Friday, August 22, 2008

Does Ponson Have Naked Photos of Cash or Girardi?

They were willing to pull Rasner from the rotation, but the Yankee brass still hasn't seen fit to send Sir Sid a-packin'. There has to be some kind of reason for this. Instead we get Brian Cashman saying things like "Sidney's pitched very well for us." No, Brian, he hasn't. He has pitched very, very poorly.

Even the Sportswriters are giving him a pass. Instead of "release Ponson" we get puff pieces like how Sidney is setting up a crab dinner in Baltimore, full of skewed comments like these:
"People like Sidney," Derek Jeter said. "He's a good guy."
The journeyman has become reliable.
"His sinker has been a big pitch," manager Joe Girardi said. "He's thrown the ball really well for us. I love the way he attacks the (strike) zone. I love the way he goes after hitters. He works fast and keeps everyone involved."

Reliable? Yes. Reliably awful.

Ponson has pitched 56 innings with the Yankees this year. He's averaging a little over 5 innings per start, has a WHIP of 1.607, a 5.46 ERA, a K/BB ratio of 0.95, and an ERA+ of 78.

For anyone who doesn't know what each of these stats mean, allow me to summarize: he's been awful. Really, incredibly awful. He has been awful this season, he's been awful since 2004 and there's no logical conclusion that he will ever cease to be awful.

Why is he stioll getting innings at the expense of Phil Hughes? At least if Hughes was putting up those terrible numbers, one could see the reasoning: Hughes is a part of the Yankees future. Giving him major-league innings is a step toward his development. Same thing for Ian Kennedy.

When Joba comes back (and I suspect he will soon, judging by the reports) my guess is the Yankees choose not to remove Ponson from the rotation and instead send Rasner back to the bullpen.

I'm going to attempt to be as clear and concise as my currently seething mind can possibly be at this very moment: Release. Ponson. Now.

He. Is. Not. Good.

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posted by Mr. Faded Glory @ 9:58 AM   1 comments







1 Comments:

At 8/22/2008 3:42 PM, Blogger Rex Banner said...

Since you don't actually watch games and just comment based on the backs of baseball cards let me summarize why he's still on the team: in 7 of his 10 starts he's pitched well enough to win(6 games of 3 runs or less, 1 with 4 runs). In his other 3, he's been bombed - hence the poor overall numbers. While I feel like he's a ticking time bomb and he does suck, I've been pleasantly surprised by the way he's pitched. Now if he pitches again like last game, I'll change my story. But unless you can tell me a viable replacement (Rasner sucks more than him) he should stick.

 

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