Their defense was offensive

Sidney Ponson: Not his fault

We can throw Sidney Ponson and the lackluster pitching performances from the Texas Rangers under the bus all day.

The fact is this: Vicente Padilla's in Nicaragua and Kevin Millwood didn't want the ball. So the only choice was to throw Sidney Ponson out there on three-day's rest, something most teams wouldn't do to their best pitcher, more or less someone of Ponsons's ilk.

What is especially maddening is the fact that the Rangers knew Ponson was on thin ice and if he could make it into the sixth or seventh innings, it would be a lifesaver.

Instead, Mike Young, Ian Kinsler and Milton Bradley completely threw their starter under the bus committing three errors in a 15-9 loss. Nevermind the four unearned runs incurred. It's the extra pitches that had to be made in lieu of outs. Ponson was at 71 pitches by the third inning thanks to goofs by Young and Bradley. 71! What's Ponson supposed to do?

Rare is the pitcher that can go out every fifth day and dominant with little or no help from his defense. Solid defense bails the pitcher out most nights. A sloppy pitcher can get through eight innings with bad stuff, but still get some ground outs to end innings. No such thing for the Rangers. What a letdown.

Also, today is the MLB Draft. There are a ton of mocks out there. The Rangers are picking No. 11 in the first round. I could preach all day about the importance of the draft for the Rangers, but I'll let Jamey Newberg do that.