Blanton and Burrell Lead the Way to the NLCS

In mid-July, Joe Blanton was traded from the Oakland A's to the Phillies.  At the time, I drew a comparison between Blanton and Pat Burrell:

Blanton for several years was a highly regarded prospect in the A's system and many expected him to become part of the stable of pitchers that would replace the excellent but pricey triumvirate of Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder, and Barry Zito.  In averaging well over 200 innings pitched the last three seasons, he has certainly been a mainstay in Oakland's rotation, but by the same token, he hasn't lived up to the expectations placed upon him.

Not that there is anything wrong with that.  The Phillies very own Pat Burrell hasn't quite done that either, but he's certainly been a valuable player over the course of his career here.

Ironically, it would be those two players that would be the biggest contributors to the Phillies' 6-2 defeat of the Brewers in Game 4 of the series.

Blanton allowed only one run over seven innings and struck out 7 batters, a high total for Blanton.  Ryan Madson, who pitched two innings for the second day in a row, and Brad Lidge combined to close out the game.

Burrell blasted two home runs, and it was the three-run shot in the third inning that busted the game open.  About to become a free-agent, Burrell has been with the organization for ten years and has endured a lot on the team level and on the personal level.  He told reporters after the game, "I couldn't be more thrilled. You know, I don't think it's actually sunk in all that much yet."

As for Blanton, the Phillies gave up some of the top talent in their minor league system to get him, and throughout most of the season, a lot of people questioned whether it was worth it.

But now that Blanton pitched oneheckuva game to get the Phillies 4 more wins from the World Series, it's hard to say at this moment that it wasn't worth it.