Joe Maddon Wants To Know What Was On Joe Blanton’s Hat Last Night

I think it's pretty safe to say that last night was the greatest start in Joe Blanton's career. Sure, he's had a few games where his stat line looked better than the six-inning, seven-strikeout, four-hit two-run performance on Sunday night, but none of them came in a game as important as a World Series affair. Oh, and I'm sure the home run didn't hurt either.

Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon noticed Blanton's performance last night as well, and given the dark spot on the brim of Blanton's cap, he can't help but wonder if Blanton had a little help.

After the game, Maddon addressed the issue with the media. Asked if he noticed a dark spot on Blanton's cap, Maddon said: "We did notice, it was rather dark. I did bring it to their [umpires'] attention. I asked them to just watch it and be vigilant about it, and nothing happened. But I was concerned about it early on."

Too bad he wasn't concerned enough with Andy Sonnanstine to pull him for a lefty before Ryan Howard came to the plate in the fourth inning. As for the hat, Blanton says there was nothing illegal on the brim of his cap.

"It's nothing," Blanton said after the game. "They rubbed balls up with whatever they rub them with. I'm contantly trying to get moisture. It's nothing sticky." Blanton then said of his cap, "Anybody can go touch it. It's just dirt from the ball."

I'm inclined to believe Blanton here because even though he had very good command of his pitches last night, it's not like he was suddenly throwing some Bugs Bunny-style curveballs up there. Well, that and since I'm the only FanHouse blogger who picked the Phillies to win this World Series, I'm on their side so I can rub it in everybody else's face.

Besides, all the pine tar in the world isn't going to do anything about Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria's inability to get a hit in this series, and it's not going to help the Rays catch the ball either. Maybe Maddon should be more concerned with that right now.