Pavano: I need surgery
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on May 07, 2007 
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Carl Pavano spoke after the game and is confused why the Yankees are insisting he visit Dr. Lewis Yocum in California on Wednesday.
According to Pavano, he has been told he has a ligament tear and needs Tommy John surgery.
Brian Cashman says only that the Yankees are getting additional opinions. But Joe Torre mentioned a throwing program the other day, so perhaps the Yankees are intent on trying to get something out of the Rajah of Rehab before he returns to the disabled list.
Cut your losses at this point. They chucked $39.95 million on this guy. Collect the insurance, let him have surgery and be done with him. It’s hard to blame Cashman. Plenty of teams wanted Pavano when he was a free agent. Who knew?
Pete -
About how much insurance money would the Yankees collect? Would it be in the millions or far less? Thanks.
you’re right Pete! cut the losses and be done with the guy.
I remember when Wang had the rotator cut back in ’05. The Yanks recommeded he has the surgery, Wang refused to do that. He took a couple of weeks rest and came back strong and finished his rookie year with 8W5L. And now we got Pavano practicely begging for a surgery so he can avoid the competetion.
I hope Cashman read your blog Pete! so I can tell him that I don’t blame you for signning Pavano in the first place, but I’ll blame you for sticking out for him again.
If he only were a horse…
It is amazing that he seems so “excited” to have surgery. He was saying that he needed surgery 2 weeks before he even visited the doctor or had an MRI. Maybe Useless is addicted to the pain killers that he gets after all of his many operations?! He is an absolute joke. The Yanks are just wasting there time with him, whether he has the surgery or not he will never be on the mound for them again. Watch after his Yanks contract ends he will sign with another team and win 18 games again. It is obvious he is scared of pitching for the Yanks or something.
My new theory: Pavano has Munchausen syndrome. For those who aren’t familiar with it, here’s the definition:
It’s a psychiatric disorder in which those affected feign disease, illness, or psychological trauma in order to draw attention or sympathy …
Why else would he keep insisting that there’s a tear needing TJ surgery when the doctors he’s consulted say it’s unnecessary?
Carla claims he doesn’t want the surgery and that Dr. David Altchek told him there’s a tear. Really, Carla? Where’s the proof, then? Because I haven’t read anything about it.
The guy’s full of s***, and he is an absolute embarrassment. Karstens was willing to go on a broken peg, for crying out loud, and this guy is searching for yet another excuse not to pitch for this team. I wonder if the Yanks could file a grievance if none of the doctors finds conclusive evidence of major elbow damage. Short of that, Pete’s right: Collect the insurance, let Carla have the surgery he wants, and get rid of the thief.
Hypochondria would be my guess….he’s really gotta be kidding at this point with all this nonsense. I think Torre is perfectly in line with saying he should be put on a throwing program and unless a trainer or doctor has concerns over his health, let’s throw him out there and make him perform. Obviously not being in a position like cashman or any yankee authority it’s easy for me to say, but the investment is what it is and the contract was signed for him to pitch, so he will pitch…even if it is just bullpen sessions between stubbed toes and tummy aches
Why does Tommy John need surgery? I thought he retired.
You guys are unbelievable. You can’t fake a torn ligament. Fear doesn’t cause the need for Tommy John surgery. The guy is just injury prone — stop looking for conspiracies.
“Carla claims he doesn’t want the surgery and that Dr. David Altchek told him there’s a tear. Really, Carla? Where’s the proof, then? Because I haven’t read anything about it.”
Well, if you haven’t read about it, it has to be a lie! I mean, the doctor and the guy who saw him and whose elbow we’re actually talking about couldn’t POSSIBLY know more about the situation than YOU.
Carla needs surgery??
this is terrible, Carla Campbell was just coming into her own.
Send Carla to the “Matt Clement School for Wayward Boys”
Kevin Brown is giving a class this semester titled, “When all else fails, just injure yourself”
So Pavano is now telling you you need surgery? Who does he think he is, Peter?
So Pavano wants a 2nd opinion?
O.K., you stink too, Carl!
