Sidney Ponson, released by the St. Louis Cardinals, is now the new Yankees fifth starter.
General manager Brian Cashman just said minutes ago on a conference call that the Yankees will formalize a contract for the pro-rated league minimum tomorrow, and Ponson will be on the mound Tuesday night.
"It's a low risk move for us," Cashman said.
Ponson is a much-troubled righthander who started the season strong for the Cardinals, with a 2.93 ERA on June 2, but has struggled lately. He has allowed 28 earned runs in 25 2/3 innings over his last six outings before his release.
(Photo courtesy of AP)
Also...
I enjoyed everyone's midseason comments. Lots of insightful, timely and witty stuff. I'll touch on them before the second half officially begins tomorrow night.
Comments (13)
Sidney Ponson would be great in a bar fight, but I would not go driving with him.
As a 5th starter? Would a 9.00 ERA make it tough for the Yankee offense? This is a scary move.
Instead of signing a potential problem player, the Yanks should bring up Philip Hughes and keep him on a 70-80 pitch count.At 6'5, 230lbs, he should not be damaged by the jump from AA to the pros and will be better than Ponson right now.
I guess Ruben Sierra will be the next signing for offensive production. This is all based on nothing to lose attitude. We are not winning too many 5th starter games, So, what the hell, Sidney Ponson is the man. The guy has one winning season in 2003 has given up more then a hit an inning plus walks galore.He can give you innings. Now, Ruben's bat and speed will make up for the signing. Chacon has sunk low in Joe Torre's depth chart but he's got to be out of here soon with this signing or maybe we can release him then resign in Sept. when he 's sharpening his scales in some bar league. Cashman has to do better then this. Hughes and some triple A kid deserves a shot. I did not expect much but was hopeful with Cashman's abilities. Boy, we must have some big blue chips on the farm or we have absolutely nothing except for Hughes.
I dont get it if Mr. Hugues is that good, and the secomnf half is the ral deal her, why not bring him up. We are allready 3 games out with no wild card this year, Ibeen a yankke fan for over 50yrs plus thre the good and bad, but this time its different, back then they exausted thre farm system, I not saying trade phillips but at least try him out. Also I think the MAIN REASON why the yankees aren t bring him up is very SIMPLE if he dosent live up to the hipe, they will be no trade vaule this year or next year.
You never know. Ponson at least has talent. How much did we expect from Small and Chacon last year? Give it a chance, and if Ponson is a disaster, ditch him and try something else.
On bringing up Hughes -- NO, NO, NO! Leave the kid in AA and let him develop. If he is as great as he is projected, we'll have fifteen years to enjoy all those 15 - 20 win seasons. Don't rush him and ruin him.
I like Carl's post - give
Ponson a shot and ditch him quickly if he flops, which is likely. We need to protect Hughes, who would be faced with the pressure of a second half "savior". (See Mel
Stottlemyre 1964, but Mel was 22 or 23.) Ralph Houk used to say if you give a starting pitcher a shot, you've got to give him 3 starts. Can't evaluate him on only one start. So we hate Wilson already ?
Let's see him again. Why can't the portly Ponson
make 2 or 3 starts at Columbus ?
Interesting note: L.A. Times
article on late inning clutch hitting shows Big Papi on top. Only Yankee in top 15 ? Damon !
I hope they don't ditch Chacon-he was excellent last year and pitched well this year until he got hurt. I think they gave up on him too quickly.
On second thought, lets give him a try. Sidney maybe the man every 5th day. Lets hope the pinstripes bring out the best in him.
The way "Clueless Joe" wears out a bullpen, Ponson can always be used there. This is just a "stopgap" measure, till "Cash" trades for something better. Hughes should not pitch for the Yanks till after July 31. We risk lowering his trade value by exposing him to major league hitters.
What's to lose by signing Sidney Ponson ? At $160,000 he's a far better bargain than Pavano. As long as he stays off the sauce he gives innings. Pavano give the Yankees the DL.
The best case scenario is that Pavano / Chacon solve the 5th starter slot. Otherwise, Brian Cashman still has time to deal.
Sidney Pontoon makes David Wells look like Mr. Atlas !
Sure, it's true that Yankee fans can be demanding on players and the whole world knows about the A-Rod love / hate matter but let's see now what happens in Boston when their fans start turning on players. Players like Beckett, Tavaras, Crisp, Lowell, Loretta, and young players will get to experience what a mid summer swoon is like up there and let's see how they deal with it.
Realistically, I don't see Hughes pitching in The Show at least until next season, if not the season after that. There is absolutely no reason to rush the kid.
And honestly, the Ponson deal isn't that bad. What's the worst that can possibly happen? He gets shelled and he disappears, just like Darrel May and Tim Redding last year. No harm, no foul. And if by some chance it works, then you've got last year's version of Shawn Chacon/Aaron Small.