ANAHEIM, Calif. — Joe Blanton is no Zack Greinke, but no one was making apologies for that fact of life Wednesday afternoon. Blanton is happy, the Angels are happy, and even though Greinke jumped from Anaheim to Chavez Ravine, the Angels seem ready and willing to plunge forward.
Angels officials were all smiles as they formally introduced their four new pitchers — Blanton, Tommy Hanson, Ryan Madson and Sean Burnett — to a media gathering that had less fanfare and fewer attendees than Greinke’s first public appearance at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday. But none of their additions caused the same kind of free-agent stir that Greinke did this offseason.
Angels fans might feel disappointed they got Blanton instead of Greinke, but general manager Jerry Dipoto insisted the right-handed veteran is a durable worker who throws a lot of innings, doesn’t walk a lot of batters and will benefit by pitching in spacious Angel Stadium.
“Joe Blanton is pretty solid, and I think he knows that,” Dipoto said. “Joe wakes up in the morning and he realizes he’s pitched in this league for a long time. He’s been steady and durable, he’s pitched on winning teams, he’s carried the ball through six-plus innings a night and given you 30 starts a year. I think Joe knows who he is, and we’re glad to have him because the stability he brings is required.”
Blanton, who turned 32 on Tuesday, said he’s treading in familiar territory with the Greinke comparisons. He was traded by the Oakland A’s to the Philadelphia Phillies in 2008 after the Phillies had shown interest in acquiring CC Sabathia from the Cleveland Indians.
“He went to Milwaukee, I went to the Phillies, and we won the World Series,” Blanton said. “That proves the point that 25 guys win a World Series, not one.”
At the same time, Blanton said he doesn’t blame Angels fans for wishing Greinke had opted to return after spending the final two months of the 2012 season with the team. The Dodgers finally outbid the Angels and Texas Rangers, signing Greinke for six years and $147 million.
Blanton came much cheaper, agreeing to two years and $15 million.
“They got a little taste of (Greinke) for a couple of months, and I think he's proven over the years that he’s one of the best,” Blanton said. “He got paid because he’s one of the best. I wouldn't say you can really replace somebody like that. That's awful hard.”
Instead, the Angels have constructed a deeper pitching staff, one that includes Madson, potentially their closer, and the left-handed Burnett, who had a 2.38 ERA in 70 games last season with the Washington Nationals.
Burnett had bone chips removed from his left elbow after the season but said he expects to be fully recovered by spring training. Madson didn’t pitch last season after undergoing ligament-replacement surgery in April. He saved 32 games for the Phillies in 2011.
Madson said he’s making throws from about 120 feet but has yet to throw off a mound. He’s still in the process of stretching out the ligament in his elbow, so it’s uncertain if he’ll be ready for the start of the season.
“Jerry and (manager Mike Scioscia) have already told me, ‘Do your best to get where you want to be and we’ll throw you in there, but under no circumstances do we need you to go out there and hurt yourself to be pitching in April,’ " Madson said.
"That in itself has made it less of a burden.”
With Blanton and Hanson, the Angels would seem to have a full starting staff. Their holdovers are Jered Weaver, C.J. Wilson and either Garrett Richards or Jerome Williams. But Dipoto didn’t rule out the possibility he’s willing to make another deal.
“I’m always investigating just about anything you can investigate,” the GM said.
“We won’t be uninformed. We know what’s going on with the market, but our goal was to create one-through-12 pitching depth. I feel like we’ve largely done what we intended to do. I don’t feel like anything else is imminent, I don’t feel like anything else is pressing, I don’t think anything else is required.”
