Write On Sports LLC - "Sidney Ponson must go" by Leslie Monteiro

Sidney Ponson must go

2007-04-27 18:57:19 | By: Leslie Monteiro

The Twins signed Sidney Ponson in the off-season with the hope that Twins pitching guru Rick Anderson could work with the pitcher's strengths and make him a fomidable starter.

He was also signed because the team did not want to go rush their young starters such as Matt Garza, Kevin Slowly, or Glen Perkins (he is with the big club as a reliever) to the rotation right away.

They were hoping that he would be decent for two months and then put one of the young pitchers in the rotation.

It has taken only four starts to find out that the Sidney Ponson experiment has been an utter failure. The time has come for the Twins to cut the cord. It may be cruel to give up on him this early, but with the guy’s track record over the years, it makes sense.

Ponson’s initial problem is that he does not throw enough strikes. He to often finds himself behind the count. He gives up home runs in every start. He gives in easily every time he has a runner on a base.

For Pete’s sake, former failed Twins starters Kyle Lohse and Joe Mays have more heart than this guy.

What is very indicting is that he is done after four innings because he is too overweight to have that strong stamina that would keep him strong in the last few innings.

His performance is a definition of a horrible pitcher and that’s what Ponson has been in his MLB career.

Ponson showed what he was all about in his first outing against the New York Yankees several weeks ago. He just did not have it. He gave up many hits to start the game and then, he got burned by giving up a three-run HR.

What was disgusting was that he was laughing helplessly and then, he was screaming at his teammates for not coming up with the plays.

The alibi was that Ponson struggled because he had to deal with the off-day in which his turn was skipped because the White Sox postponed their game against the Twins in the first weekend of Opening Week.

He got a chance to make amends against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in his second start of the season. He bombed there too.

The Rays his him pretty good. He struggled to complete five innings. He got the win only because the Twins hitting played well in that game.

Last week, he was horrible again at Kansas City. Everyone in the Royals lineup was hitting him hard. He gave up six runs and 10 hits. He gave up homeruns to Mark Sweeney and Mark Grudzielanek in that game.

Prior to his Wednesday’s start, he has allowed 16 runs, 28 hits, 7 walks, and 36 baserunners. These types of numbers are simply unacceptable as a starter.

It was the same old story in his start against the Royals on Wednesday night. He got off to a lousy start. He gave up couple of homeruns. He gave up a two-run HR to Sweeney in the first inning to give the Royals a 2-0 lead tonight. Then, he gave up a two-run HR to David Dejesus to give the Royals a 4-1 lead in the fifth inning.

He looked tired as usual by the fourth inning. He put this team in a hole again.

Twins fans have to wonder when is enough is enough.

This is getting ridiculous. There are guys at Rochester who should get a chance to take Ponson's place. They can not be any worse than Ponson.

Not only is it time to get him out of the rotation, but it is time to grant him his release so that he does not poison the clubhouse with his behavior.

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