Carl Pavano Is Making the New York Yankees Look Bad
July 26, 2010 · Harold Friend · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
Don’t look now, New York, but what former New York Yankees’ pitcher, who won nine games in his four seasons with New York,, is 12-6, with a 3.26 ERA?
Minnesota Twins’ ace Carl Pavano has hurled five complete games, two of them shutouts, and has become one of the American League’s premier starting pitchers.
A significant statistic is that Pavano is third in the league with 143 and two-thirds innings pitched. Yes, folks, Carl Pavano can give his team innings.
As the great baseball expert, John Greenleaf Whittier wrote many seasons ago, “For of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these; It might have been.”
The Yankees have starting pitching problems, one of which they have created.
C.C. Sabathia is having another good season, although in some games, the mighty Yankees’ offense has overcome some of Sabathia’s inconsistencies.
A.J. Burnett has won eight games, but he has lost eight games, has a 4.77 ERA, and is about as reliable in any given start as a Ford Pinto.
Andy Pettitte has pitched extremely well, but he is out with a groin injury until September. There is little doubt that once he returns, he will pick up where he left off because the injury will no longer be a problem. Andy knows how to treat injuries.
Phil Hughes was on of the best pitchers in the American League until he discovered that the Yankees’ brass had modified the “Joba Rules” for him.
It was announced on June 21 that with off days on Thursday, June 24, and Monday, June 28, Hughes could be skipped without disrupting the other starters’ schedules.
Since learning that he would miss a turn and that the total number of innings he would be allowed to pitch would be limited, Hughes has reminded veteran Yankees’ fans of Duke Maas.
Javier Vazquez rounds out the starting rotation. Javy was excellent with the Atlanta Braves in 2009, which prompted the Yankees to trade for his services. We all remember what happened the first time Javy pitched for the Yankees in 2004. Certainly former Yankee Johnny Damon will never forget.
Now, the Yankees are paying Javier Vazquez $11.5 million this season. He is 8-7, with a 4.68 ERA, although he is pitching better than he had earlier in the year.
Following his four-year, $40 million contract with New York’s other team, Pavano became a free agent. The Cleveland Indians signed him for $1.5 million in 2009.
He won nine games for the Tribe, but he really did pitch poorly. Still, the desperate-for-cheap pitching Minnesota Twins sent a non-descript pitcher named Yohan Pino to Cleveland for Pavano in August, 2009.
Pavano didn’t pitch well in Minnesota either, but the Twins gave him $7 million as a free agent this spring, and he has become the Carl Pavano the Yankees thought they were getting following his performance in the 2003 World Series.
The Yankees should win the Eastern Division title without trading for another pitcher, but once they reach October, one must seriously question their starting pitching, which means that they may spend a lot of money for Roy Oswalt.
However, there are rumors that the Minnesota Twins might make a move for Oswalt. Based on past actions, that is not likely, but one never knows, does one?
Imagine for a second if the Twins added Oswalt to Pavano and Francisco Liriano. Do you think that would make the New York Yankees happy?
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