Your opinion about Ponson
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- June
- 26
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By now some of you have noticed the poll over to the right. What do you think about the Yankees signing Sidney Ponson and starting him tomorrow night against the Mets?
There’s no reason to list all his transgressions here, but it’s a lengthy list. The Rangers publicly accused him of being selfish when they released him on June 6. This was no whisper campaign, this was the GM and manager standing up and saying that Ponson was somebody they didn’t want on their team for character reasons.
That’s very unusual for any team and any sport.
So where do you stand? Does this bother you or do you only care about what a player does between the lines?
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on Thursday, June 26th, 2008 at 11:02 am by Peter Abraham.
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Chad Jennings
Sam Borden
For a start or two, its OK, not great, but OK. If its longer than that, then I won’t be happy.
I don’t care about the “character issues.” I care that he sucks.
2nd Spitzer… I would be insanely mad if I had to see Ponson, let’s say against the sox… But for a double header.. if he blows it we can make it up in the same day.. or we already will have… gosh I hope our pen is prepared. I think its good that Cash is giving POsnon another chance though… I would just prefer he wait until we are 5 games ahead in first place, playing some team like Baltimore.
i could really care less what he did in Texas or not.
is he the best option the yankees have to win this game? if yes, throw him out there. if he gets bombed, he’ll be cut faster than he can take down his next shot.
my personal wish is that Cashman stops playing around with the patchwork rotation options and just go and get a real MLB quality starting pitcher. obviously, that corresponds with the trade market, and the lack thereof right about now, but in time, id like to see him import a real pitcher and not these belly itchers.
i miss lidle…
I think we should find out the price of Sheets.. He would at least give our pen days off
“I think its good that Cash is giving POsnon another chance though…”
It’s not like this is a charity case. They don’t like Igawa, they don’t think Kennedy or Horne or McCutchen is ready. They think that Ponson can maybe give them a quality start or two while other options shake out in the minors.
Let’s hope he can…Rasner has really fallen to earth in the last month. I was hoping for him settling into consistent mediocrity (5-6 innings, 3-4 runs per game) after his hot start, but he’s just swing wildly in the other direction instead.
This is all A-Rod’s fault lol
“I think we should find out the price of Sheets.. He would at least give our pen days off”
Yeah, Cash probably hasn’t bothered to do that. He’s pretty stupid, so he likely doesn’t realize that Sheets is heading for free agency.
Milwaukee aren’t sellers at this point, first of all. Second…Sheets is a time bomb. I REALLY wouldn’t want to bet that I was going to get him to the mound every five days for the rest of the season.
im with those who care that hes a lousy pitcher.. id ont caer what he did in texas.
As much as I despise Fat Syd, I suppose it’s better than running out a kid that could use a little more seasoning. Maybe catch a little lightning in a bottle err grease.
If he had been an absolute cancer when he was here briefly a couple years ago, I doubt he’d be back.
This is one start, against the Mets and he’s not Kei Igawa. That’s the bottom line. Would I like to see an actual prospect pitch in his place? Of course!
But, and I need to underline this – he’s not Kei Igawa.
Who cares (hiccup)? Just take the damn (hiccup hiccup) ball and throw it over the plate.
Guys, we all know Ponson sucks but give him a chance.
I don’t know his exact numbers but he pitched a reasonable number of innings with a 3.88 ERA in a launching pad. Based off of that, he could do good for a little bit. Give him a chance. So far this year, he has been decent and until he proves otherwise, you can’t be that judgemental.
I think Shawn Chacon might be available again (as long as we are looking at the retreads)
personally, i think playing for Texas had a lot to do with his character issues over there. not that he’ll turn into an alter boy with the yankees or anything….
I personally don’t care what he did in Texas. He’s not a Ranger anymore. If he does pull something unsportsmanlike with the Yankees, thats for Girardi and Cashman to deal with.
The problem with Ponson isn’t that he may have character issues, it’s that he’s a terrible pitcher. People can put up with a bad teammmate if he goes out there and produces on the field.
But no one cares how great of a teammate you are when you have a 6+ ERA and give people heart palpatations when you step on the mound (LaTroy Hawkins, anyone?).
I don’t understand how Ponson can be any better than any other starter in SWB (except Igawa). If we’re going to commit to a youth infusion, let’s call a kid up for a spot start and give the common Yankee fan another glimpse into the future.
If he does well, great. It gives him confidence. If not, he’s shouldn’t fall apart…and if he does fall apart, he’s probably not meant to be a Yankee.
Mike,
I second your comment. Character, for a guy that won’t be around too often doesn’t matter. The fact that he is terrible matters much more. I would have much rather given a number of in-house guys a chance before Ponson. It will bother me greatly if he pitches decently enough to warrant a few more starts. This guy is bad news on the mound. And probably drunk as well.
