Blanton might not be an ace but he's a valuable card in Phillies' stacked deck

CLEARWATER, Fla. - At times they looked bemused, at times they looked defiant. Atop a platform, in front of a horde of media, the four starters surveyed the hyperbole that their unification had sprung.

As the video rolled and the cameras flashed, they reminded the viewing public that they had yet to throw a pitch, that they had yet to play a game, that they had yet to reach the legendary status that everyone seems so eager to bestow. But most striking of all were the occasions when they reminded the viewing public about starter No. 5.

First came Cole Hamels, who was informed by a reporter that he was the only pitcher in the news conference who owned a World Series ring. The young lefty shook his head and pointed to the other end of the table.

"He's got one, too," he said.

Next came Cliff Lee, who was proferred a list of nicknames for the rotation, all of which excluded No. 5.

"All of those add up to four," he said. "It seems like there's five of us."

A lesser man might have taken offense to the proceedings. But through it all, Joe Blanton maintained the same expression he has worn through seven major league seasons.

"Me personally, I'm not big on attention," Blanton said, "and I don't think these other four guys are, either. I don't think they're the one that want to stand out and say, 'Look, I'm the head of this rotation.' It doesn't matter to me. Winning is the biggest part for me."

All the Phillies have done since acquiring Blanton is win. Back in July 2008, he started the great migration of pitchers to Citizens Bank Park, when the Oakland Athletics shipped him to Philadelphia for a package of minor leaguers. At the time, the Phillies were 52-44, a half-game ahead of the Mets in the National League East. Plagued by struggles in the bottom of the rotation - they were 8-11 in starts by Adam Eaton, who was averaging 5 1/3 innings per outing with a 5.71 ERA - they desperately needed a reliable arm for the stretch run. They found that arm in Blanton, who went 4-0 with a 4.20 ERA while averaging six innings per start. The Phillies went 9-4 in his 13 starts, which proved crucial as they finished the season with a three-game division lead.

In the postseason, Blanton went 2-0 with a 3.18 ERA and hit a home run in Game 4 of the World Series. The Phillies won all three of his starts en route to their first World Series championship in 28 years.

In 2009, Blanton went 12-8 with a 4.05 ERA, including a 20-start stretch from June to September in which he went 8-4 with a 2.92 ERA. He started last season on the disabled list with an oblique injury, then struggled with his mechanics when he returned. Still, the Phillies went 15-5 in his last 20 starts, a stretch in which Blanton went 8-1 with a 3.81 ERA.

But when the Phillies signed Lee to a 5-year, $120 million contract in December, the rumors started to fly. General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. was deep in talks with the Red Sox about a potential Blanton trade, FoxSports.com reported. The Phillies, various reports said, were trying to unload the $17 million they owe the veteran righthander over the next two seasons.

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said he always expected to have Blanton at his disposal.

"I'm not saying his name didn't come up or something," he said, "but, evidently, it didn't get serious enough."

Blanton said he ignored the speculation.

"I've heard trade rumors in the past," Blanton said. "That's how I got here from Oakland. I just take it that it is what it is. It's business, try not to pay too much attention to it, get myself ready for the season. I am glad to be back here and I didn't really put much thought into it . . . I planned on being here the whole time."

At the moment, the Phillies seem to be planning to keep him. They are supposed to cruise through the 2011 season with the greatest rotation since the Earth found the sun. Lee, Hamels, Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt represent one of the most accomplished collections of pitching talent in recent major league history. But Blanton fills a valuable role. And even if one of the aces suffers an injury, the Phillies will still have one of the top rotations in the game.

"I think anytime you have depth, and quality depth, that's what really balances out your pitching," Manuel said.

That does not mean the Phillies have ruled out the possibility of a trade. Amaro said yesterday that he has not spoken to Blanton to clarify his future with the team. Given the opportunity to definitively rule out a deal, Amaro labeled Blanton the Phillies' fifth starter, and left it at that.

"Sometimes you can't really think about that," Blanton said. "All I'm worried about is going out and trying to win another World Series with Philadelphia. I can't worry about the other part. That is the business part. That is what the people upstairs are for, and they handle that. I love it here. I hope I stay here. "

Maybe there's room in Philadelphia for another Big 5.

For more Phillies coverage and opinion, read David Murphy's blog, High Cheese, at www.philly.com/HighCheese. Follow him on Twitter at

http://twitter.com/HighCheese.