MVN - Most Valuable Network

Mother’s Day Letdown: Ponson, Rangers Fall To A’s 12-6

Last Wednesday, I submitted that the very foundation of Sidney Ponson’s early success was built not upon the strength of glittering strikeout rates or impeccable control, but rather an unsustainably low fly ball rate, coupled with the good fortune of not having surrendered a home run through his first three starts (spanning 20.1 innings) of the 2008 season.

On Mother’s Day, the walls inevitably came crashing down. And, just as I prophesied last Wednesday, it wasn’t a pretty sight to behold.

The portly Aruban right-hander lasted just 5.1 innings against an Oakland Athletics squad that, by virtue of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim dropping their fourth consecutive game, somehow escaped their unpleasant weekend retreat in the Metroplex with an uncontested share of first place in the suddenly competitive AL West.

And the Texas Rangers, blessed with a golden opportunity to pull within three games of the division lead for the first time since April 17th, unfortunately failed to capitalize in front of 23,959 hopeful followers.

I have no particular interest in fully revisiting each individual aspect of Ponson’s inadequate outing, because truth be told, I believe the following pitching ledger makes for a fine abridged version of the afternoon’s sordid diamond happenings:

5.1 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 5 BB, 1 K, 1 HR. Yech.

Four runs by Oakland in the first inning set the tone for the day, as Ponson’s stuff lacked the pure break and velocity needed to consistently mow through the Athletics’ surprisingly competent lineup. And when your fastball lacks that extra bit of zip, your curve isn’t snapping and your control isn’t all there, bad things happen.

More specifically, flying bad things. Sorta like those damned flying monkeys from the Wizard of Oz, I suppose - only far more destructive.

Ponson’s ground-to-fly ratio on Sunday (4-to-11) was the direct inverse of what we had come to expect from the 31-year-old after his first three appetizing efforts of the season, which were punctuated by brilliant command of the strike zone and, not surprisingly, a spectacular 3.17 ground-to-fly ratio.

Just 59 of Sidney’s 103 pitches went for strikes on Sunday, equating to a strike percentage of just 57.3% - nearly 10 percentage points off his previous clip of 66.2%.

If runs are the paper currency of baseball, then strikes account for the various pennies and nickels that comprise a full dollar.

And Ponson, unfortunately, went bankrupt:

“I had no command of any of my pitches, and I was a flyball pitcher,” Ponson said. “You see what happens when you are a flyball pitcher here. Souvenirs. I battled as much as I could, just trying to make pitches. But I put myself and the team in a hole today.”

To their credit, the Rangers quietly chipped away at freshly activated Athletics starter Rich Harden, and reclaimed the lead in the fourth inning when Josh Hamilton smashed an two-out RBI triple down the right field line, ensuring that Ian Kinsler’s one-out double would not entirely be in vain. But the triumph was short-lived.

After loading the bases with one out in the sixth inning, Ponson issued a game-tying walk to Jack Cust on five pitches, prompting the emergence of reliever Franklyn German from the right field door separating two similar, yet radically different worlds - the low-stress comfort of the bullpen, and the high-stress reality of the actual pitcher’s mound.

The corpulent right-hander proceeded to induce a Frank Thomas tie-breaking RBI sacrifice fly and a harmless Emil Brown inning-ending fly out, probably the best outcome one could reasonably expect given the circumstances.

But the back-and-forth affair was unfortunately not to remain that way. Michael Young re-knotted the game at 6-6 shortly thereafter with an RBI single that squeaked through a drawn-in Athletics infield, but things quickly went south after Bobby Crosby doubled and Mark Ellis singled to lead off the seventh inning:

Reliever Franklyn German caught Ellis off first and threw to Young, who ran Ellis back toward first but never looked Crosby back to third. By the time Young flipped to first baseman Frank Catalanotto to try to catch Ellis, Crosby had broken for home. He scored easily ahead of Catalanotto’s throw.

“That was my fault,” Young said. “I’ve got to keep an eye on the guy on third and one on the guy in the rundown. I just instinctively thought he wouldn’t break until I got rid of the ball. I’ve got to do a better job there.”

One Jack Hannahan single and one Ryan Sweeney RBI sacrifice fly later, the Athletics had procured an 8-6 lead that they would not again relinquish. Oakland tacked on four more runs over the final two innings against Jamey Wright and Eddie Guardado, effectively placing all hopes of a dramatic late-inning Mother’s Day comeback out of reach.