The worst thing that can happen to the Yankees mid-term is for Ponson to pitch well on Friday. Pray for a 15-12 Yankee victory.
The sooner he bombs, the sooner the club can move on to other options. Limit the damage he could cause with multiple starts.
They’re paying him the prorated league minimum.
He’s making a single spot start in a doubleheader. The Yankees’ minor league options either are not ready (either developmentally or injury-wise), or absolutely suck (Igawa).
If he sucks? You cut him. If he causes problems? You cut him. If he gives you 6+ innings of 3- ball? Why not give him another shot if Rasner/Giese continue sucking? If he sucks? Cut him. If he causes problems? Cut him.
This is as -low- risk as you can possibly get. And who knows? Maybe he gives you 3.80 ERA ball?
As I’ve said before, as long as he’s not out there murdering babies, I can live with it for a start or two.
If they’re trying to make him a regular, however, we may have to talk.
Also, you don’t want to start the service clock/use up options for some of the minor league kids. You also don’t want a Chase Wright four straight homeruns vs. the Red Sox type event. That can set a pitcher’s development backwards.
Also, if you plan on using some of these kids as trading chips, you want to preserve their value. If you think they might get bombed because they aren’t ready, you DO NOT call them up.
I’m with 27. Give the guy a chance.
Someone Else is wise re: Ponson. There’s at least a reasonable probability that NYY can outslug the Mets to a series win anyway…
“I don’t care about the “character issues.†I care that he sucks.”
I agree. Where was this option in the poll?
I like Ponson and I dont think he’s here for just 1 or 2 starts, I think he is our number 4-5 starter for the rest of the season. The guy still throws in the mid 90’s with a very good splitter. He is light years better than Rasner, Igawa, Karstens, Kennedy, Giese or any other option the yankees have internally at this point. Is he a great pitcher? Not by any means, but he is our best option….and its not even close. Id like him even more if he was black, but I like him nonetheless.
For all the talk of the potential contributors in AA/AAA, I’m a more troubled that nobody down there is thought well enough of to bring in for a spot start than I am about Ponson’s character issues.
If he pitches well, all will be forgiven. He pitched well for Texas to earn this shot. Hopefully he doesn’t suck.
Day night doubleheader with Giese and Ponson. I can’t believe that.
“I’m a more troubled that nobody down there is thought well enough of to bring in for a spot start”
i think it would have been Horne’s start, or Karsten’s, but i dont think they were to keen on the idea of rushing them back from their injuries.
so really, moreso a matter of timing than lack of options.
WHERE THE HELL IS BOOMER?!?! chacon will be available now that he is busting heads too. why not create a motley crew of former yankee pitchers?
i totally agree this is as low risk as it gets though, you cant argue with that. but thats why i have to ask again: WHERE IS BOOOOOOOOMER?! if im gonna see an overweight former yank on the mound, thats who i wanna see!
well i belive in second chances.(and even 3rd chances). We could never judge a person till we know everything that happened there. Look Shawn Chacon was by us a gret teammate and look what happened yesterday he beat up his GM for putting him in the bullpen. Maybe they kept on getting on his case i dont know, but what i do know you cant judge him only on yesterdays story. The same is with Poson who knows what happened between him and he texas manegment! So what i would do give him a few starts and see how he is in the club house and if he is a problem cut him loose!
How did we take a garbage pitcher from Japan and pay close to $100 million to have him. Was it just a knee-jerk reaction to Matsuzaka? I’m not, in any way, insinuating we use him as a SP in the majors, but with using Ponson, it shows we have lost all confidence in Igawa at the ML level, and righfully so. I wonder what goes on in his head starting for SWB. He has to be the highest paid minor leaguer?
“let’s call a kid up for a spot start and give the common Yankee fan another glimpse into the future. ”
This should never, ever be a factor that the organization takes into consideration. Giving the fans a glimpse into the future? Totally orthogonal to the object of winning ballgames. Horne has struggled to command his fastball in his last two starts. He’s working it out, but he’s not there yet. Kennedy just made his first rehab start. McCutchen has had a hard time stopping the bleeding in the majority of his starts. He’ll cruise, have a terrible inning, and then right the ship once he gets out of it…but big league hitters are a LOT less likely to let him get out of that inning. His last two starts have been better, but you still want to see a longer run of success before taking a chance on someone who doesn’t have incredible stuff.
Karstens is Karstens. He was awful until his last start. I don’t feel any better about him than I do about Ponson. While his WHIP was poor in Texas, he had a great groundball rate and minimized the longball down there. And had success in front of a defense even worse than ours. Maybe he keeps it up and helps us. If not, he’s gone. But, he’s certainly a better option for this start right now than anyone we have in AAA.
If he does well between the lines, it certainly gives him more room for his character faults. I like what Girardi said regarding Ponson’s past, about how he will only go by what he sees while Ponson is here.
