Manny Ramirez isn’t the only player who took a little time off during this year’s pennant race. Carl Pavano, who has been slow to recover from a vague and ill-defined shoulder ailment, has been enjoying nearly a month of R&R in Florida. He was scheduled to start this Tuesday night against Chicago, but now he will once again be pushed back.

Will he ever take the ball?

There is a Pennant Chase on, Carl. I hope you can join in sometime!

The Carl Pavano that the Yanks hope shows up is the one who handcuffed them in the 2003 World Series. I was watching his dominating performance with a friend when talk turned to Carl’s prowess.

“He’ll be a free agent after 04,” I remember saying to him. Plus he’s from Connecticut. The Yanks will sign him. He’s a horse.”

Anyone watching the 2003 World Series would have agreed that Pavano was bonafide.

He showed poise and control, and pitched to a 1.00 ERA against the Yanks, giving up just one run in nine innings, with six strikeouts and one walk. For the entire post-season, Carl was 2-0, 1.40 with 15 Ks and only 3 walks.

Those post-season small sample numbers didn’t seem to be a fluke as he continued to dominate in 2004. His had a neutral w/l of 17-9 last year. His resurgence actually started in the 2nd half of 2003, when he showed a marked improvement over his first half stats. He lowered his ERA by almost half a run, and he went 6-3 down the stretch.

For those who argue that Pavano's 18-8 record last year was inflated because he pitched in a spacious ballpark: He was 12-2 on the road with a 2.83, and only 6-6, 3.20 at his cavernous home field.

To be fair, one must note that Pavano put up these numbers with an excellent defense. That is not a luxury he has in New York, particularly in the outfield.

The point is that there was a reason why he was highly coveted by both the Yanks and the Red Sox. We don’t know for sure if Theo broke any furniture when he lost out on signing Carl, but clearly Clement was his second choice.

That was then. This is now.

As far as Yankee fans are concerned, it’s time Pavano steps up and proves himself. Is he worth the money and the trust? Or is he another in a long line of National League Pitchers who can not succeed with the Yankees?

There have been some rumblings about Pavano being soft. He certainly has been slow to heal from this vague injury. He was originally going to miss just one start before the All-Star break, and then go against the Red Sox. But on at least two occasions, Pavano asked for more time.

As far back as July 5th, Torre said that “We still haven't taken him out of the mix for Saturday. We're happy about the results.” Pavano added: "The results came back normal,"

Pavano said. "We're taking it day by day.”

Day by Day by Day by Day by Day by Day by Day by Day by Day by Day Day by Day by Day by Day by Day by Day by Day by Day by Day by Day Day by Day by Day by Day by Day by Day by Day by Day by Day by Day.

And the days roll by...

Seemingly all through July, we heard that Pavano was fine, but he just had to “build up arm strength.” Torre added: “When you haven’t pitched for awhile, you don’t want to rush things.”

Rush things? Heck, General George McClellan showed more initiative with the Army of the Potomac in the War between the States than Pavano has. At least President Lincoln did the right thing by canning the inactive thumb-twirler.

After the All-Star break, Brian Cashman said, “[We] will "visit with him (today) and map out a strategy," "It's certainly possible that he gets another turn (in the minors). I wouldn't rule that out."

While Billy Connors served as Pavano’s pacifier, The Yankee pitching staff fell apart. The injury to Chien-Ming Wang was particularly devastating, as he emerged as the Yankees most dependable starter by mid-season.

Still, after news broke about Wang, and after sad starts by Tim Redding and Darrel May, there was no Carl on the big stage. He was down in Tampa, “building up arm strength.”

Say what you want about Kevin Brown, and God knows that I am guilty of thinking him the devil at times, but Brown agreed to forgo a rehab start and he put his career in jeopardy because he knew his team needed him. The results were awful, and Brown’s back is so bad that he has trouble with daily functions that most people take for granted. But he tried. He put his team before his ego or personal comfort.

When compared to Pavano’s inactivity, Brown’s sacrifice deserves at least some begrudging respect.

So now Pavano has agreed to rejoin the Yankee rotation, right! Not so fast. Word came out before Friday night's game that Pavano will require yet another rehab start for "fine-tuning." "Nothing happened between yesterday and today that caused this change," said manager Joe Torre.

Okay, so tell us again why he needs another rehab start?
"Nothing happened," Torre said.

"It's all a guessing game with Carl," pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre laments.

Either the Yanks are hiding a bigger injury (the Yanks deny any trickery, although they have hidden injuries in the past), or Pavano isn't as tough as we thought he was. You can't blame some Yankee fans who think the latter.

If the Yanks are hiding a Pavano injury, they are doing him a disservice, as it can only lead to the kind of speculation that I am doing here. Are they covering up an injury? Only Carl knows.

But if Clemens were still here, he'd shame Carl with a cold, icy stare. Then he'd take the ball on short rest and pitch.

In the event Carl ever takes the ball again, I will be rooting for him to be strong, to win. He is from my home state, and I know people who know him. His team really needs him now. He still has a chance to make a splash this season and if the Yanks are to make the playoffs, he will need to be a main contributor.

He will need to forsake his penchant for giving up home runs. He’s served up long nasty taters this year in key situations to the likes of Nick Green, and that nonsense has to stop.

Joe Torre says, "We want him to be honest with us (about how he feels) and understand that he can't be Superman.

I wouldn’t worry about that one at all, Joe. I think Carl already proved that he can’t be Superman.

At this point, I am hoping that he can be Aaron Small.

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Postscript:
The plot thickens. After Sunday's postgame, Torre announced that Pavano will see Dr. Andrews about the shoulder. Torre was quoted on Yankees.com as saying, "Cash suggested that he go and see the doctor to put anything out of your mind that isn't there, and to fix what is."

I read that sentence a number of times and I still have trouble figuring out exactly what it means. But it is indicative of the vagueness that has surrounded this situation.

Torre continued, "Pavano's never been able to elevate his game to where he's comfortable with it. Maybe on this trip [Monday], we'll find out why."

This will be interesting. If Pavano has a significant injury, then I need to say that I was unfair in this article. However, I can't help but wonder why it took the Yankees a month and two rehab starts to figure out that Pavano should see Andrews. I also can't help but wonder why the rehab starts have gone so well, despite the injury.

If more vagueness comes out after the visit, then we can all keep wondering what the heck is going on.

 

Phil is a staff writer for NYYFans.com, and he writes a weekly column for the website of WCBS News Radio 88, the home of the Yankees. You can reach him at PhilAllard27(at)hotmail.com.