It’s Getting Ponsony In Here
Baseball | Bad Decisions - Kansas City Royals - Why me Lord?
by Bronto on Tuesday, March 31st, 2009 at 10:46pm
Sam and I see eye-to-eye on a lot of baseball things, but I’m going to have to disagree with him here.
And sadly, another stupid decision plays a part in this as well.
The Royals signed Horacio Ramirez to a $1.8 million deal in the offseason, and handed him a rotation spot. Simply put, Ramirez has been beyond horrible this spring. But the Royals seem afraid to admit that it was a giant mistake, and will open with Ramirez as the swingman for the first month of the season because of the way the schedule falls.
That leaves Ponson to start the home opener (!) instead of Hochevar. Why? It’s service time. And the inexplicable fact that the Royals think that Ponson’s tubby butt is going to break out at age 32, because if he doesn’t appear on the Royals roster by May 1, he’s a free agent.
All while the Royals pay Hochevar $2.2 million to pitch in Omaha. I understand wanting to get Hochevar on a regular starting schedule, but you have to show faith in the #1 overall pick at some point, don’t you? What message do you send to the now 25 year old Hochevar when you demote him in favor of Sidney freaking Ponson and Horacio Sanz may pitch better Ramirez?
Maybe this doesn’t impact the Royals’ season all that much; who knows? But if the Royals want to contend this season, it’s going to need to come based on improvements from the 20somethings, and Hochevar is a major component. Instead, the Royals are thinking that they can do something that Baltimore, San Francisco, Minnesota, St. Louis, Texas and New York haven’t done.
Good luck Trey Hillman. You’ve at least got God on your side.