Last time, as I understand it, Ponson was a good citizen in pinstripes. Granted, he pitched terribly. In any case, I don’t mind him making one start in a double header. He’s easily dispensible, and if he pitches well then all the better.
pete you hate A-rod we could see it in almost every poll!!!!! LOL
I can not believe the Yankees are in this kind of shape to have to lean on Ponson let alone Geise to start a DH against the Mets. The Mets have no excuse to not take 5 of 6 games from the Yankees. And now, it seems, Rasner is slipping steadily down the 4-5 innings and 4-5 runs status. I am continually amazed that my beloved Yankees can have $200 million invested annually and we always fall short in pitching depth and with our bench.
Aceves starts Saturday for SWB:)
“How did we take a garbage pitcher from Japan and pay close to $100 million to have him. Was it just a knee-jerk reaction to Matsuzaka?”
We didn’t. They paid 26 mil to get a 27 year old lefty back-of-the-rotation candidate on a team-friendly 5 year deal.
Whoever scouted him told them that his stuff would translate well enough that he could eat innings at the back of an MLB rotation. He was the strikeout leader of his league, and entering his prime. Whether he just refuses to change his approach or his stuff just isn’t enough to allow him to succeed over here, I don’t know. But…you trust your scouts. If they tell you this guy can be a back-end guy in your rotation, you have to believe them. And, when you’ve got plenty of cash but no near-MLB lefties…it’s a reasonable risk to take.
I am not thrilled that Sidney Ponson will be pitching in the Subway Series this weekend. If the Yankees can win with Giese, Ponson, and Rasner in the series..it will certainly put the Mets in a sad state. It would be quite funny as well. If the team wins…thats all I care about.
Kevin
With Ponson on the mound, nobody can say that the Yankee rotation is a little too thin!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“I am continually amazed that my beloved Yankees can have $200 million invested annually and we always fall short in pitching depth and with our bench.”
Show me a team that has the depth to withstand losing 3 of their 5 starters to injury for large chunks of the season.
Double headers create problems for just about any pitching staff. He’s a body, he’s filling in for one game–an interleague one, no less. The worst thing that can happen is that he’s terrible and they lose. Then he gets cut. It’s not like he’s signed to a 7 year, $126 million contract. If he picks up a win, it’s pure bonus, like finding a twenty crumpled in the pocket of a coat you haven’t worn for a long time.
I don’t have a problem with giving Ponson a chance to start. There is very little risk in bringing him in. He does well, he stays. If not, they DFA him.
As for his character issue, he was here once before and I am sure that if he were a problem in the clubhouse Cashman would not have brought him back.
Redemption is at hand, Sidney. Go out and pitch well and all the boo birds will latch themselves to your star. Personally, I hope he does a great job!
The Yankees have personal experience of the guy’s character and clubhouse behavior, and I trust that more than I trust the (quite vague) statements of Texas FO about him.
If he’s pitching well right now, he’s cheap, our experience of his attitude and personality show no problems, and it will be easy to shed him if he doesn’t work out, what exactly is the downside?
why do we allways have our stinkers go agaist the mets the last few years 1)clippered 2)giese 3)ponson 4) small 5)wright 6)henn(2 years ago) 7)cant remember but another rockie stater in 05 against them!
why cant we see a real subway series?!
whozat, lets not forget that Texas’ infield defense makes the yankees infield defense look like we have Mattingly at first, Robbie Alomar at second, Omar at short and Ferocious Brosius at thrid.
It’s not about Ponson. It’s about Cashman.
He is a crisis manager. However, he creates the crises by bad planning. He is neither good at planning, nor is he a good salesman, nor negotiator.
Ponson is the soft option. Rather than get a decent trade done, Cashman has opted for the easy out, the path of least resistance. Cashman cannot get good trades done. It’s why he also trawls the Japanese and Chinese markets too, he’s not brave, nor skilled, enough to go face to face with another MLB GM and win.
He took a wild card team, that only needed a few tweaks to make it a World Champion team, and weakened it this year. There was no bench, a poor bullpen, and no back-up plan whatsoever — especially poor considering the number of rookie starters.
Now, being a GM is hard. However, this is the Yankees. We can afford the best GM in the business. We deserve the best GM in the business. However we have — at best — a mediocre GM. He’d be fantastic as the GM of Seattle, he’s poor as the GM of the Yankees. The Seattle job is open. It’s time for him to take it.
In any other business he’d be fired. He’s not a good manager — of ANYTHING.
“SYDNEY PONSON IS IN GEORGE’S BOX AND SYDNEY PONSON IS COMIN’ BACK. OH MY GOOD–GOODNESS GRACIOUS! OF ALL THE DRAMATIC THI–OF ALL THE DRAMATIC THINGS I’VE EVER SEEN, SYDNEY PONSON STANDING RIGHT IN GEORGE STEINBRENNER’S BOX ANNOUNCING HE IS BACK! SYDNEY PONSON IS A NEW YORK YANKEE! AND THERE WE GO JOHN, YOU DON’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT WHO’S GOING TO TAKE THAT SPOT IN THE ROTATION.”
