The Yankees Hate Carl Pavano
I don't know whether to write off Yankee pitcher Carl Pavano as a dumbass or to feel bad for the guy. The Star Ledger's Dan Graziano reported that his teammates don't even like him any more. Jorge Posada doesn't want to talk to the press at all about him. Johnny Damon made a joke that he was more concerned about the condition of Pavano's Porsche. They even taped up articles from the New York Post and Daily News that called him a "crash test dummy."
I guess we can all agree that if Pavano didn't feel bad already, he does now.
His teammate's frustrations are understandable. Pavano pitched only three months last year after landing a four year, $39 million dollar contract. Before leaving with an injury, he compiled a 4-6 record and a 4.77 ERA. The Yankees haven't seen him since.
Just a few weeks back it was looking as if he'd play this year until it turned out he got into an auto accident and broke two of his ribs. To make matters worse, he didn't tell the team about the new injury.
In a way, I can understand where he was coming from. He signed a big deal with the Yankees and hadn't lived up at all. The 2006 year is close to over and he hasn't pitched a single game. He was finally so close and then he got set back again. Like a small child, he went into panic mode and decided not to tell anyone to avoid angering anyone.
Of course, unlike a small child, Carl Pavano is an adult and adults don't hide rib injuries -- especially because someone is going to find out about it sooner or later. Now, the Yankees are going to treat him like one, making his life a living hell, which is what one child would do to another. If Pavano does come back from injury before his contract expires in two years, I want a camera inside the locker room to see how the Yankees treat the poor bastard.
The irony of the whole thing is that the Yankees are expressing more concern fo Boston's David Ortiz, who has had problems with an irregular heartbeat, but is likely to be back next week. They are concerned more for the man who has destroyed the Yankees at the plate, over their own pitcher. Then again, they've seen David Ortiz more than they've ever seen Carl Pavano, and David's on a different team.
