Sidney=Savior

Yesterday's win was just what the Yankees needed. With the news on Joba that I`ll have a post on later they needed a win. The offense did well, the bullpen shut Texas down (including Rivera), and the starting pitcher went deep into the game. Sidney Ponson has really shocked me that he`s still in the rotation. I had huge doubts when he was signed and wanted him out of the rotation the day he got in. However, he`s hung in their with a few bad starts but mostly good ones. Is he merely still getting lucky or is their actually something left in this guy?

His K/BB is seriously awful. Its 1.27. However, he seems to try to offset this by doing two things. First, both his K/9 and BB/9 are very low. This means he doesn't depend on them very much generally pitching to contact. His GB% has also been high, in the low 50%, and this year is actually a little higher than usual. Even so it would seem like he`s been getting lucky. That GB% can't offset the complete lack of K's.

However, his BABIP is actually well above average. Its .324 and should be expected to come down a little. His HR/FB% is very slightly below the normal 10%. He`s probably actually been a little unlucky.

Its a very strange year for him. In addition, his FIP is a pretty solid 4.50. For now he`s helping the Yankees and has actually been decent while he`s been up here. I hate to say it but they`re counting on Sidney Ponson to help make the playoffs for at least a little while.