By FRANK WARD
DailyPhiladelphian.com Editor

Amazing that a guy who was solid and instrumental in winning the 2008 World Series is barely getting a sniff of this offseason.

That’s just the situation staring Kentucky Joe Blanton in the face. He’s the forgotten guy in the Phillies star-studded rotation; he’s the Kevin Millwood of Glavine-Maddux-Smoltz in the 1990s.

Halladay, Hamels, Oswalt — H2O. There really is not room for Blanton in that equation as he’s a nice pitcher who can eat innings and put up nice stats. He is, however, no staff ace on a team loaded with them.

While he’ll never get top billing, he should start Game 4 of the NLCS unless the Phillies are in a hole and absolutely need that game. Halladay, Oswalt and Hamels should be enough to give the Phillies a 2-1 lead at that point.

Blanton has big game experience and can get the job done. Sure, he started the year hurt and then put up crappy numbers. Hell, this site called for him to be released in May.

But, Kentucky Joe bounced back and pitched well down the stretch. He finished with a 9-6 with a 4.82 ERA. Sounds bad, but he was well over a 6 ERA at one point this summer.

In addition to his consistency as an innings-eater capable of winning in big spots, he has experience pitching in the Bay area as a member of the Oakland A’s. The mart money says Blanton can get the job done against a cruddy Giants lineup whose deep threat is Pat Burrell.

Pitching Blanton could very well get the Phillies the same results without overextending H2O, thus leaving them fresher for a potential World Series showdown with Cliff Lee or the New York Yankees. The World Series is where you go with a three-man rotation, not the NLCS against a piss-poor lineup.

Kentucky Joe in Game 4? Just say it’s so.