As Gary Grund reported on Thursday here at Hot Foot, the Philadelphia Phillies acquired right-hander Joe Blanton from the Oakland A’s for three prospects, two of which were in the Phillies’ top five prospects.

Last offseason, while others were wondering aloud why A’s general manager Billy Beane was launching into a fire sale by trading away team stars Nick Swisher and Danny Haren, I added that Blanton would probably soon be added to the list. I then couldn’t believe that Blanton survived the offseason as a member of the Oakland Athletics. In an offseason where pitching was a premium, Blanton’s stock was high. He had finished the last season with a 14-10 record and a 3.95 ERA. Why not sell high on Blanton?

As it turns out, I figure I was half right. Pitching was at a premium during the last offseason, but there were plenty of pitching superstars on the market that overshadowed Blanton, including Haren, Johan Santana, and Erik Bedard. Beane wanted to cash in his chips on Haren and hang on to Blanton and Rich Harden until the trade deadline and the next pitching market.

Holding on to Harden really worked. Harden turned in a healthy first half with impressive numbers (5-1, 2.34 ERA in 12 starts). This raised his stock for the Cubs’ trade. However, Blanton’s pedestrian 2008 had to have lowered his trade value. He’s 5-12 with a 4.96 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. What could Beane have gotten if he forced a deal with the Reds, whom he was negotiating with for Blanton last offseason? The Reds are a team that debuted a lot of quality talent this season; who knows who would Cincinnati have included? Regardless, Beane still got two top five prospects from the Phillies’ organization, a team desperate for pitching.

When you look at Blanton’s basic stats over his four full seasons, he’s inconsistent with bad seasons in 2006 and 2008 (thus far) and good seasons in 2005 and 2007. He went 12-12 with a 3.53 ERA and 1.22 WHIP in 2005 and 16-12 with a 4.82 ERA and 1.54 WHIP in 2006. The other numbers are above. Chances are, Blanton’s sixteen wins in 2006 were a byproduct of being on one of Beane’s most successful teams to date.

Blanton’s having this inconsistency in a true pitcher’s park. Even Blanton’s good seasons in 2005 and 2007 aren’t mindblowingly impressive, especially considering Blanton’s 2007 had an ERA just a tick below 4. That’s what made him in such prime position for a trade. That sub-4.00 ERA looks good, but a true eye could tell there’s elements of fool’s gold in it. Here’s a stat that makes that 2007 really frightening — Blanton went 7-5 with a 2.69 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, and a .227 BAA in 15 starts at home. Pretty good, right? On the road, he went 7-5 with a 5.11 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, and .304 BAA. Wow. Those are just some tremendously scary splits for anybody with this pitcher.

Grant it, these numbers could be an aberration. His home/road ERA split is just about a run in 2006 and 2008. In 2005, his ERA at home is actually only about 0.40 lower. But man, after seeing those 2007 splits, I am even more surprised that Blanton lasted the offseason.

The Phillies are acquiring Blanton in his worst season yet. While Blanton is better than say, Adam Eaton, the national media seems to treat Blanton and his talent like he’s at least a No. 2 pitcher. Particularly, because he’s been either the No. 2 starter for the Athletics or around the spot for so long with Oakland. Like with Dontrelle Willis and the Marlins, the national media could be in for a wake-up call.

Another problem with the national perception is the idea that whenever a pitcher goes from the American League to the National League, their statistics will improve. This simply isn’t the case in some instances. For example, if Jake Peavy was traded to Boston, his statistics would suffer a bit. Not because he’s moving to the American League but because he’s moving from a pitcher’s park to a hitter’s park. A better gauge for future performance is ballpark. Blanton is moving from the pitcher’s park of Oakland to that bandbox in Philadelphia. Poor performance from Blanton wouldn’t be surprising, and neither would the Athletics ultimately winning this trade.