Remember him? He threw a minor-league rehab game tonight for Class-A Tampa, his first game action since bone-chip surgery in late May. Of course he hasn't pitched for the Yankees since June 27, 2005 because of a variety of ailments.
Joe Torre yesterday spoke optimistically about a September return for Pavano, even hoping he could make a push to be in the rotation. But he also admitted they have to go slow with him "because he hasn't been competitive in a year."
Which leads me to my question of you.
Do you expect to see Pavano pitch this season?
Comments (24)
Another throw by E-Rod! Yeah Wright, they're having the same season!!!
Joe Torre is optimistic that Carl Pavano will return next month...Why would the Yankees want Pavano pitching in any meaningful games in September !
He has to "go slow"?
That's a good one.
Only if he's pitching horseshoes.
Yes, but I am an idiot.
no, I don't expect him to pitche for Yanks this season. Even He does make it back by September, there is just too much to catch on for a guy who's been out for entire season.
We should all hope he doesn't start anywhere but Trenton. What a waste of $ this guy has been
We Yankee fans are the toughest on our own. How many pitchers,quality hurlers, go on extended trips to the disabled list every year? Ask the Cubs! In fact ask any club out there if they have a phenomenal arm laying dormant somewhere within thier organization at this time and you will hear a collective yes. Pavano will make a couple of starts and I pray he is sound again. He was/is a quality starter. He can shut you down in a pressure game,(just ask Jeter and friends). The players would welcome him back with open arms, why can't the fans do the same. He isn't Whitsen or Irabu yet. He may be Don Gullet or he may just be Tommy John.
I hope to see Pavano come back, because I think he has more than what he's shown us and another arm can never be bad.
Honestly, I'm much more concerned about the lack of killer instinct the Yankees showed the last few days. They really had a chance to step on Boston's throat and leave Chicago with a 5-game lead. I'm not upset that we're 3 up, but we need to use the gifts we're given and it's a pretty safe bet Boston won't continue playing like this the rest of the season.
I'd LOVE to see him pitch for the Yanks in September!
Um, provided they clinch at least the #2 seed in the playoffs by the end of August....and Dotel will be coming in to relieve him, while Sheffield drives home Matsui for the game-winning RBI, right?
No shot. He'll get hurt pitching, strain something striding, get hit with a line drive, fall while fielding a bunt, maybe all the aforementioned. Won't happen. He'll be a remembered frsutratingly in Yankees' lore as busted signing who was traded for a prospect or two and then pitched healthy in a smaller market with less pressure.
Pitch Ass pain medication sure...I can see that.
Pitch in a game, with a baseball..hardly.
He has 20 finger + toe nails. That is 20 chances to land back on the DL. He sucks
Joe must be optimistic about him coming back in September and to be reliable. I live in Sarasota and get the news on the Tampa Yanks. He pitched 2.2 innings with 5 hits,3 runs, 1 intentional walk and 1 strikeout with 42 pitches thrown. Highest fastball was 91. This is high A ball. I believe he's at best April 2007 away from pitching for us. He said that he felt good. I would not want him pitching in the place of Wright or Lidle. This says alot about how I feel about Mr.Pavano. There will be very few meaningless games in Sept. I wonder what his mental state would be enduring an inning that Mussina had with A-rod tossing it into right field Melky's error, crapy umpiring etc. Joe should just have the mind set this is the team and who knows what condition Dotel, Matsui, Sheffield and Pavano will be in.
Crappy umpiring indeed! Allthough they did give us a win missing the Mo balk, the strike zone and base calls during this series were atrocious and should be reviewed by the league. There were more flat out inside corner strikes left as balls against the Yanks than there were low as hell strike calls given to both Vasquez and Garland. Garland especially. That is probably why Contreras isnt a janitor in Chicago, the umps give him all those bad splitty calls he couldn't get to save his life in NY. After watching Clemens throw his for strikes, Jose didn't stand a chance getting calls with his.
Andy as bad as the umpiring was especially last night. The Yanks sucked with RISP. My God I can accept A-rod not coming through with the bat but throwing into RF was just more then I can take.
Pitchers wriggle out of RISP jams when they get calls that change the count. No excuse for A-Rod, yet I still want him at third every night.
With the lineup the Yankees can put out there everynight. The lineup turns over so many times. You'll have so many RISP. Maybe its just the ratio thing. A-rod is hitting less then .300. So, we can't expect him to produce on every situation. No excuses just trying to rationalize it for my own mental well being. The other thing that gets me. Very few pitchers should be blowing it by him. Now ordinary guys with 89/90 fastballs are throwing it past him. But Jeter is starting to show the effects of the season too. The bat and reaction time is slowing down.
we signed pavano because he had one good season with florida. the guy wasnt that great to begin with, and after over a year layoff, there is no way this guy is gonna play a major role in the postseason if he even makes it there. on a side note, why do the yankees always have like 9 million LOB. its ridiculous. some guys need to clutch up and hit the damn ball. i can see why arod isnt hitting well, its because when he goes home every night crying about how the yankee fans are being meanies to him, his eyes are just eroding from all the tears. hes actually legally blind now, which also explains his defense, so i think hes doing good for a blind guy. you guys shouldnt knock him until you know the whole story, geez. ps kansas city is my second favorite team ever now.
I can't stand reading Pavano updates..why bother???
I agree Mull, he was never a great pitcher and the Yanks paid him too much for one better than avg season. He had a history of injuries but that didn't stop NYY.
I just hope they learn a lesson from him..no more "ok" NL pitcher's let alone injury-historied ones
I could care less if he comes back or not. He's useless!!!
Mull: I'm also getting sick and tired of the Yanks leaving too many guys in scoring position with less than 2 outs! Forget about A-Rod: he's just not clutch and that's that! Giambi's at-bats bothered me last night. Mc carthy struck him out on a high, inside fastball last night that I still don't why he swung at it. It's not his pitch! We should have swept that series!
I would pray that he can.. but somehow I have a feeling that he'll remain the best joke punchline of the Yankees.
I am sorry but for him to take all that money two years in a row ... for doing so little ... it is just nauseating ... where is his pride?
There is no more gutless pitcher on the face of this Earth than #45 (I refuse to even say his name). He is one of the, if not the worst, free agent signings in the history of the franchise, if not the league. There's a better chance of me growing another right arm out of the side of my head than there is of #45 pitching for the Yanks again. I really wish he would have driven his Porsche off of a bridge rather than into a garbage truck. You suck #45 and I loathe you.
Number #45 is a disgrace to baseball and himself. Jaret Wright might be a terrible pitcher (except for last night) but at least he takes the ball every 5 days. #45 is just a million dollar baby from Connecticut. People call it a running joke about him getting injured when he was 'so close to returning'. I don't call it a joke, I call it sad. He's a poster boy for all that is wrong with pro sports. He might not be a jerk like T.O. or a roid rager like Barry Bonds, but he's getting $10 million a year to do nothing. I've been in prison, I know the meaning of a hard day's work. Maybe that guy should get locked up to see if he can handle that life.