The only good thing about a bad start from Joe Blanton is that you know Roy Halladay is next up in the rotation, and he doesn’t have bad starts too often.
Just like they did against the Braves and Mets, the Phillies dropped the opener of their series to the Nationals last night 7-4. Just like Braves and Mets fans, the folks in DC are trying to ascribe tons of meaning to the win. Some going so far as to call it astounding.
Nats reliever Tyler Clippard thinks their win was huge.
“’That’s the team everyone is gunning for this year, especially in this division,’ Clippard said. ‘To set the tone early against them was huge.’”
Huge Tyler? You know that the Nationals have beaten the Phillies before right? A series win would be big for them, a sweep might be considered huge… but beating Joe Blanton in one game? Geez… Have the other NL East clubs adopted this kind of underdog mindset so fully that we’re going to be getting celebrations like this every time the Phillies lose a game? Mets fans were actually claiming a moral victory after the game where they erased a 7-run deficit but lost anyway.
Heavy is the head that wears the division crown…
Tonight it’s Roy Halladay vs John Lannan. Winning that game would be huge Tyler Clippard.