Spring Baseball; Two Shutouts and a Tie

Wait just a damn minute.  Are there people watching Joe Blanton pitch?  It appears that there are.  It also appears that Joe’s arm is not going to fall off.  He can even throw his curveball without pain. Thus far, Blanton has not allowed a run in his five grapefruit league innings and has looked more than serviceable.

Blanton’s lack of arm explosions and Freddy Galvis’s ability to play a really good second base highlighted Saturday’s contest with the Orioles.  Even Scott Elarton has looked pretty good this spring.
In lieu of people who pitch for the Phillies pitching well, every 1-0 game from this point forward will remind me of that stupid game against the stupid Cardinals.  The Phillies lost the game 1-0 on a home run from former Ranger Chris Davis.  This one was even more of a snooze fest than a normal spring training contest.

Sunday brought us a pair of split squad games against the Yankees and Tigers respectively.  The Yankees shut the Phillies out and the Tigers and Phils worked to a 4-4 tie.  Kyle Kendrick threw well against the Yankees and Cliff Lee and Jonathan Papelbon both gave up their first runs this spring against the Tigers.

Offensively, the Phillies managed only three hits against the Yankees and C.C. Sabathia. These are the type of games that makes the trip to Florida worth it.  1100 miles to watch the double play combination of Kevin Fransden and Michael Martinez.  3-0 Yankees.

Baseball games that end in a tie deserve scant diagnosis.  This just reinforces the fact that these games don’t count.  Freddy Galvis played another game at second and acquitted himself really well defensively and added two RBI offensively.  If it wouldn’t stunt his development not starting every day I think I would give him the nod over Michael Martinez.  Even if Galvis can’t hit, at least we know he can catch the ball.

Tomorrow, Vance Worley gets a chance to throw more change ups against the Pirates.