Blanton to Start Game 4

I just read a piece on SI.com that the Phillies intend to start Joe Blanton in Game 4 of the Series, rather than Cliff Lee on short rest.  (BTW Cliff Lee’s full name is Clifton Phifer Lee, and he’s from Benton, Arkansas — I couldn’t make that up if I tried.  Also BTW, I have a friend who was born in Benton, Arkansas roughly 9.5 years before Cliff Lee.  Like Lee, he’s long and lean; unlike Lee, he’s a gay man who now operates a restaurant in Panama City, Panama — it takes all kinds).

For a guy who looks as old and old-timey as Charlie Manuel, he’s not caught up in an old way of thinking.  Someone did a study a few years back showing that four-man rotations in the post-season work a whole lot better than three-man rotations.  The temptation of the three-man rotation is obvious — if you have a three-man rotation, you can get a C.C. Sabathia three starts in a seven-game series.  This worked great back before WWII, when three- and then four-man rotations were the norm.  In modern times, however, going from a five-man rotation to a three-man rotation has, at least according to the statistical analysis, not worked well at all.

In fact, it would be damn foolish for the Phils to go to a three-man rotation.  Even before they signed Pedro Martinez and traded for Cliff Lee, the Phillies had a good (albeit, not great) team.  They had some pitchers before the trade deadline, so many, in fact, that strong Rookie-of-the-Year candidate J.A. Happ has been pitching almost exclusively out of the bullpen this post-season.

Meanwhile, the Yankees have been using a three-man rotation (Sabathia, Burnett and Petitte) throughout the post-season so far.  What do you want to bet that if it comes to a Game Seven, C.C. “290 lbs, Never Met a Cheeseburger He Didn’t Like” Sabathia will be running on fumes?  (You never now, though; even on fumes, Sabathia might be able keep the Yankees in the game, particularly if the big Bomber bats are bashing.)  At the end of the day, I still like a four-man rotation in the post-season.