.
"Against the Dodgers, he could have been a little sharper. But he took us to a place in the game and gave us a chance to win."
Manuel will look for more of the same in the pivotal Game 4. So, too, will Blanton, who unlike his fellow starters in the Phils' rotation — Cole Hamels, Brett Myers and Jamie Moyer — has the benefit of some recent history with the Rays.
"Personal experience can help a little bit," Blanton said. "Obviously, players change from even early in the year or past years. Scouting reports can be helpful… (But) You definitely remember from personal experience what a guy had success off of.
"I've always thought of (the Rays) as athletic hitters. They can beat you with their legs, and this postseason they've shown a lot of power as well. They really have a lot of different ways to beat you, which makes it tough. From what I've seen this year, they're top-to-bottom good. There are no breaks (in the lineup) and that's one of the reasons they're here."
That firsthand knowledge, along with the confidence he's gained from his two playoff starts this October, has Blanton eagerly awaiting his first World Series assignment.
"Anytime you put a couple starts together where you have success, it builds your confidence," he said. "It's like building blocks for your confidence, You get one good start under your belt, you feel good about it. You have another decent one, you feel a little better. You definitely start to feel confident and more comfortable on the mound."
Just how confident and comfortable is Blanton these days? His Game 4 start may tell the story.
E-mail: egruver@lnpnews.com
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