from cleveland.com:
Major League Baseball Insider: New Indian Pavano can't escape Torre's literary wrath
Posted by jturner February 07, 2009 23:45PM
Bill Kostroun/Associated Press
According to Joe Torre's book "The Yankee Years," oft-injured pitcher Carl Pavano was "hated" by teammates frustrated by his inability to get on the Yankee Stadium pitching mound.
CLEVELAND -- New Indians pitcher Carl Pavano may want to skip reading Joe Torre's latest book, The Yankee Years. Pavano, who signed a four-year, $40 million deal with the Yankees after the 2004 season, does not come off in a good light.
Torre, in the book written by Tom Verducci, said of Pavano, "The players all hated him. It's no secret."
Yankee bullpen catcher Mike Borzello is quoted as saying, "Guys on the team despised him. One day Jeet [Derek Jeter] walked by him and said, 'Hey, Pav. You ever going to play? Ever?' Wow. That was a damaging comment coming from Jeter. He didn't say a whole lot, but when he did, it was pretty piercing."
Jeter is the Yankees captain. Torre, who now manages the Dodgers, managed the Yankees from 1996 through 2007.
Former Yankee pitcher Mike Mussina believed Pavano, who grew up a Yankee fan, couldn't pitch in New York. He said in the book that he realized it after a conversation with Pavano during his first season with the Yankees.
"He just didn't like being under the microscope," said Mussina. "He couldn't play being under the microscope every day."
Torre said Pavano's lack of responsibility to his team bothered him most of all. In 2006, the Yankees were about to activate Pavano from a rehabilitation assignment, when he broke some ribs in a car accident.
Recalling the incident in the book, Torre told Pavano, "It's nice to go out. I know you like to go out, but you've got a commitment here. You've got a bunch of players that need for you to be a pitcher."
Pavano, who underwent shoulder and elbow surgery with the Yankees, made only 26 starts in four years.
Torre's final evaluation of Pavano went like this, "Andy Pettitte had elbow issues in 1996, and you just have to realize, 'I'm either going to pitch or I can't play this game anymore.' Pav, unfortunately, never came to that reality. In saying that, am I saying he wasn't hurt? No. Not at all. But would it have made a difference if he had pitched, based on how he wound up, anyway? You're still capable of getting people out.
"He's a guy with all these issues in his life and he's not sure what's important and what isn't. Was he afraid of failing in New York? It must be that way, because I talked to Larry Bowa, and he saw the bulldog on the mound when he pitched against the Phillies, and I saw it in the World Series (2003 when Pavano pitched for the Marlins against the Yankees). We just didn't see it with the Yankees."
The Indians signed Pavano to a one-year, $1.5 million contract in January. He's guaranteed a spot in the rotation providing he gets through spring training healthy.
Chuck Crow/The Plain DealerThe Indians are cautiously optimistic that starting pitcher Anthony Reyes can contribute after elbow soreness last season.
Quick hits: The Indians, according to GM Mark Shapiro.
• Travis Hafner: Won't play first base this year.
• Jhonny Peralta: In time, he can be as good at third as he is at shortstop.
• Anthony Reyes: He threw at 70 percent in the Arizona Instructional League after missing September with a sore right elbow. The Indians don't expect him to break down, but they don't know for sure.
• Reyes, Part II: He's out of options.
• AL Central: All five teams have reasons why they can win the division and why they can lose it.
• Who will set-up Kerry Wood? Rafael Perez has been very consistent over the last two seasons.
• Farm system: It's one of the deepest since Shapiro joined the Tribe in 1992.
• Josh Barfield: He needs to show he can play other positions besides second base -- outfield, third base, shortstop -- in spring training to make the 25-man roster.
• Rafael Betancourt: Workload in 2007 hurt him in 2008.
• Tony Sipp: Should be 100 percent by the time Cactus League game start in late February as he recovers from Tommy John surgery on his left elbow.
• Rob Bryson: Recovering from right shoulder surgery. Bryson, one of the four players acquired from Milwaukee for CC Sabathia last year, won't be ready to pitch until May or June.
• Carlos Santana: Won't figure into the big-league catching decision between Kelly Shoppach and Victor Martinez.
• Economy: Indians feel secure about this year, but if economy doesn't improve things could be difficult next year.
• Kerry Wood: The Indians realized there was a chance they could have saved some money on a closer if they had waited and not signed Wood to a two-year, $20.5 million deal in December. If they had waited, however, the situation could have been dictated to them.
• Hafner and Martinez: If a healthy Hafner and Martinez can return to form offensively, based on what the Indians hitters did without them last year, they could become one of the top offenses in the American League.
Still No.1: Bob Feller, according to Bob DiBiasio, Indians vice president of public relations, faced 20 batters over a two-day period last week at the team's fantasy camp in Goodyear, Ariz., and held them hitless.
Feller, who turned 90 in November, was supported by an infield of former Indians -- Brook Jacoby/Max Alvis at third, Pat Tabler at short, Carlos Baerga at second and Mike Hargrove at first.
For those driving from Cleveland to Goodyear this spring, DiBiasio suggests stopping at the Big Texan off Route 66 in Amarillo, Texas. If you can eat a 72-ounce steak in an hour, it's free.
Hammer time: Hall of Famer Hank Aaron will be the guest speaker at the annual Yoder Brothers scholarship celebrity dinner and auction on March 6 at Signature of Solon.
Tom Hamilton, Tribe play-by-play man, will be master of ceremonies. Former Indians Andre Thornton and Len Barker and former Browns Jim Houston, Sam Rutigliano, Kevin Mack, Reggie Rucker and Greg Pruitt are expected to attend.
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~*Michele*~ |