There you go people – we don’t have to worry about who is taking that spot in the rotation anymore. Susan said so.
Seriously, I dislike Ponson, but if the guy can throw together a couple of good starts, he can take the hill on my team(as if my opinion mattered). You don’t have to be a good guy to play baseball, you just have to be good enough.
Looks to me like Cash is just trying to build a bridge until the trade market opens up or a minor leaguer is ready.
I’m upset that Ponson is being given so many second chances when many guys never get the opportunity to be on a major league roster. I think he is a slob of a human being how do you allow yourself to be tremendously out of shape and an alcoholic when your alleged title is “athlete”. This guy is a joke I hope he gives an alright performance on Fri but besides that I would be mad if he is part of the rotation for more than a week.
Sidney Ponson’s stats this season:
4-1, 3.88 ERA
Not bad at all.
(but wait!)
K/BB: 1.56 (yikes)
WHIP: 1.56 (double yikes!)
Opponent’s OPS: .782 (already mediocre, and then you realize that in the past four seasons, it’s been .808, .864, .871, and .949. YIKES^3)
@Francis: Other than Igawa, you must be out of your mind saying that Ponson is anywhere near as good as the rest of those guys. Sidney Ponson is absolutely terrible. His numbers this year are even worse than Mr. Gas Can’s (LaTroy Hawkins). He is simply god-awful.
In conclusion: during Tuesday’s game, the Yankees should have politely asked Aaron Small (sitting in the crowd) if he wouldn’t mind coming out of retirement to make a spot start.
Does anyone know what exactly Ponson did to get the boot in Texas? Was it just that he was a jerk to people?
I seem to vaguely remember a few fantastic starts against the Yankees while with Baltimore. Can’t recall details, though.
Funny that Aaron Small makes news for a friendly clubhouse visit, and then Chacon makes such a negative splash for a clubhouse incident on the same day. Weird.
I dont know about the rest of you, but Francis the Praying Mantis isnt very high on right handed pitchers who cant touch 90 mph not named Mike Mussina(an extremely intellignet veteren pitcher) and Greg Maddux(a paradox)…..and thats exactly what the yankees have as other options. Ponson is the man.
“SYDNEY PONSON IS IN GEORGE’S BOX AND SYDNEY PONSON IS COMIN’ BACK. OH MY GOOD–GOODNESS GRACIOUS! OF ALL THE DRAMATIC THI–OF ALL THE DRAMATIC THINGS I’VE EVER SEEN, SYDNEY PONSON STANDING RIGHT IN GEORGE STEINBRENNER’S BOX ANNOUNCING HE IS BACK! SYDNEY PONSON IS A NEW YORK YANKEE! AND THERE WE GO JOHN, YOU DON’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT WHO’S GOING TO TAKE THAT SPOT IN THE ROTATION.â€
nothing to add! GO YANKEES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“We didn’t. They paid 26 mil to get a 27 year old lefty back-of-the-rotation candidate on a team-friendly 5 year deal.”
$47M with the posting. Igawa’s deal really anymore team friendly than Matsuzaka’s $9K per for 6 years???
I thought it was a little reactionary as well, but all GM’s make mistakes from time to time.
He is a “Fat Pussy Toad”!
I don’t know which is worse, the fans or the management. Win at ALL costs!
This has the feel of sending out a 50-1 shot in the Kentucky Derby that if he finishes in the money; GREAT! And if he doesn’t, send him to the glue factory or in baseball parlance “cut him”.
Shame on the fans, shame on management, shame on us all to be so callous towards another human being.
“$47M with the posting.”
They paid 26 mil to talk to him, and then sign him to a 4 or 5 year deal at 4 or 5 per.
That’s pretty friendly, and if he was even league average, would make him a HUGELY valuable trade commodity. Of course…he DIDN’T turn out to be league average. But the scouts told us they thought he would. Sure, NPB is equivalent to AAA…but he dominated them. If there was a 27 year old lefty that had been destroying AAA since he was 22 or so, wouldn’t we be clamoring for him to get a shot in the bigs?
The only trade market I would be interested if I was the Yanks would be C.C. and Shapiro is going make the asking price so absurd that most if not all teams will hang up the phone. The Indians out of sheer pride alone will need to feel they are getting more than their share for C.C. For a team that bumped us from the playoffs last year they will not be eager to give us their ace for the stretch run and into October. Basically what I am trying to say is that Shapiro will not be on a need to trade basis come the deadline, he certainly does not wanna be sitting in his office in October watching Carsten Charles hurl a game for the Yankees.
