Skip to main content

Blanton to DL is Official


Joe Blanton is the next Phillies pitcher headed toward the disabled list to start the season, lengthening the list that already included JC Romero and Brad Lidge. Blanton halted a side session Wednesday when he felt pain in his oblique region. He met with doctors Thursday and the decision was made to shut him down for 3-6 weeks, as he was officially diagnosed with an oblique strain.

The injury to Blanton now tussles the pitching staff that was previously ironed out. Just a couple days ago Kyle Kendrick was informed he'd be pitching in a relief role, while Jamie Moyer would take the Phils' fifth starter spot. Now, Kendrick is likely needed to fill Blanton's void in th starting rotation.

Phillies team physician Michael Ciccotti stated that this injury would not return if treated correctly. Phans might remember that Clay Condrey dealt with similar issues late last season, and he ended up reinjuring his oblique area after rehabbing for a month. "Jay" Happ missed two starts in September with a similar strain, and recovered well with no lingering problems.

The team has options the fill the roster spot with Sergio Escalona and Drew Carpenter having seen time with the big club last year and during this spring season. Mike Stutes and BJ Rosenberg were already slated to make the trip north with the Phillies for this weekend's On-deck Series against the Pirates in Philadelphia. The On-deck Series is an annual pair of pre-season games that the Phils play at home just before opening day.
More updates as they become available.
-------------------------------

Hey, follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter HERE. It's fun for all!

BallHype: hype it up!
Share on Facebook

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

PhoulBallz Q&A with Mike Stutes

Mike Stutes completes "The Reading Phils Mike Tri-fecta" over three days, here on PhoulBallz.com. Stutes, a 22 year old, was an 11th round selection by the Phillies in the 2008 amateur draft. Stutes, a right handed starting pitcher, helped lead Oregon State to the College World Series championship in both 2006 and 2007. Stutes and teammate Vance Worley are the first players to begin a season at Reading the year after being drafted since Pat Burrell did it in 1999. Stutes was the Phils' minor league pitcher of the month in August '08, when he went 4-1 with a 1.72 ERA in 6 starts. Check out my Q&A with the third Mike below. Can I get you to talk about the coaching staff and how they help you deal with ups and downs? They've been real positive with me. I started out good and then I hit a rough patch. They've stuck with me through it all. I haven't heard any negative words from them. Every day they try to come out, work with me, try to get me turned around...

Jason Knapp Q&A

PhoulBallz .com was fortunate enough to meet with Phillies prospect Jason Knapp just one day after he caught the attention of the baseball world with his 7 shut out innings, 14 strike out performance against the Indians' Lake County team. - I asked Jason, the Lakewood BlueClaw , for some thoughts about his big game... I had pretty good command of three pitches (fastball, curve, change up). I was on the same page with my catcher, D'Arnaud , and I ended up, ya know, I felt pretty good. - In a great performance like that, how much credit goes to Travis D'Arnaud , the catcher? More than you might expect, definitely. I didn't shake him off once. He told me what to throw and I do what I'm told. And if it works out, a lot of the credit goes to the catcher. - Does the lack of run support (Lakewood has scored 3 total runs in his 3 starts), in your few starts, increase your stress level, or enhance your focus? No, I just try to go out and do my job every outing. Ya know, we...

Yankees Fans Misled By Pepsi Promotion

**** Today, New York Yankees fans attended a Pepsi promotion in Times Square hoping for chances to win opening day tickets to the new stadium, but the tickets, which were difficult to track down due to poor organization on Pepsi's part, were actually for a game in June. Furthermore, the 250 pairs that were promised were actually only 100 pairs. The fans, who were made to sprint through traffic over multiple city blocks when locations for the promotion changed, quickly turned against the soda brand by pooring out their beverages and chanting anti-Pepsi phrases. Yankees fans are even threatening a boycott of Pepsi. An appearance by Yankee great Goose Gossage could not even settle the angry mob, as he had to be whisked away, as a precaution, according to the Daily News . Ooo , I'd hate to see what "the worst fans in sports" (Philadelphia fans) would have done to their free Pepsi cans and beloved reliever in that situation. Because this happened in a non-Philly city, th...