If they had bothered to look at Pavano’s career, they would have seen an oft-injured pitcher that didn’t pitch all that well when healthy.
Cashman got swept up in “Look what happened last year! He must have turned the corner!” That also netted us Wright and Farnsworth. And I do blame him for that.
Why does Carl Pavano hate Amercia ??
Make him pitch
What a waste. Send this guy packing already. Then he can use some of that money he DIDNT earn on all the surgeries he wants.
Stef haha I thought of the same thing last night too. I said THATS HIS PROBLEM! Why does someone WANT to have surgery. I seriosuly hope when his contract is over that he NEVER pitches in baseball again! I am so sick of this guy. He is a fraud!
Stef haha I thought of the same thing last night too. I said THATS HIS PROBLEM! Why does someone WANT to have surgery. I seriosuly hope when his contract is over that he NEVER pitches in baseball again! I am so sick of this guy. He is a fraud!
Sometimes you have to cut your losses. And do we really need him in the dugout infecting others?
Switching the subject slightly, does anyone know if Pavano was wearing a seat belt last year when he had his hydroplaning contract? If not, sue him for breach of contract. He has no friends in the clubhouse which tells me some of his injuries are fake.
I would guess 20 million dollars worth of insurance may require a second opinion.
ROFL @ PAVANO
C’mon, folks, if you’re looking for a psychological answer, it’s obvious: Pavano desperately wants the surgery because he thinks it will help justify his several years on the DL. Then he will say, “See, I really *was* injured! I wasn’t loafing!” He wants medical cover so he can feel vindicated.
hold on thar hombres, it is not pavs fault. i know this already. he didn’t try to blow out the elbow. the truth is simple, doctors don’t like baseball. if they did, by now there would be artifical elbows bettern the originals. elbows installed in fifteen minutes or less guaranteed. projected recovery and rehab of oh, about 4 hours. see the whole pav thing is moot.
i’m sure carl has had many mri’s over the past few years, so mnay that he probably knows how to use the machine. and isn’t it funny how they didn’t see the damage last year when they removed the bone chips.
Jim from Pittsfield, are you involved with Waconah Park?
I think it goes like this — if Cashman gets opinions from four world-renowned physicians, and they all sya he doesn’t need surgery, and then Pavano still refuses to pitch, then Cashman voids the contract.
I can’t imagine the Yankees are really trying to salvage any kind of pitching contribution from Pavano at this point. They certainly no longer need him THIS year. I suspect they’re making a show of wanting to explore a possible “throwing program” for Carl instead of surgery so as not to prejudice their claim for insurance money. Think about it: they just sign Clemens and practically the next day announce Pavano needs surgery and is gone for the season, and now they want the insurance company to pay out. The terms of the policy probably require the team to TRY to get the player on the field, so that’s what they want to be seen as doing.
At this point, it doesn’t matter if Carl is a liar, a whiner, is avoiding pitching, or whatever. I agree with others that this sounds like a very legitimate injury. However, I think you just cut your losses, just like Pete said. When there was a chance we might have him pitching this year, it made sense to try and get something out of our investment in Pavano. Or at the very least, get him healthy so he was tradeable. Maybe he’s a little bit of a head case to an extent, but I do think he is snakebit as well.
Collect the insurance, sincerely wish Carl well, and move on. I was against his signing from the very start because of his spotty track record and the fact that he only had one really good season. As Pete mentioned though, there were a lot of teams that wanted him at the tiem.
Pavano is done with the Yankees.
let’s stop talking about him.
i’ve had it with this saga.
can we get some of our money back , I know there has to be a deduction for service provided , lieing about an accident report or something close to that Pavano should pay us back.
can we get some of our money back , I know there has to be a deduction for service provided , lieing about an accident report or something close to that Pavano should pay us back.
Pavano was a warrior for us.
He will be missed.
***Bangs his head against the wall***
40 million for 19 starts. That’s double what we’re paying Clemens this year that everyone on espn and in Boston is crying about…
over 2 million dollars for 19 sub-par and sometimes terrible starts. So, if you think about it, we gave him about $30 million to lose us 14 games, and $10 million to win 5. Ten million is a lot to pay for 5 wins.
