MVN - Most Valuable Network

Ponson Deals In 2-1 Victory; Rangers April Player Of The Month Awards

“Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while.”

For Sidney Ponson, the rotund Aruban right-hander that former Texas Rangers general manager John Hart so desperately coveted once upon a time, that classic saying has never been more relevant.

The 31-year-old sinkerballer was absolutely brilliant against a bewildered Kansas City Royals lineup on Thursday afternoon, efficiently mowing through his opposition like a knife slices through warm butter during the course of a brief, but thoroughly satisfying, two-hour and 10-minute affair. Only one Royal (David DeJesus, 2-for-3) managed to notch a multi-hit effort against Ponson; none would collect an extra-base hit on the afternoon.

Sir Sidney required just 108 pitches to solemnly march through eight pristine innings of one-run baseball, which were only marginally blemished by the six hits and two walks he did yield. His pacing was fantastic, his command was sharp, and his velocity was stellar, as evidenced by the penultimate pitch of his outing, a 93 MPH sinker to second baseman Mark Gruzielanek that was fouled away. His next pitch, a knee-buckling 73 MPH curve, induced an soft inning-ending line out.

It obviously would have been nice if the Rangers’ offense could have padded Ponson’s margin for error a bit more than they did, but what meager run support was offered - a first-inning laser from second baseman Ian Kinsler, and a sixth-inning “Bermuda Triangle” special from shortstop Ramon Vazquez - fortunately proved to be enough. Texas has now scored their last 13 runs courtesy of the long ball.

Not only did the occasion mark Ponson’s first Major League victory since May 1st, 2007 (a seven-inning, one-run gem against Tampa Bay), but it also denoted Ponson’s longest outing since June 28th, 2005. Part of that is because Ponson has made just 25 big league starts over the last three seasons (including Thursday’s effort), but it nonetheless goes without saying that Sidney hasn’t been this blisteringly effective in a long, long time.

Was I ever in favor of the Rangers choosing to ink Ponson to a minor-league deal? Not really. Do I honestly expect Ponson to continue dominating at this clip? Not really.

But you can bet that I’m going to enjoy the ride as long as it lasts.

* * * * *

Though the month of April may have been largely forgettable for the Texas Rangers organization, I nonetheless feel it appropriate to unveil the inaugural BTiA edition of the “Rangers Player of the Month” awards, as voted upon by Craig and myself:

Rangers Major League Player of the Month - Josh Hamilton
115 AB, .330/.379/.591, 6 HR, 32 RBI, 0 SB, 162 OPS+, .326 EqA

Notes: No player in the American League recorded a higher RAP (Runs Above Position, or the equivalent runs produced above what an average player at the same position would have produced in the same number of outs) than Hamilton’s 9.6 during the month of April. Manny Ramirez clocked in at second with 8.6, while shortstop Michael Young, curiously, has parlayed a 25-for-60 run at the plate into a fourth-place 8.0 mark.

Baseball Prospectus’s Joe Sheehan suggests that Hamilton’s offensive success is partially the result of the league’s pitchers not yet having adequate opportunity to adjust to his plate tendencies, and goes on to issue the following:

Hamilton is a fantastic story and obviously a tremendous baseball talent. In his career, though, he hit .295/.342/.476 in the minors, and he’s at .303/.371/.564 in the majors, all of that coming after playing not a lick from 2003 through 2005, and getting just a few weeks of play in 2006.

There’s enough wackiness in that kind of information, and in his path through two leagues over the last 13 months, to warrant some healthy skepticism about his ability to sustain his performance.

The inherent problem with blindly citing Hamilton’s career minor league numbers, of course, is that he is such a singular talent, with such an innately unique track record. No player projection system was ever designed to forecast a player with such a convoluted career path.

Excluding Hamilton’s brief 15-game run at Low-A Hudson Valley in 2006, Josh hadn’t recorded a professional at-bat since 2002, when he accumulated 211 in 56 games at High-A Bakersfield. That was his age-21 season. Of his 1,100 career minor league at-bats, all but 89 have been notched below AA-ball.

While Sheehan (a writer whose work I generally enjoy) may view the vast discrepancy between Hamilton’s career big league and minor league numbers as a potential harbinger of unsustainable performance, I would conversely submit that the tremendous time gap between the compilation of those two bodies of work ultimately renders the latter as more or less irrelevant.

That’s not to say that Hamilton won’t undergo his fair share of struggles in 2008; even the greatest sluggers in baseball history were, are, and forever will be prone to the more than occasional cold streak. Yes, Josh will have to make adjustments, and how well he handles those adjustments will likely determine whether his final 2008 OPS is .970 or .870.

