Carl Pavano’s Return – Good for the Yankees? Or Good for Carl Pavano?

This Saturday marks the highly comical return of Carl Pavano to the decimated Yankee rotation.  With the Yanks sitting six games out of the Wild Card spot and just over a month to play, will he provide enough of a boost for the Bronx Bombers to reach the playoffs for the thirteenth consecutive year?  Or will he only provide enough to boost his own personal checking account this off-season?

The timing for Pavano’s latest comeback attempt is convenient enough to weasel yet another lucrative contract offer out of another team looking for starting pitching depth – something that all 30 teams are interested in.  If he comes on strong in the final five weeks of the season and shows flashes of returning to his 2004 form, will another team pay a hefty salary in hopes that he can anchor the number two or three spot in their rotation?

Pavano, thus far, has had a very mediocre career.  He has a career record of 62-64 and a 4.27 ERA, but the last time he was in a contract year saw him spit out a overwhelming 2004 season in which he went 18-8 with a 3.00 ERA for the Florida Marlins.  This was also one season after helping the young Marlins win the World Series with his sterling 2-0 record and 1.40 ERA in 8 postseason games.

Can Pavano do it again?  Can he dupe another team into padding his savings account?  Can he pull the Yanks back into contention, help lead them to the World Series and command yet another contract similar to the four year, $40M deal the Yanks gave him following his strong 2004?

Buyer beware.  After signing with the Yankees, Pavano has been a comic figure in New York, tabbed as “American Idle” by the tabloids.  He’s started just 19 games and posted a 5-6 record with the Yanks, averaging more than $2M per start to date.  He’s been injured so often that Beth Israel Hospital in Manhattan has considered unveiling the brand-new state-of-the-art Carl Pavano Memorial MRI Scanning Tube.  Simply put, he’s been an actual ‘waste of money’ to a team who normally has no issues with … wasting money.

(Image source: DailyLife.com)