Can we trade him in for an ’82 Buick Skylark?
*over 2 million EACH for 19 starts* I meant to say…
Theres no doubt in my mind hes really hurt. But the drama has turned into a comedy. Its best for him to get out of there, have his surgery, and find a nice apt in Tampa.
what a worthless piece of s*** , sorry Pete it’s how I feel w/ this guy.
And honestly. Who cares about how much he has been paid?
The 10 mill a yr hes received for his zero contribution really hasnt effected the club. This isnt the Pirates where one bad signing can cripple a team.
Now if Pavano couldnt elad to Clemens or Abreu or Damon or anyone else, then we can all bitch.
Rufus, you’re right, who cares.. (except for maybe Cashman and Steinbrenner…). I’m not upset about the money, but when you put it into perspective and realize he’ll have made 19 starts in 4 years, that’s more the part that irritates me. At least when Javy Vasquez didn’t work out here, we got to ship him out after a year. We’ve been stuck with this disappointment for 3 and counting and have been let down with every attempt at getting something useful.
Shame on us for giving him and his brittle body the benefit of the doubt, I guess.
Here’s the plan:
We secretly trade him to Japan, where he goes 18-3 in one of their leagues while wearing extreme makeup.
Boston pays 100 million posting fee next year to get him.
He starts for Boston in Yankee Stadium, where, while shaking like a leaf he gives up 8 consecutive HR.
Unnerved by this he begins to cry on the mound, smearing his makeup and revealing who he is.
At the post game press conference he blames it all on the Yankees not letting him have surgery.
Have a real nice life, Carl. Just not anywhere near NY, PLEASE.
Bob
guaranteed contracts are worthless . a happy medium between baseebal contracts and football contracts would be great for both sides . i hope mlb remembers carl pavano next bargaining agreement . pavan has let his team down , his coaches down and most importantly the fans of the yankees down . i say after clemens is done we stick to our youth and go from there .
I’ve got a question. If this is indeed a legitimate injury – and I’m not really sure sure what to believe or think at this point. But isn’t ligament damage that is severe enough to require surgury something that would have been picked up when he had the bone chips removed from his elbow?
I don’t really see what the issue is here. He either has a torn ligament or he doesn’t.
I can’t imagine 4 doctors can disagree as to whether or not his elbow ligament is torn.
If its torn, then he has the right to have surgery and the Yankees are wrong in denying him that right.
He will file a grievance with the Union, win it, and the Yankees will have to pay for the surgery.
If his elbow ligament is not torn, the Yankees have the right to tell him to participate in their rehab program to see if he can pitch again this season. He may not believe it but, he still is an employee of the Yankees.
If he refuses, they will suspend him without pay, he will file a grievance, and we see what happens.
Who knows, that may be the Yankees “grand plan” with him as they try to avoid paying him any more money. Won’t work but, I guess its worth a try.
Either way, the important thing is, he isn’t pitching this year. Surgery or no surgery.
The last thing this team needs is this distraction. Hopefully, there is a resolution by mid-week.
I’ve read that the damage in his elbow is “normal” wear and tear. But he still wants to have the surgery. The Yankees should talk to their lawyers and figure out a way to get rid of this clown.
And if the Yankees make him rehab it, he is always going to come up with a reason why he can’t pitch. I think he’ll be running and stopping just to snap his hamstring. The guy is a mental case. I’d be willing to bet that before anyone signs contracts now they will send them to a head doctor.
Peter, are you sure they can collect the insurance? I heard some rumblings that because he already pitched this year, they would be unable to collect.
“Plenty of teams wanted Pavano when he was a free agent. Who knew?”
The problem I have with this is that, regardless of his injury history, Carl Pavano was a bad signing from day 1. Take a look at his 2003 and 2004 seasons. His peripheral stats (K/9, BB/9, HR/9, etc.) hardly improved. The decrease in ERA can almost entirely be explained by a great defense, big park, and low (aka lucky) BABIP. The guy was never a good pitcher, and anyone with a basic understanding of statistics should have been able to recognize it. I was against this one from the start.