So let me get this straight. Brian Cashman was against the signing of Rafael Soriano, but for the signing of Carl Pavano? I see. Cash wanted nothing to do with the best AL reliever of 2010 (45 Saves, 1.73 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, 57 K in 62 Innings) but was willing to bring back arguably (not from me) the worst Yankee in modern history (and by modern history I mean since they dropped the ol' Highlander team name.) Say what?
By now we all know the sordid tale. Pavano inked a fat $40 million dollar deal in the cold winter of 2004 and proceeded to start 26 out of an expected 128 games (26 out of 128!!) over the lifetime of the contract. This Anti-Gehrig-esque performance* earned Carl the ire of teammates and fans alike. Even Derek Jeter, everybody's best friend, confronted Pavano about his utter lack of heart. In all my years as a Yankee fan I cannot think of one man so eagerly detested by the core fan base. He's like Pedro Martinez, Cliff Lee, Curt Schilling, and Larry Lucchino mixed together with all the charm of a late night New York City cab driver. Me thinks Cash better lay off the hash!
Could you imagine the press conference? A ruddy faced Randy Levine introducing Pavano to a dumbfounded press corps all the while avoiding strong eye contact with every person there. Hell, I'd buy a press pass just to swim about in that awkward mess.
* Pavano was paid $40 million dollars over four years. He only made 26 starts (out of a possible 128) thus earning an average of $1.53 million per start. To make matters worse he only won 9 of those 26 starts, meaning he earned an average of $4.4 million per victory. That has to be some kind of all-time record for sucky-ness.
The funny thing is, Pavano would have killed to have Kevin Brown level popularity.
ReplyDeleteKevin Brown would have killed to have LaTroy Hawkins level popularity.
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