The winning streak sure was fun while it lasted, wasn’t it?

After yielding two ninth-inning runs in a demoralizing 5-3 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night, Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Eric Gagne has been yanked - or yanked himself, rather - from the role of closer. The 32-year-old ex-Ranger has notched 17 strikeouts in 15.2 innings pitched this season, but has also permitted a horrific 6.89 ERA and 1.85 WHIP while successfully converting just nine of his 14 save opportunities.

The BTiA 40-man roster page has been fully updated to account for Sunday’s transaction log.

Twenty-six paltry at-bats aren’t nearly enough to determine whether first baseman Chris Shelton (.122/.222/.292, 42 OPS+) can be a contributing member of this 2008 squad, but he must start hitting. Bottom line.

The bizarre odyssey of journeyman reliever Bryan Corey (whose sparkling 2.60 ERA in 17.1 IP with the Rangers during the summer months of the 2006 season facilitated a trade deadline swap with Boston for right-hander Luis Mendoza) has come to a rest in San Diego. Corey, 34, was dealt to the Padres on Sunday for a player to be named later or cash.

Why do I choose to spotlight this seemingly irrelevant transaction? Because Corey has one truly unique timeline to his credit:

• 3/06/08 - Red Sox agree to terms with Corey on a one-year deal.
• 4/11/08 - Red Sox designate Corey for assignment.
• 4/18/08 - Corey refuses his assignment to Triple-A Pawtucket, becoming a free agent in the process.
• 4/23/08 - Red Sox agree to terms with Corey on a minor league contract, assigning him to Pawtucket.
• 4/25/08 - Red Sox purchase Corey’s contract from Pawtucket and recall him to the active roster.
• 4/29/08 - Red Sox designate Corey for assignment.
• 5/01/08 - Red Sox outright Corey to Pawtucket.
• 5/12/08 - Red Sox trade Corey to the Padres for a PTBNL or cash.

Good times, good times.

Despite clocking in with baseball’s fifth-lowest 2008 Fan Cost Index and sixth-lowest average ticket price (according to Team Marketing Report’s 2008 MLB Fan Cost Index, released in late March), the Rangers entered Saturday with an average home attendance of just 22,954 per game - good for eighth-worst in all of baseball.

No, school isn’t out yet, and the Red Sox and Yankees haven’t yet made their token yearly excursions to North Texas, but this can’t possibly be an encouraging sign for club president Nolan Ryan and his estimable cabinet of advisors. The recent prodigious climb in the standings has aided short-term fan enthusiasm (to a certain extent), but the long-range health of the fanbase is still a worrisome uncertainty at this juncture.

High-A Bakersfield southpaw Zach Phillips yielded 12 baserunners in just five innings of work on Sunday, but somehow permitted only three runs to score and kept the Blaze hanging around just long enough for first baseman Mauro Gomez to single home third baseman Taylor Teagarden with no outs in the bottom of the 10th inning, capping a 7-6 walk-off victory that pushed Bakersfield to within three games of first place in the California League Northern Division.

A six-game hitting streak has allowed top catching prospect Taylor Teagarden to quietly spike his Pacific Coast League batting line to .286/.429/.357, which is far more palatable than the dreadful 10-for-59 start he experienced at Double-A Frisco to begin the season. His eighth-inning RBI triple in a losing 13-5 effort against the Fresno Grizzlies on Sunday was his first since 2005, when he socked four in 96 AB at Low-A Spokane.

Rehabbing outfielder Marlon Byrd (left knee inflammation), coincidentally, went 3-for-4 in that same RedHawks losing effort, and is likely less than 48 hours away from 15-day disabled list activation. With outfielder David Murphy beginning to ever so slightly scuffle at the dish (.163/.220/.395 in 43 AB since April 29th, not including Sunday’s 1-for-5 effort), the Rangers could most definitely benefit from Byrd hitting the ground running upon his return.

Guillermo De La Cruz versus Erik Bedard on Monday night. This is definitely not one you’ll want to miss.

Quick Hits: Left-hander Kason Gabbard is experiencing no residual stiffness or pain from his physical altercation with Richie Sexson last Thursday…top pitching prospect Blake Beavan recorded five innings of one-run baseball for Class-A Clinton on Sunday, punching out five…Clinton first baseman Ian Gac smashed two home runs in support of Beavan, bringing his season total to 14 and helping the LumberKings to a 12-4 victory over Peoria.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 12th, 2008 at 12:56 am 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.