Fat Syd is pitching tomorrow so I guess to get ready for the game he’ll get wasted tonight and yanked out of the bar by Hal and Hank.
He doesn’t cheat or hasn’t killed anyone. He doesn’t belong to a gang or support blowing up skyscrapers. The guy likes to drink, so what. So yes I’ll support him in his two to three starts, but I don’t have high expectations for him to have success.
Neil B……..his high whip is indicative of poor infield defense not him getting lit up and walking a tone of guys. His GB to FB ratio is excellent.
It’s just not his boozing and brawling with teammates. He’s also a horrible teammate. Blowing off a game in Minnesota for a Metallica concert is real cool.
Not sure why people think Cashman didn’t have a terrific back-up plan so far this year. So far guys who were not the opening day roster have pitched 123 to an ERA of 3.73. Sounds like a pretty good job to me.
“SYDNEY PONSON IS IN GEORGE’S BOX AND SYDNEY PONSON IS COMIN’ BACK. OH MY GOOD–GOODNESS GRACIOUS! OF ALL THE DRAMATIC THI–OF ALL THE DRAMATIC THINGS I’VE EVER SEEN, SYDNEY PONSON STANDING RIGHT IN GEORGE STEINBRENNER’S BOX ANNOUNCING HE IS BACK! SYDNEY PONSON IS A NEW YORK YANKEE! AND THERE WE GO JOHN, YOU DON’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT WHO’S GOING TO TAKE THAT SPOT IN THE ROTATION.â€
I LOl’d hard nuff said.
Oops. 123 innings.
Ponson is a low risk, potentially decent reward guy who may or may not give the Yanks a few decent starts.
I disagree with those who wish to blame Cashman for failing to plan. Right now the Yankees have an entire pitching staff on the disabled list — Wang, Pavano, Hughes, Kennedy, Bruney, Albaladejo, Britton, Sanchez and Brackman. While some of that was expected, how can you plan for all of it? You can’t.
I’d love to see them get a quality starter, but the price tag is probably too high right now. As for those who think CC and Santana are the same situation they’re not. The biggest differences is you get Santana for the whole year not half or less and Wang is not healthy. The Indians will not get a king’s ransom for CC and likely won’t make a deal until close to the deadline.
Until then cross your fingers, hold your nose and hope for the best.
For those ripping Cashman for not making a premier deal, could you please enlighten us as to who is on the market right now?
Parity in baseball and the wild card race have kept teams in it for much longer and that has stopped most big deals from happening prior to the ASB. Also, the increased value placed on the draft (and therefore the picks from letting players go to FA) has also put pressure on the trade market.
There has to be a market for a trade to happen. Until then, you patch it up the best you can and be patient i.e. don’t show panic. That only worsens your position.
@Skippy: “If he picks up a win, it’s pure bonus, like finding a twenty crumpled in the pocket of a coat you haven’t worn for a long time.”
So the thought of Pavano getting a win this season for the Yanks…would that be like finding a $50 on the lawn by the road laying there underneath a fresh dog turd?
I’m not a Ponson fan, but hey, its not worse than all of the chances the Yanks gave Steve Howe, is it?
Go Yankees!!!
Francis – Sorry, but I’m going to have to disagree with that.
WHIP
2004 (BAL): 1.55
2005 (BAL): 1.73
2006 (STL/NYY): 1.69
2007 (MIN): 1.88
Are you trying to tell me the defense behind him has been bad at every team he’s been on?
And his ground-to-fly ratio (2.5) was at a career high level this year. There is no way it’s staying that high. Look for that to regress to last year’s mark (1.9), which will probably bring his HR rate with it (last year he gave up 7 HR in 7 starts).
The idea that Ponson, with his bleak current numbers, has some REGRESSION to do scares the crap out of me. The Yankees should have stayed far, far, far away from him.
Ponson will go 8-4 with a 4.11 ERA for the yankees down the stretch as their 4/5 starter. Not too shabby
“So the thought of Pavano getting a win this season for the Yanks…would that be like finding a $50 on the lawn by the road laying there underneath a fresh dog turd?”
No…that’d be like inserting a hundred grand into a dog turd only to have the whole mess turn into ten bucks.
“Are you trying to tell me the defense behind him has been bad at every team he’s been on?”
No. Saying that, this year, his high GB rate and resulting high hit rate could easily be, in part, explained by the shoddy Texas defense.
Sure…he could very well regress to the mean. However, before he does that, we might win a couple games while Horne gets his FB command squared away (something that hasn’t usually been an issue) or McCutchen figures out how to buckle down and escape a big inning. Or Kennedy figures out how to avoid being predictable and stop nibbling.
Because none of those guys is quite ready. And we’d have to flip one or more of them to get anyone better than Ponson in here right now.
Ya, just give the ole tub of goo a shot, see if he pans out, and either keep him around or give him the axe. This is win-win for the Yanks, minimal risk, and will get us some mildly experienced innings.
