WasWatching.com

what was Cashman doing on the day of December 4th, 2004 - performing the full-court press on Carl Pavano with dinner and a Broadway show?
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"Our total intention was to help answer any questions he would have," Cashman said. "The whole purpose of his tour is to find out as much information of any market he might be interested in. It's not a recruiting thing we're doing, as much as it is educating each other to help us both make the right decision. He seems like a quality individual."

My God, will it never end? Pavano was coming off two back-to-back 200-plus-innings seasons. He was excellent in the '03 World Series and he had a great '04 regular season. He was just 29 years old.

Young pitcher, performed well on the big stage, able to throw a lot of innings.

Everyone who needed a pitcher -- from the Red Sox to the Tigers to the Angels -- wanted a piece of Pavano. The Red Sox rolled out his childhood idol Curt Schilling.

He had injuries in the past, but he was the best free-agent pitcher available. The Yankees pursued him and signed him to a reasonable-in-the-market deal. End of story. No big drama. No big signs of lunacy or stupidity.

It has thus far turned out to be a bad signing, but I fail to see it as the earth-shaking monstrosity others have painted it as.

Pavano is the not devil -- he is just a pitcher who got injured. His lack of health hasn't held his team back, and his contract hasn't crippled them financially. It's just one of a thousand contracts that won't work out.

Writers should throw Pavano a party every year -- since they take such glee using him as their punching bag.

He had injuries in the past, but he was the best free-agent pitcher available. The Yankees pursued him and signed him to a reasonable-in-the-market deal. End of story. No big drama. No big signs of lunacy or stupidity.
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http://tinyurl.com/yflsc7

"All in all, an absurd contract for a player with his track record (which we'll get to in a moment). Checking in with the Official BRB Dream Team Starters, as I write this Gammons has reported that, Matt Clement, who is just 17 months Pavano's senior, has signed with the rival Red Sox (burn) for 3 years, $25.5 million (that's a million less annually with one less guaranteed year and no option). Meanwhile, Brad Radke, just over 3 years Pavano's senior, re-signed with the Twins for $18 million over two years (less than half the length of Pavano's contract at a lower annual salary for a pitcher with four times the track record and a superior 2004 season to boot)."

I have to second bailywalk's, "My God, will it never end?".

It's so easy to have 20/20 vision after the fact. I agree that a lot of Yankee fans weren't happy with the Pavano or Wright signing from the start, BUT a lot of teams were interested and the Yankees felt they needed to upgrade their pitching - especially the middle of their rotation. What were the other options?

Let me guess, Jon Leiber. Pah-f'ing-lease already with the guy. I saw enough of his games (in 2004) and I thought he was more lucky than good. Some of his balls were smoked, but a lot of times right at position players. For me, he was no different than Kevin Brown that year - just w/o the bad luck.

Let's look back at the times, the Yankees just came out of a playoff series where they suffered the biggest humiliation. They were desperate and the chain of command was f'ed up.

I think it's so easy for so many to question the moves when they can't do two things:
1. Provide perspective, tell me what other options were available and where Cashman missed the boat.
2. What was the situation of that very DYNAMIC Yankee FO at the time.

Raf, that link doesn't work for me, so I don't know who wrote it, but Radke gave the Twins a huge hometown discount, and Clement never had an 18-win season with a 3 ERA. Clement was known as someone who melted down. Pavano was a year removed from a good performance in the World Series. Clement was the plan "B" for most teams -- and that's what he ended up as: the guy the Red Sox picked up because they couldn't get Pavano.

Comparing those three contracts makes little sense.

After the deals that were getting handed out that year -- to has-beens like Russ Ortiz -- Pavano's contract was considered reasonable.

It was written by Cliff Corcoran
http://cliffordsbrb.blogspot.com/2004_12_12_cliffordsbrb_archive.html

Pavano may have been a year removed from a good world series, but his career up to that point was nothing to write home about. Clement's career was/is a close enough comp to Pavano. They were both inconsistent. They both had good arms, they both had their issues; Pavano's was staying healthy, Clement's was finding the strikezone.

Yanks signed a guy who had a fluke year, like they just traded a guy who had a fluke year.

I hope Pavano will be able to come back this year, healthy and effective.

My point was really just that though Pavano will probably end up being a bad signing, I don't think it was totally insane at the time and I think writers make too big of a deal about it. Instead of just saying it was a bad signing, they make it seem like it killed the team and hurt the franchise. Pavano is a non-issue with this team. This wasn't like a team taking a quarterback with the first overall pick and him turning out to be a bust. It wasn't a franchise-cripple contract. It was just a bad signing -- nothing more, nothing less.

I don't think Pavano had a fluke season at all. Pavano was a big-time prospect with the Red Sox and ended up getting traded for Pedro Martinez. He was never healthy with the Expos. What you saw in '03 was a guy who was finally healthy. He carried it into the World Series and then had a good '04. Nowadays, having back-to-back 200-plus-innings-pitched seasons damn near makes you a stud.

If you go back and look at Pavano's AA (where he threw an astounding 185 innings) and AAA numbers, you'll see he always had the talent. He finally put it all together in 2004.

If you think the health part of '04 was the fluke -- who knows -- maybe you're right. But I personally don't think the talent part was a fluke at all. Pavano is a simple pitcher: mainly fastballs, pounds the strikezone, doesn't strike many out, and depends on the teammates behind him. I don't think he should ever have been seen as a 1 starter, or even a 2, but when he's healthy he's a solid 3, and outside of Jason Schmidt, I would have taken him over every free-agent pitcher this off-season.

But I personally don't think the talent part was a fluke at all.
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I don't doubt the talent, but his talent hasn't translated to success at the ML level. Combine that with his durability issues, and it's easy to build a case not to sign him.

Was it an insane signing? No, not even close.

FWIW, I don't put too much stock in what the local dailies write.