Burrell and Blanton chatter

FROM THE MORNING CALL

Joe Blanton's not exactly sure where this elbow injury will take him after this season is over, but he is sure of thing right now.

"Pretty much the chances of me starting this year are zero," he admitted. "I don’t have time to build my pitches up. There’s a possibility I could come back as a short reliever. That would get me back. If I tried to start, I don’t think I could make it back this year.

“I’m not 100 percent. I talked to the doctor. [Tuesday] morning was the ultrasound and I had to wait until Dr. Cicotti got here. The nerve has moved a little bit. It’s not slipping all the way over to the bone and popping back and forth. But still, there’s irritation and inflammation and swelling a little bit. It’s not as much as it was the first time they did (tests). So it’s not as bad as it was. We’re in a little bit of a limbo now. We’ve got the road kind of narrowed down to it’s a nerve issue, and now it’s a matter of was it irritated on one pitch and I just irritated it so much – they said nerves take a while to heal. Is it something where three weeks wasn’t enough to heal and it’s going to take a little bit longer? Or is it something where it surgically needs to be moved – the ulnar transposition.”

COULD BURRELL RETURN?

According to multiple reports, including some Giants beat writers, the club activated Pat Burrell from the DL and then released him to make room for the newly acquired Carlos Beltran.

I'm sure there are people out there who would like to see Burrell back in a Phillies uniform.

This would not be a good move. His best days are long behind him and other than one big hit in Game 5 of the 2008 World Series, he's done horrible in the World Series.

In two appearances (2008, 2010), he's a combined 2-for-27 with 16 strikeouts, one RBI and one double. Really, do you want him in the game in a crucial situation?

http://blogs.mcall.com/phillies/2011/07/burrell-and-blanton-chatter.html