[新聞] Pavano undecided on elbow surgery

[richardcyl (more)]

05/07/2007 10:45 AM ET
Pavano undecided on elbow surgery
 - Right-hander considering season-ending procedure
By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com

NEW YORK -- This spring, Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte invited Carl Pavano
along for a round of golf, the oft-injured right-hander receiving a personal
pep talk from the 44-year-old workhorse on what it means to be a Yankee.

Now that Clemens is reporting for duty in the Bronx, most likely joining the
Yankees' rotation in early June, it appears he may not have further
opportunity to school Pavano.

The 31-year-old Pavano, whose previous two seasons have been marred by
injury, is considered a possibility to require Tommy John elbow surgery.

Pavano has declined to discuss the matter with reporters, and Yankees general
manager Brian Cashman has refused comment until he can discuss the situation
extensively with Dr. James Andrews, the Birmingham, Ala.-based orthopedic
specialist who examined Pavano on Friday.

In a press conference addressing Clemens' acquisition on Sunday, Torre
revealed that the Yankees are considering putting Pavano on a throwing
program that could perhaps help salvage some of his season.

"We talked about it," Torre said. "It was a conversation he sort of
instigated, that he's not sure at this point in time of shutting it down. I'm
going to extend the conversation."

Now in the third season of a four-year, $39.95 million contract, the Yankees
have received little on their investment in Pavano. Just five of Pavano's 62
career victories have come in a Yankees uniform, with the hurler turning in a
grand total of 19 starts for the club.

"The only thing I feel, and I know it's been questioned, I feel he is hurt,"
Torre said before Sunday's game. "Are you supposed to feel 100 percent every
time you go out there? That's not possible. But I guess it's the nature of
the injury that really dictates what you can do.

"I think sitting on the sidelines is much tougher for him than going out and
competing. He has to do more explaining by not pitching than he does by
pitching."

After losing the previous 1 1/2 seasons to a litany of injuries, Pavano was
envisioned as a key member of the Yankees' rotation for the 2007 season and
had started to earn points in the eyes of a clubhouse that had derisively
mocked him during his extended absences.

"There was no question there was rumbling in the clubhouse," Torre said. "But
when he went out there this spring and every time it was his turn, that stuff
was sort of on hold."

Reporting for Spring Training after a workout program in Phoenix that was
intended to strengthen his core and prepare him for a full workload, Pavano
coasted through the Grapefruit League schedule with no major blips.

He was held out of one workout due to "heavy legs" and left another start
shortly before first pitch to attend to a personal matter involving a former
girlfriend, but other than those small incidents, the Yankees had little
reason to believe that Pavano could not be productive.

"I just thought he'd get in line with everybody else, with the spring he was
having," Torre said. "I didn't think there were any restrictions on him. The
spring was fine -- there were no 'uh-oh's' involved."

In fact, because of injuries to right-hander Chien-Ming Wang and the
left-handed Pettitte, Pavano actually wound up serving as the Yankees'
Opening Day starter on April 2 against the Devil Rays.

He made one more start -- an April 9 victory over the Twins in Minnesota in
which he pitched seven innings -- before informing the team of tightness in
his right forearm.

The Yankees placed Pavano on the disabled list after he was unable to
complete a bullpen session later on that road trip in Oakland, and though
Pavano has made several attempts to continue tossing and resuming his mound
work, the sensation of tightness has not dissipated.

Originally believed to be a forearm issue, Pavano has said that the
discomfort has spread to his pitching elbow. If Pavano were to require Tommy
John surgery, the typical recovery process for pitchers is a span of 12 to 18
months.

That would likely spell the end of Pavano's career as a Yankee, spoiling any
hopes the hurler had of weaving his Bronx tale into a comeback story.

"It's been a tough road for both parties, I think," Torre said.

--
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