How should a Twins fan approach Sidney Ponson and Ramon Ortiz? Embodies in these two hurlers we find an age-old debate: how much evil can one do in order to do good? That’s really what we’re faced with every time one of the two takes the hill.
The problem, really, is how to root during one of their games. We have to balance our desire to win now with what we expect will win later. As a Twins fan, I like to think that I want the Twins to win every game. That generally entails hoping that individual players succeed. With Ortiz and (especially) Ponson, I tend to feel just the opposite, however. I want them to fail, spectacularly and quickly.
I’m sure they’re nice enough people (although, Ponson’s DUI gives me a bit of pause there). But my rooting against them isn’t anything personal, really. It’s just business, as they say. The faster and more drastic their fall, the faster they can be replaced by the Young Guns.
That requires us to sacrifice individual games, however. I hate that. More than anything else, that’s what drives me nuts about having these two guys on the staff. I enjoy watching Ortiz pitch well and all, but deep down I know that we’re just delaying the inevitable. Especially when you consider that once he starts to falter (and we may already be seeing that) any moves will be even slower in coming because the front office will see his early starts and hope he can return to that level.
I’m tired of wasting time. I strongly suspect that the Twins are headed towards a third place finish this year (unless a very un-Twins-like move for a Morgan Ensberg-type is made to give the offense a major boost). The Twins could be using this time to figure out what they have in guys like Slowey, Garza, and (still) Baker, gathering information to set next year’s staff. They could move an arm or two to start filling offensive holes. But hanging around with guys like Ponson and Ortiz costs the Twins more than money: the lost opportunities are even more severe.
John Sharkey still roots for Boof at aodshark@gmail.com.
1 comment:
So any particular reason you didn't include Carlos Silva with Ortiz and Ponson? I'd have to think he falls in the same category as the two of them.
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