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.

In another nailbiter, the Mets defeated the Phillies by a score of 10-9 tonight in Philly. Pedro Martinez got the win, and Adam Eaton suffered his first loss against the Mets in his career. Billy Wagner got what might be his shakiest save of the year to close it out.

Martinez had what might be considered his best start of the year. He went 5.2 innings, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits and registering 6 ks. He threw 105 pitches.

David Wright and Endy Chavez had the best days with the bat, registering 4 rbi and 3 rbi respectively.

In a game the Mets once led 10-1, Wagner came in with a 3 run lead (10-7) and it got dicey from the beginning. Shane Victorino lead off with a double down the line, and Eric Bruntlett than walked. Wagner went on to retire Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell, but allowed a single up the middle to Pedro Feliz. Feliz drove in one and than Bruntlett came in on a Beltran throwing error to make it 10-9. Wagner buckled down, and got yesterday’s nemesis Jayson Werth on a flyball to Chavez to end it.

The Mets look to build on their win tomorrow versus the Giants. Mike Pelfrey will face the tough task of trying to beat Tim Lincecum.

The Mets overcame rain delays and a blown save to defeat the Phillies by a score of 4-2. Joe Smith got the win for the Mets, and Chad Durbin got the loss for the Phils.

A few notes:

• Carlos Beltran hit a solo homer, his 13th of the year, in the third inning to put the Mets up 1-0.
• Oliver Perez pitched brilliantly for the 2nd consecutive start, as he went 7 innings and allowed no runs.
• Billy Wagner blew a 2-0 lead in the 9th inning, when he hung a slider to Jayson Werth who crushed it to tie the game.
• Aside from Wagner, the bullpen was masterful, most notably Smith, who went 2.1 scoreless innings in relief.
• Fernando Tatis had the game winning hit in the 12th, when he hit a 2 run homer off of Durbin.
• Their was a 2 hour and 50 minute rain delay during the game.

The Mets look to win the series tomorrow with Pedro Martinez on the mound. He will be opposed by righty Adam Eaton.

According the AP, the Phillies have given a three year extension to closer Brad Lidge. Its reported that the contract is worth $37.5 million.

Lidge has a 0.77 ERA since coming to Philly, though a 2.18 against the Mets. He’s given up just three runs in 35 appearances this season.

Smart move by Philly, considering how well Lidge has done since getting traded there. Anyone that can pitch at CBP and still have an ERA that low needs to be held onto.

The Mets continue their four game set against the Phillies today at Citizens Bank Park. Gametime is slated for 1:35 EST. The pitchers for today’s game will be Ollie Perez for the Mets and Kyle Kendrick for the Phils.

Keys to the Game:

• Big Hits: Yesterday, Brian Schneider came up with his biggest hit as a Met to put the Mets in front. The Mets clobbered the Philly bullpen last night, the same pen that has virtually owned the Mets over the course of the last few years. If we want to show the Phils that we are a threat, we are going to have to send a message and taking the next two here would be a nice wakeup call.
• Kendrick Is Not That Good: Kyle Kendrick’s 8-3 record is very deceiving. He is a mediocre pitcher who benefits from great run support. His ERA sits at a decent 4.5, only a half a run better than the always unpredictable Ollie Perez. Get to Kendrick early and limit the Phils offense to a few runs.
• Real Ollie, Please: Before last start, pitching coach Dan Warthen approached Ollie and asked him if their was anything different he would do on the mound. Warthen let Ollie be Ollie and it worked. Perez will look to build on his 7 inning 1 run performance versus the Yankees last Sunday.

For a lineup, head to John Delcos’ LohudMetsblog.

As always, to chat during the game head to The Hot Foot Bleachers.