Neil, youre acting as if this guy is 44 years old. He is only 31 and has always had big time potential. He has just been a head case for most of his career. Who knows, maybe something has clicked and he’s ready to become the pitcher people thought he could be. He has better stuff than anyone the yankees can throw out there right now, I dont know how anyone can argue that. Ive seen him pitch some very, very good games…dominating in fact. The Texas thing doesnt bother mean, Texas has been a miserable place to play baseball for a very long time, nobody is happy there.
“Saying that, this year, his high GB rate and resulting high hit rate could easily be, in part, explained by the shoddy Texas defense.”
That’s not really clear.
Saying that, this year, Texas’ shoddy D coupled with his high GB rate could help explain the high hit rate while not having that translate to lots of runs.
Let him pitch until he’s worn out his use. If he gives us 3 good starts in a row, and stays out of some bar fights, everyone will love him. If he gets shelled his first game out there’s no sense giving him a second.
Texas’ defense was down a little because Michael Young fractured his finger when he punched Fat Syd.
What I love about the New York Yankees- almost everything is strictly business. If his character affects the organization’s ability to succeed in business (aka Win), then he has to go. If he can step in, gives us some decent starts without his character getting in the way, then why not?
Ponson stinks on and off the field
Ponson keeps getting chances because he has a live arm.
To me it always seems that many times he pitches just well enough to lose.
Reading between the lines it also seems he may have alcohol issues (nicely done mel, Hic!)
What does it say about Igawa that the Yanks bring this guy in off the street to start ahead of him?
I suspect that unless Sir Sid throws lights out he will not be with the Yanks long. But I try to be open minded so I hope he works out.
Michael Young has always been a horrible defender
Do the Yankees have anyone they can brig in right now that has a mid 90’s fast ball and a devastating breaking ball? No, Ponson is the best option and its not even close. I really dont understand how some people can argue that.
Hey guys,
I’m going to tomorrow’s game from Penn Station. Which subway trains should I take to get to Yankee Stadium?
He’s an ugly drunk, not a felon.
As long as he doesn’t drink and drive (or pitch), it’s fine.
For a 6th starter, I can deal with it. If it wasn’t for the make-up doubleheader manana, we might never have seen this guy in a Yankee uniform ever again. Of course, if he comes in and blows away the Mets, we may see more of him.
I, however, am just gonna sit tight and see how this weekend shakes out with Geise, Rasner, and IPK’s rehab. The next 2 or 3 weeks we may see a lot of guys float through those 4 and 5 starts. Hopefully, somebody can come in and nail it sdown.
BTW, I was at the Thunder game last night. I don’t know if the Erie Seawolves are that bad, but Trenton dominated. Starter Eric Hacker and reliever Zach Kroenke looked perticularly good. Austin Jackson took a goose egg, but Colin Curtis and P.J. Pilittere impressed.
Here’s Ponson’s line this year against left handed hitters:
.312 BA/.381 OBP/.459 SLG
Last I checked the Mets will be swinging from the left side a lot.
Close your eyes and hope for the best.
ponson is great. we should sign him to at least a 3 yr deal
wow
If the Yankees were giving Ponson a long term deal, his off the field activities might be an issue. On a pay as you go basis, I say Go Sidney.
Peter take the B or D
Sheets vs. Sabathia
Who is better?
Nobody is saying Ponson is a great pitcher by any means, he isnt…he is just the best option right now and has the potential to be very good. Until Wang and Hughes get well and Kennedy shows he’s not afraid of contact, Ponson is the best man to fill out the back end of the rotation.
Thanks Gayle!
until he loses, let him pitch.
sabathia…more duarable, plays in the much tougher league and is a lefty.
he never did anything bad while he was with the Yanks
clearly sabathia, even though i like sheets a lot
People say let him pitch then wil see what to make of him.THis guy only had 1 good outing for the Yankees and ended up with a over 6 ERa.
He already pitched here and he sucked.Whats next trade for Javier Vazquez give him a try.
We aren’t giving Ponson a chance because we did he might have 1 good outing but he has shown already he can’t pitch here.People around here forget fast.
I am all for giving Ponson a shot but the bullpen is sure to get a workout. He’s only made two starts (8 ip) in June between Texas and SWB. I don’t see him making it past 4 innings.
I don’t understand why they just didn’t give someone in the minors a shot. It really doesn’t matter who. Ponson is just a waste of space.
Ponson’s numbers are better than Rasner’s? These Yankee veterans won’t put up with Ponson if he steps out of line. Tell Cash to give Chacon a call. I heard he’s looking for a new team.
I hear that he was a good citizen when he was with the Yankees. Something about the pinstripes I guess.
I’m on the fence on this one. Part of me gives Cashman credit for checking out the veteran presence that everyone is looking for and doing it on the cheap. Part of me thinks he might stink.
