Really, what else is there to say about Joe Blanton at this point? If the best he can do following one of the worst starts of his already terrible season, a start that included an embarrassing clubhouse incident that he instigated, is not making it through four inning against a pitiful Twins lineup, what hope is there for him?
The sad part is how utterly predictable it was. They desperately needed just a decent start from him in order to preserve the bullpen after a somewhat short outing from Williams the day before and Tommy Hanson working on a limited pitch count the next day. Naturally, he doesn't come through at all and the bullpen, who performed very well after taking over, is now once again taxed. This is nothing new though, nor is the frustration and disappointment of the Halos dropping a winnable game to a bad team because Blanton couldn't do his job.
Game Notes
— Let's not let the offense off the hook though either. They had baserunners in seven of the nine innings and only scored three runs after going 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position. The lowlight, of course, being Aybar and Shuck, two low whiff rate guys, somehow both striking out when all they needed to do was put the ball in play to plate Hank Conger after his leadoff triple. It is almost as if Blanton's piss poor effort infects the offense when he pitches.
— Go figure that Josh Hamilton gets off to a slow start in the second half and suddenly comes out lame with an ankle injury that nobody knew he had. These final months of the season are going to be a real joy.
— On a positive note, give it up for the reliever pitching 4.1 innings of shutout ball. This group has been much better the last few weeks and gets no credit for it. Too bad the bats couldn't reward them with a win.
Halo A-Hole of the Game
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I think this one is pretty obvious.
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