But if there has ever been a player to come through the Texas Rangers organization with the raw physical tools and mental acumen to make those necessary adjustments, it’s Joltin’ Josh.

First Runner-Up: Milton Bradley (86 AB, .314/.412/.500, 3 HR, 12 RBI, 1 SB, 149 OPS+, .315 EqA)
Second Runner-Up: Michael Young (111 AB, .315/.394/.468, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 0 SB, 130 OPS+, .299 EqA)

- - -

Rangers Major League Pitcher of the Month - Vicente Padilla
38 IP, 46 H, 12 BB, 19 K, 3.79 ERA, 112 ERA+, 1.53 WHIP

Notes: Not the most gorgeous peripherals in the world, to be certain, but Padilla has been an invaluable stabilizing presence in a chaotic starting rotation that has already sustained multiple injuries through the first month of the 2008 season.

Yes, this one was a tossup between Padilla and Millwood. The April 27th complete-game shutout against Minnesota certainly aided matters, but ultimately it was the better ERA+ and WHIP that proved to be the tipping point in Vicente’s favor.

First Runner-Up: Kevin Millwood (44.1 IP, 53 H, 17 BB, 27 K, 3.86 ERA, 110 ERA+, 1.58 WHIP)
Second Runner-Up: Kason Gabbard (20.2 IP, 21 H, 9 BB, 8 K, 2.18 ERA, 194 ERA+, 1.45 WHIP)

- - -

Rangers Minor League Player of the Month - Ian Gac
86 AB, .395/.485/.802, 9 HR, 24 RBI (Class-A Clinton)

Notes: Coming into the 2008 season, Gac was a marginal 22-year-old first base prospect who, despite some intriguing power potential (45 HR in 1,030 minor league AB from 2005 to 2007), had seemingly stalled out at Clinton, in part due to his inability to consistently reach base.

Though it’s still far too early to definitively know one way or the other, a single incredible month at the plate may have changed everything. Gac flashed a devastating combination of power and patience in April, drawing free passes at a higher rate than ever before while nearly halving his strikeout rates from Low-A Spokane last season (27.8% to 15.5%). His absurdly high BABIP (.410) isn’t sustainable, but there is legitimate reason to believe that Gac is firmly in the midst of a breakout season.

Ian’s story unnervingly parallels that of another player named Ian in the Rangers organization, whom four years ago terrorized Midwest League pitching to the tune of .402/.465/.692 with 11 HR in 224 AB during the course of his own breakout campaign. Less than two years later, he was in the majors for good.

You know of whom I speak.

First Runner-Up: Nelson Cruz, Triple-A Oklahoma (79 AB, .380/.537/.785, 9 HR, 27 RBI, 9 SB)
Second Runner-Up: Max Ramirez, Double-A Frisco (84 AB, .357/.444/.643, 6 HR, 17 RBI, 0 SB)

- - -

Rangers Minor League Pitcher of the Month - Doug Mathis
32 IP, 29 H, 6 BB, 22 K, 3.38 ERA, 1.09 WHIP (Triple-A Oklahoma)

Notes: Had Doug’s May 1st misstep against the Portland Beavers (5.2 IP, 6 H, 4 BB, 4 ER) come just a day earlier, he likely would have been knocked out of the running for this highly prestigious award.

But it didn’t, and he wasn’t. Expect Mathis to surface in a Rangers uniform sooner rather than later.

First Runner-Up: Kennil Gomez, Class-A Clinton (29 IP, 19 H, 2 BB, 23 K, 1.55 ERA, 0.72 WHIP)
Second Runner-Up: Andrew Laughter, High-A Bakersfield (14 IP, 13 H, 1 BB, 8 K, 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP)

* * * * *

Finally, a small batch of Ranger-related quick hits to take us out:

● Josh Hamilton has given manager Ron Washington his vote of confidence, saying that he “loves” playing for him. Think his words might hold any influence over the front office?

● Milton Bradley is probable for Friday evening’s series opener in Oakland after being held out of action on Thursday due to muscle spasms in his hamstring.

● Outfielder Marlon Byrd (left knee inflammation) could begin a minor league rehab assignment this weekend. Whither Brandon Boggs?

● TXA 21 will broadcast 10 Frisco RoughRiders home games this season, with the first broadcast to come on Saturday, May 17th against the San Antonio Missions.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 1st, 2008 at 11:15 pm and is filed under The Season. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.