I guess I’m willing to wait and see.
“I don’t understand why they just didn’t give someone in the minors a shot. It really doesn’t matter who. Ponson is just a waste of space.”
Yeah, why give a guy who’s had success in the majors this year a one-start shot over some kid who hasn’t shown the ability to master AAA yet? Or, better yet, Igawa!
It’s a low risk move and worth a shot. The character issues really aren’t as important to me as what he does on the mound. If it gives our starters in the system a bit more time to get tuned up before the call-up, it’s worth it.
As low risk as it gets
If he sucks, release him and eat the couple hundred thousand (about half of the min salary in the world of MLB, IIRC)
If he doesn’t suck, great, take it
The Yankees can piece together all there overated minor leaguers and journeymen but they will still need to make a trade before the deadline.
I would like the move a lot more if Ponson was in pitching shape. With 5 games in 4 days, they need to shore up the pen.
ponson has character issues, BUT he’ll be in new york now, not texas, and he’s been here before, so this is definitely worth a shot
“Yeah, why give a guy who’s had success in the majors this year a one-start shot over some kid who hasn’t shown the ability to master AAA yet? Or, better yet, Igawa!”
Wow, yeah you’re right. Out of 9 starts this year, he’s had 3 quality ones. 5 of those starts he couldn’t get past 5 innings. That’s some success there. Maybe we’ll get lucky. He hasn’t pitched since the 4th and he only lasted 4 innings but hey that doesn’t matter because he won a game in May.
He’s also 0-1 with a 6.75 era in Shea stadium but people have bad games especially in such a hitter friendly park.
Come on…
He only last four innings pitched for SWB and complained about being rusty. A quality start is highly improbable.
Ponson as a rental with a 3.88 ERA is fine with me. I wouldn’t sign the guy to any lucrative contracts or anything, but if he can shutup and do his job for the next month or two, I don’t understand how Yankee fans could possibly be angered.
However, there is the other side…What happens if Ponson is terrible? Say he goes 1-4 with a 4.50 ERA with the Yankees. The fans will BRUTALIZE him. It comes with the territory. If your personality mostly resembles that of a jerk and you can’t pitch either, you’re going to get booed a lot harder than a guy like Alan Horne would if he was in the same position.
Another example is with the recent Shawn Chacon outburst. If Chacon was Roy Oswalt, this whole thing might have been kept hush-hush and he would stay on the active roster. However, since Chacon had a 5.00+ ERA and wasn’t doing very well in the bullpen either, he’s extremely expendable.
This may be off the subject, but it seems the starting pitching could be big problem not just for the Ponson start but every time numbers 4 and 5 are out there. Can Rasner get back to his good form, or will we get the mediocre Rasner from here on out? And how long can Dan Giese put up good numbers?
I think it depends a lot on Giese/Rasner. Rasner has been great and terrible in the span of a few weeks. If he gets it together then there is really only one open spot which Geise may prove he is capable of handling. If either of them blow it then Ponson will get his opportunity. As for his character, If I recall he had no issues back when he was with the Yankees, I am willing to give him another shot for that reason alone. If CC or some other big trade isn’t going to happen we have to make due with what is available. Getting a Paul Byrd type pitcher just isn’t worth it in my opinion, I’d rather give a guy in the minors a shot, or Ponson.
I think “character issues” are a difficult one to judge. There are guys that do awful in some places and well in others. I’d take Terrell Owens on my NFL team in a second. There’s guys who made terrible mistakes, but mature and do better in life. There’s guys like Pacman Jones who are complete enigmas, who are showing up for charitable events one day, but “making it rain” others. There’s what you don’t hear that the media won’t tell you. I can say that an NFL player who was considered a model citizen for years tried to rape a friend of mine while in college.
Anyways….Ponson and the Yankees….I think Ponson’s a guy who messed up enough times in enough places that you have to question him being given a real chance again. At some point, teams had enough of talented athletes such as Lawrence Phillips. I don’t think Ponson’s Lawrence Phillips, but I don’t think he’s going to be anyone’s team captain anytime soon either.
This is a spot start. If he’s on the team in August, I’ll be absolutely shocked.
I also think that, as New York F’n Yankee, yes, you need to be held to a higher standard.
Giese has really responded well starting for the first time in his career. IPK should take notice. He’s someone that pitches within himself and isn’t afraid to pitch to contact.
who exactly will be available in the pen for the double header?? my biggest concern is that if one of these two goes out early we wont have any viable options to stop the bleeding since they have to send someone down for ponson right?
I’m a long time reader but first time..commenter(?)here on lohud (although i do have my own sports bloglisted above. Shameless plug, sorry Peter)but i felt the need to add my two cents to this Ponson discussion.
