By DOM AMORE, Courant Staff Writer February 14th, 2007
TAMPA, Fla. -- Andy Pettitte and Carl Pavano went to the outfield to play catch Wednesday. It seems like Pavano has spent most of his two years with the Yankees playing catch in the outfield, but this had the potential to be a most valuable session.
"You've got to trust me," Pettitte told Pavano at one point, "because you need somebody to talk to."
Maybe personality had nothing to do with the Yankees' decision to bring Pettitte back, but if it was a sensible baseball and business decision, it also figures to pay dividends on the human side. Pettitte, a mainstay in the Yankees rotation in 1995-2003, knows his way around the clubhouse, and his way with people could be what Pavano needs to repair his career.
"I know he's frustrated; just from talking to him I can see that," said Pettitte, who re-signed with the Yankees after three years in Houston. "When you're not healthy you're going to be frustrated, and sometimes you have trouble competing through situations like that. I wanted to let him know, `I'm here. I'm on your side. ... I'm your teammate. We're family here.'"
Pavano, who spent the offseason at a training complex in Arizona, has been throwing off the mound and today will join the starting pitchers in the first session in the bullpen at Legends Field. This is a far cry from where Pavano, 31, was last February, when a back injury forced the Yankees to shut down the former Southington High pitcher for nearly the entire spring.
When he was close to coming back in May, bone chips in his elbow cropped up and required surgery. When he was about to return in August, it was revealed that he had broken two ribs in an auto accident and more controversy ensued.
Pavano, who signed a four-year, $40 million contract after the 2004 season, missed most of his first Yankees season with a shoulder injury, so he has not pitched for them since June 27, 2005. The perception has grown that Pavano just does not want to pitch in New York, and teammates now have a we'll-believe-it-when-we-see-it approach.
Late last season, manager Joe Torre called for a greater commitment from Pavano. During the winter, pitcher Mike Mussina said Pavano would have to "earn the trust" of the other players, some of whom plastered headlines from the accident, including "Crash Test Dummy," in his Yankee Stadium locker while he was away.
"I have to make it work, it's not `if,'" Pavano said. "I have two years on my contract. This is the only place I want to be. I wanted to be a Yankee all along. It would be easy to say I made a mistake coming here, but this could have happened anywhere. I don't like the perception that my teammates don't like me, that we don't communicate. I just didn't think they needed to be involved in my problems. I've tried to handle them myself."
Pavano does not plan to make a speech at the first team meeting today, and Torre said he won't encourage him to do so, but the healing process could begin with Pettitte's help, given his clubhouse stature.
"I'm going to be looking for someone to work out with," Pettitte said. "Roger [Clemens] isn't here. I know [Pavano] can't run much because of his back, but I was talking to him about the offseason and he's been working hard. He's got great stuff and he's a big, strong guy. We've got to help each other."
Pettitte, 34, came up through the Yankees organization and won 149 games for them, plus 13 in the postseason. If Pavano, who was 24-12, plus two postseason wins, in his last 11/2 seasons with the Marlins, is another pitcher who goes bust after coming to the Yankees, Pettitte is an example of the few who thrive on the pressure of pitching in New York.
"I want to start building relationships with all the guys who weren't here before I left," Pettitte said. "You know, I'm the kind of guy that likes to build relationships. I made some good friends here, and some good friends with Houston. I want to let people know I'm ready to go out and battle. I wouldn't have done this if I didn't think I could pitch. I don't want to go through the agony of feeling like I let people down because I can't toe the rubber."
