TRENTON – After all that money with so little to show for it, Carl Pavano is trying to give the Yankees some timely and vital return on their $40 million.
“That’s my goal. This team has given me a lot of opportunities. No one’s frustrated more than I am with what’s gone on,” said the 32-year-old right-hander after a successful one-hit, 32/3-inning rehab start with the Double-A Trenton Thunder here last night.
“You always have something to show. I don’t think it ever changes. You always want to prove to yourself that you belong. Once you lose that, what are you playing for?”
With the Yankees grasping for any pitching help, Pavano’s return would be more than welcome, despite previous controversies. They’re hoping he can pitch for them in September, though there still is plenty of rehab work to go.
Pavano was scheduled last night to throw 60 pitches and threw 63, 38 for strikes, including 19-of-24 in his first two innings. He went 32/3, allowing no runs, one double and two walks and striking out four, with two wild pitches. The game against the Akron Aeros, won 5-4 by the Thunder, was scoreless when he departed. One scout said he was throwing in excess of 88-mph.
“I’m pleasantly surprised with how I feel,” said Pavano, who underwent a Tommy John elbow ligament transplant June 5, 2007, seemingly putting a final seal of flop on his four-year, $40 million signing.
But now, with his contract running out, he’s pushing himself to play for the Yanks this season.
“I’d like to contribute. That’s definitely my goal. But I can’t get that far ahead of myself,” Pavano said. “This is a delicate rehab. It calls for one step at a time, 15 [more pitches] at a time. I’ve gotten better every time.”
In his two previous rehab outings in Class-A ball in Charleston (S.C.), Pavano had a 1.80 ERA over five innings, his first action since his last major league victory, April 9, 2007, which was his first victory since May 25, 2005.
The 32-year-old right-hander was signed Dec. 22, 2004 to a four-year, $40 million deal that ends this season. He is 5-6 in 19 starts for the Yankees over the course of that contract. He is 62-64 with a 4.27 ERA lifetime in the majors. But he made his impression on the Yankees when he shut down the Bombers in Game 4 of the 2003 World Series, allowing one run in eight innings. He went 18-8 the following season, then turned down bigger offers from the Red Sox and Reds to become a Yankee.
Shoulder and buttock injuries limited him his first two Yankees seasons, but when he failed to disclose an Aug. 15, 2005 car accident that broke two ribs until 11 days later, when the Yankees were about to bring him off the disabled list, his stock plummeted.
After his desire was questioned publicly by Mike Mussina, he started the April 2, 2007 season opener, earning a no decision. It was his first start since Jan. 27, 2005, the longest such absence for an Opening Day pitcher since Vinegar Bend Mizell launched the Cardinals’ 1956 season, after missing two years in the military.
It didn’t last. A little more than two months later, he was undergoing the ligament transplant, the hurdle he’s now trying to overcome.