Reinvented Blanton finds fit with Dodgers

8/26/15: Joe Blanton strikes out Martin Prado, Justin Bour and Marcell Ozuna in the 9th, sealing the Pirates' 7-2 win over the MarlinsPHOENIX -- Like the grapes in his Napa vineyard, pitcher Joe Blanton went dormant, only to reawaken as a surprising new varietal.

Ineffective with the Angels in 2013, released the next spring and foundering in the Minor Leagues for Oakland, he retired to seemingly end a career that included a couple of nondescript months with the Dodgers in 2012.

But after sitting out most of 2014, he got the pitching itch and was reinvented last year as an effective reliever.

Which brings him back to the Dodgers, playing this spring for a manager who also doubles as a Napa…