Ten For Tuesday
February 3, 2009Cavaliers Preview Game #47
February 3, 2009Carl Pavano is looking to resurrect his professional baseball career in Cleveland. Most Clevelanders don’t know (or care) how deep the wreckage was in New York before Pavano left. Just in case Pavano had slipped under anyone’s radar, Joe Torre’s new book aims to make sure you don’t miss it. According to Torre and other sources, Pavano was not only hurt most of the time, but his teammates hated him.
According to multiple sources (I haven’t read the book) Joe Torre allowed the Pavano situation to culminate into a planned confrontation in the spring of 2006. Torre reportedly invited Pavano to join the team on its last trip of that spring training so that all the players would have an opportunity to confront Pavano about how much they didn’t like him and thought he was milking his injury time. According to Torre, the Yankees teammates didn’t even care enough to confront Pavano at that point.
Bullpen catcher Mike Borzello recounted this gem about Derek Jeter giving Pavano the proverbial business.
“Guys on that team despised him. One day Jeet walked by him and said, ‘Hey, Pav. You ever going to play? Ever?’ Wow. That was a damaging comment, coming from Jeter. He didn’t say a whole lot, but when he said something like that, it was pretty piercing.”
To his credit, Pavano has released a pretty mature reply to the criticisms through his agent.
“I am extremely disappointed that someone I had a lot of respect for would make these type of comments in his upcoming book,” said Pavano, in a statement released to 1050 ESPN New York through his agent, Tom O’Connell. “I wish nothing but the best for Joe Torre and my former Yankee teammates, but with that said it does explain why I haven’t received any Christmas cards from Joe the last few years.”
And that is really all I need to hear. Regardless of how Pavano pitches this year, I am happy to give him a shot to reclaim his career in Cleveland. If he is somehow able to pull off here what he couldn’t pull off in the Bronx is fine by me too. I hope he comes back strong, claims the third spot in the rotation, and helps the Indians take out the Yankees in the playoffs.
Not to say that Joe Torre’s book is typical of the New York experience, but it just goes to show why there are major risks associated with playing in a major market under the microscope all the time. No matter how long he had been injured in another city, other than maybe Boston, you can bet Pavano wouldn’t have been treated nearly this harshly.
Welcome to Cleveland, Carl. Now just relax, go out there and play catch with Victor and Kelly. Occasionally you can have a chat with Paul Hoynes, Sheldon Ocker, and Terry Pluto. It won’t hurt at all. Oh, and I don’t think there will be much market for an Eric Wedge tell-all even if the Indians start winning World Series rings.
10 Comments
“Torre said that Pavano had no sense of responsibility and was “always a little skittish” when you spoke to him. Finally, Torre and Verducci relayed a story when Pavano first joined the Yankees. His mother showed up to the Stadium with an “NY” painted on her face. Pavano, according to the book, said, “Get that crap off your face. You’re embarrassing me.”
YES!!! If Pavano’s mom shows up here with an NY painted on her face I’ll tell her to get that crap off her face too!
I like Pavano already for what he did to the Yanks payroll for a few years, he actually made the Indians money because the Yanks had to pay all that money in revenue sharing and taxes and everything else. Here’s to you newly signed pitcher guy!
So that’s what managerial “genius” is–make a guy feel a part of the team by inviting him to training camp just so the other guys can get a chance to harass and berate him. I love how Torre is writing his own coaching obituary with each new revelation! Were the few extra dollars for the book worth it, Joe?
And this can only help the Indians–Pavano must be very fired up by now to show up Torre.
Next Larry Hughes. Count on it.
Anyone who can’t play because of a bruised ass has earned the right to be questioned.
Of course Torre would burn evey bridge and piss away his credibility as a manager. Way to go Joe, you stay classy.
i can see it now.
tribe plays a game 7, at the new yankee stadium. pavano, going up against his old team…
and cc sabathia gives up 6 runs in the first inning.
lol @ D-Train.
We’ll see what Pavano can do. Expectations are low – Yankee leadership is at an all time low. No wonder they haven’t won anything in years.
I think the tribe will be good again this year (bullpen)
yeah the bullpen looks really, really good, on paper anyways.
lineup should be decent, i love the derosa trade, he’s not gonna put up ridiculous numbers, but he’s a constant.
if we can get westbrook pitching like he did last year, at some point before the break, i think we’ll be ok…
and we’ll need cliff lee to be dominant again. i hope last year wasn’ta fluke, maybe he doesn’t win 20+, but 17, 18? i’ll take it.
there is a lot of potential with the tribe. but i would probably take the twins to win the division.
The difference between Larry Hughes and Carl Pavano is salaries and expectations. Pavano is making peanuts compared to Hughes. An injury plagued season with a petulant attitude wouldn’t hurt nearly as much as it did with Larry.
Too bad baseball has no lemon laws.