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June 18, 2008
New York Yankees Sign Sidney Ponson to a Minor League Deal
I was just joking with Jim the other day when I heard that Sidney Ponson got released by the Texas Rangers that the New York Yankees were going to sign him since they've always been fond of brining back players who have been with them previously. Well, that's exactly what the Yankees did and even though I understand it was just a minor league deal and that they are very much in need of more pitching, I'm not too happy about it. Ponson was signed today to a minor league deal and given that he was pitching well with the Rangers I'd guess we'll be seeing him on the mound in the Bronx sooner rather than later. Some might be wondering what the problem is, after all he was pitching well for the Rangers. That's exactly it - teams almost never get rid of players who are playing well so it speaks volumes that the Rangers released him even though he was pitching well for them. The quote from Rangers general manager Jon Daniels says it all - "We don't feel Sidney deserves to be here or wants to be here."
Apparently Ponson was warned about his behavior but that still didn't stop him from getting into a "serious" disturbance in a bar on a road trip or being disruptive after he didn't agree with being taken out of a game or getting a start pushed back. This on top of Ponson's problems in the past from punching a judge in his native Aruba to the two DUIs he got when he was with the Orioles, at least one of which he tried to hide from the team. My issue with Ponson isn't that he might have a drinking problem - I have a lot of sympathy for people who have issues. My problem is that Ponson's behavior was extremely disruptive. If Ponson acted out with the Rangers in spite of being warned, what makes the Yankees think he'll be any better behaved for them? I try to cheer for every player who plays for the Yankees even when I don't like their attitude (Gary Sheffield, Chuck Knoblauch) or just don't like them at all (Roger Clemens). But it's going to be hard with Ponson - I just don't like that someone who has been such a problem thoughout the course of his career - and didn't work out in his first go-around with the Yankees - has been brought back.
Posted by silverdsl at June 18, 2008 08:52 PM