Phillies Get Joe Blanton: Updated!

Per ESPN.

Blanton is having a rough year with a 77 ERA+, but he is an innings eater and a good back end of the rotation guy. I will also add that Joe Blanton in that Philly bandbox is a recipe for disaster...everybody puts wood on the ball against Blanton.

The Athletics get second baseman Adrian Cardenas, pitcher Josh Outman and outfielder Matthew Spencer, all minor leaguers.

Giving up Cardenas in this deal is probably what sold it to the As....great young prospect with big upside.

Joe Blanton Stats:

Pitching Stats
Year	Team	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	SVO	INN	H	R	ER	HR	HBP	BB	SO
2004	OAK	0	0	5.63	3	0	0	0	0	0	8.0	6	5	5	1	0	2	6
2005	OAK	12	12	3.53	33	33	2	0	0	0	201.1	178	86	79	23	5	67	116
2006	OAK	16	12	4.82	32	31	1	1	0	0	194.1	241	111	104	17	5	58	107
2007	OAK	14	10	3.95	34	34	3	1	0	0	230.0	240	106	101	16	4	40	140
2008	OAK	5	12	4.96	20	20	0	0	0	0	127.0	145	74	70	12	1	35	62
Total		47	46	4.25	122	118	6	2	0	0	760.2	810	382	359	69	15	202	431

Carlos Gomez: Troubling Early Signs

As I followed Carlos' assent through the Mets minors and up to the big club last year, I was always troubled by his free swinging style and lack of any sense of the strike zone. A talented athlete, he has all of the physical tools to excel at the major league level, but he is missing one key ingredient--the ability to identify a strike and swing at the pitch that will bring him the highest chance of success.

He has been pretty up and down with the Twins this year, and the latest trends on him are not favorable.

Here are his numbers and projections thus far in 2008:

2008 Season Stats
SPLITS	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Season	22	94	12	24	5	1	1	6	2	24	10	1	.255	.271	.362	.633
Career	79	216	24	51	8	1	3	18	10	51	21	4	.236	.276	.324	.600
Last 7	5	22	1	3	0	0	1	2	0	7	0	0	.136	.136	.273	.409
Projected	161	688	88	176	37	7	7	44	15	176	73	7	.255	.271	.362	.633

Of note is his K to BB ration: 12 to 1. As you can see at the bottom of the chart, he is "on pace" for 175 strikeouts against 15 walks.

The positives are the speed numbers--10 stolen bases with only 1 caught stealing, 12 runs scored despite only being on base 26 times, etc.

So we'll play a bit of a wait and see game with young Carlos--he's an easy guy to root for, and his measurable statistics will get better. Will he ever achieve all-star status? That's a big question mark, and it all depends on his ability to learn the strike zone and become a better pitch selector.