First of all, i find it so odd that the Yankees have caused such a stir with the Ponson signing part deux. To me, it’s nothing but a win-win situation. We have signed him to a minor league contract which is next to nothing, he had a 4-1 record with a 3.88 ERA in home run friendly where he had six of his nine starts and only allowed two dingers.
Character problems? Maybe a conern in a clubhouse like the Rangers where Ron Washington is a new coach surrounded by young talent. Rememeber though, he’s going to the Yankees. If you think for a second he’s going to try the same stuff in a locker room that consists of DJ, A-Rod, Posada, Mo, etc that he tried in a locker room of Chris Shelton, Marlon Byrd, and extremely passive Josh Hamilton? the answer to that is obvious and just to play the “what if” card, if he did act out, he’s gone. It’s that simple, we have talent waiting in the wings that could come up and fill this void. We brought him in because of his recent success in a hitters park against AL talent. It’s no big deal if he doesnt pan out and it doesn’t mean the end of the world either.
That was my point also. Realistically how many can Sid really go. Eight innings in month doesn’t translate into many tomorrow. About that long reliever …?
How come there’s no “I think Ponson is awesome and wished he still drank so I could by him a beer” choice up there. Ponson is hysterical. Obviously the drunk driving is no good but other than that he has been completely harmless and his malcontent has been relatively mild. I can see Texas not wanting his attitude to rub off on its young players but other than that I don’t think he’s really a big problem.
We’ve seen the Yankees take trouble-cases (i.e. Strawberry, Gooden) and they’ve been model citizens. I don’t think Ponson will have an issue in the Yankees clubhouse…it’s a different ballgame than in Texas. Additionally, if he can go out there for 1-2 starts, fine by me…we’ve seen the Yanks catch lightning in the bottle before (i.e. Small, Chacon, etc). Let’s hope they can again.
Ponson is short term and also on a short leash. It’ up to him to finally prove he can be a winning pitcher [IF] he has the wherewithal.
The fact is the Yanks don’t need a 5th starter after the next turn through until July 22, so the most we’ll see of Ponson is this start and if he replaces Giese the next time – amazingly enough against… Texas!
To stay in the mix after that he has to replace both Rasner and Giese. Could happen – but should we be happy about it?
It appears he’s by and large the same pitcher he’s been. His BB rate is down a bit, helping lower his WHIP to that stellar number discussed. That Texas’ defense is poor doesn’t inherently explain away hits. The fact is he may have benefitted statistically from the bad D – he’s surrendered half as many unearned runs as earned ones, an extraordinarily high ratio. All 12 unearned runs came 4 each in 3 games, and in 2 cases multiple errors were to blame. But in one of those one of the errors was by Ponson himself (don’t know if involved in the runs), and in the 3rd game the only error was by Sir Sid. Frankly, I don’t think he’s any better than the other options of Karstens or Igawa – we may think so because he’s the devil we don’t know. And he throws harder.
His misbehavior isn’t limited to drinking – he was charged with assaulting a judge in Aruba – apparently in a drunken fight. He hurt his pitching hand in a bar fight the following spring training – witnesses corroborated he was harrassed. Clearly Crash Davis hasn’t been his catcher. One of the issues in Texas was “an altercation in a bar”.
“According to multiple local reports, two weeks ago, on the night before Ponson’s May 26 start in Tampa, he had to be removed from the bar at the Rangers’ team hotel after drinking too much and creating a “serious disturbance.” He proceeded to give up five runs on 12 hits and three walks in five innings the next day, a 7-3 loss to the Rays.”
From the Newberg Report, a Texas MLBlog. 6/8/08
2 other DUI’s. An accident waiting to happen?
I hope he can clean up his act, and I hope he performs well. Do I think it’ll happen – nope. But somebody’s got to pitch Friday, the org is short of pitchers at the moment, so let’s hope for the best. It would be interesting if he does pitch well and gets that Texas start. Good story for Pete!
“Sheets vs. Sabathia
Who is better?”
in general Sabathia.
For the Yankees Sheets
Will they let Ponson drive the ferry boat to Yankee Stadium?
Ponson is a better option than anyone in AAA. Scranton is so barren of pitching prospects that Kei Igawa is the ace of the staff. ‘Nough said…the Yanks have few options other than renting one of the most despicable people to ever wear a baseball uniform.
I saw him in the S/WB clubhouse last week, and he was getting along with everyone. He also had one of the clubhouse attendants get him a gyro.
You know, unless he causes an actual problem in the Yankee clubhouse, I can’t see how his personality conflict with Texas should be a factor in Cashman’s decision…. just like Joe Girardi’s problems with management in Florida weren’t really a factor when he was named Yankee Skipper.
Considering our current situation, I agree it’s best to wipe the slate clean for the guy and give him a chance to help us. His numbers are good this year so far and we desperately need someone to plug a hole or two others are healthy or prospects are truly ready to come up.