Phillies Ask that You Please Acknowledge Joe Blanton’s Return

Also Kyle Kendrick was Gone Apparently

Months ago, Joe Blanton sat at a press conference, being heartily ignored.  When he was acknowledged, it was only so that the media could forget he has a World Series ring.

“NO!!” he yelled, leaping to his feet with that lightning-quick speed Joe Blanton is known for.  “YOU CANNOT TAKE THAT AWAY FROM ME.”

No matter how glossed over of an afterthought Joe Blanton becomes, there is no denying one very real fact:  Joe Blanton is on the Phillies.  He survived 2009, 2010, and somehow dodged the trade rumors of last winter using, again, that unfathomable agility that makes him a tough out on every play.

Now, it is your sworn duty to realize that not only has Joe Blanton been injured for most of 2011, but he has no returned from elbow-related exile, primed to contribute any which way the bullpen will allow him to.

The relievers who have been so dependable will most likely need a break in the coming weeks to be sure they can still move for the post season.  Apparently one inning of perfect baseball in Lakewood was enough for Phillies brass to flick the switch and yank Blanton off 60 days of disabled listing.

So please, don’t sit there all gaga just because Cliff Lee has continued to erase teams off the face of the planet.  Joe Blanton has thrown a “solid outing” or two in his day.

Meanwhile, Kyle Kendrick had been with his wife and new child, it seems.  Rich Dubee, as uninformed to the rest of us, had spent the last few days panicked, unable to find the mediocre-at-best long reliever/spot starter, claiming he could have been “dead in a ditch” and “should have called.”