Those with Insider can read it.

 

He basically really wants to pitch for the Sox or the Yankees.

 

"I never want to pitch another home game in September in front of 500 fans. I'm looking for a place with more baseball energy."

 

"I can choose a team with a winning atmosphere, year in and year out, and the financial means to compete every year."

 

-- Pavano

 

"If I had the chance, I'd love to follow him wherever he goes."

 

--AJ Burnett

Those with Insider can read it.

 

He basically really wants to pitch for the Sox or the Yankees.

 

"I never want to pitch another home game in September in front of 500 fans. I'm looking for a place with more baseball energy."

 

"I can choose a team with a winning atmosphere, year in and year out, and the financial means to compete every year."

 

-- Pavano

 

"If I had the chance, I'd love to follow him wherever he goes."

 

--AJ Burnett

621965[/snapback]

:fyou Burnett, trade that queer for sumthing better since his a clubhouse cancer and doesnt wanna be here.

ungreatful son of a bitches.

 

how quick they are to forget where they started and who gave them the chance to win the world series in 03.

 

im sure there would be tons of teams willing to trade an entire farm for AJ.

Oh yes, let's crucify him for not wanting to play in front of crowds of 4,000 people.

 

The man wants to go to a big market, make big money, play in front of big crowds, and get big fame, I can't blame him....

First off AJ has shown nothing to deserve big fame yet. Pavano can do whatever he wants. It's all about the money. Not the fans. That is just a bs 'Ricky Williams-like excuse'.

Well whenever AJ finally comes to his contract year, not sure how far off that is, I would not object to the Marlins trading him if he is already not showing any loyalty to the franchise. Hopefully he can stick around for a while though through arbitration.

 

I'm not sure if he realizes even though there may not be very many people at the games, these people have some of the most energy of any fans I have seen. Go to a sold out Orioles game. 15,000 Marlin fans easily are louder. But whatever. His decision to go for the money. As for AJ, he's gonna get hell for that comment.

As mention during the season, a friend of the team mention to me that the Expos game against the Marlins(the doubleheader) down at the Pro. really pissed off alot of the players by the turn out during the WC run. The first game was started by Pavano(which less than 1000 people showed up). Carl was visibly upset before, during, and after the game. IMO this was the last straw for Carl staying a fish and it could be for a few players once they become free agents. Believe me when Penny was traded Carl was 70/30 to come back. The organization kind knew Pav's feelings "at the time", but again something change.

First off AJ has shown nothing to deserve big fame yet. Pavano can do whatever he wants. It's all about the money. Not the fans. That is just a bs 'Ricky Williams-like excuse'.

Well whenever AJ finally comes to his contract year, not sure how far off that is, I would not object to the Marlins trading him if he is already not showing any loyalty to the franchise. Hopefully he can stick around for a while though through arbitration.

 

I'm not sure if he realizes even though there may not be very many people at the games, these people have some of the most energy of any fans I have seen. Go to a sold out Orioles game. 15,000 Marlin fans easily are louder. But whatever. His decision to go for the money. As for AJ, he's gonna get hell for that comment.

621971[/snapback]

 

 

IMO you could be surprise what Carl end up getting in years and money.That's why your hearing 3years form the Phillies.

dang AJ!!!! that hurts!! :crying

Oh my frikin God Carl you've been here when crowds in September WERE frikin good!! 2000-2002 now THOSE sucked! I'm at almost every game and I don't care what anyone says, our crowds as of late were not THAT bad. 2003 ALL of the end crowds were atleast decent and same with this year. Not as many people during the week, yes, I know and that sucks but like the Cubs series had a lot of people! Rude cubs fans but hey, they're there for the game. That's just a frikin obnoxious exaggeration. Get a life buddy, they were clapping for YOU.

This isn't the first time I've heard A.J. complain about the small crowds, even though our average attendance has increased over the last two years.

Good Riddance jackazz...

 

This organization has given him a chance to reach the level you're at and has given him a WS ring...and if all his focus is on a poor turnout this season then he is truly as Alyssa Milano would say a small man

The attendance for some of those afternoon games after the hurricanes were awful (though the numbers in the paper looked good), but who could expect big crowds in this city at like 3 and 1 on weekday afternoons?

 

Excluding those kind of games, you really can't blame Pavano for wanting to pitch in a huge baseball town.

Those with Insider can read it.

 

He basically really wants to pitch for the Sox or the Yankees.

 

"I never want to pitch another home game in September in front of 500 fans. I'm looking for a place with more baseball energy."

 

"I can choose a team with a winning atmosphere, year in and year out, and the financial means to compete every year."

 

-- Pavano

 

"If I had the chance, I'd love to follow him wherever he goes."

 

--AJ Burnett

621965[/snapback]

 

:crying WOW! :crying

 

 

I wish our attendance was better at the games! But with the ticket prices going up, it is going to be hard to do this year.

 

Everytime I watch a game where there are only about 10,000 fans I feel horrible for the players! If feel like the players think that nobody supports them!

 

GO FISH

"I never want to pitch another home game in September in front of 500 fans. I'm looking for a place with more baseball energy."

 

"I can choose a team with a winning atmosphere, year in and year out, and the financial means to compete every year."

 

-- Pavano

621965[/snapback]

Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out, Carl.

hey how bout you people fill the stadium and then stuff like this won't happen

Truly sad.Nothing else to really say.

"I never want to pitch another home game in September in front of 500 fans. I'm looking for a place with more baseball energy."

 

a**hole

I guess he expects people picking up from a hurricane and their damaged houses to just pick up and go see a baseball game!!! If he is referring to that Expos game of course.

 

Teal, It just has to be the money. I will eat my words if he accepts less than what Freddy Garcia got from the Sox, but I think he will get a 3 year 33 million deal or around there. Its not that he hates the fans, its all about the money. This organization treated him so well. Anwyas even if he doesn't see many people in the crowd. They were always behind. I doubt he was ever booed as a whole. If he goes to Philly and has two bad games they will be all over his his ass. They will be booing him. To me there is such thing as quality not quanity and I think he will find that out next year.

hey how bout you people fill the stadium and then stuff like this won't happen

622004[/snapback]

 

Finally somebody brings logic to this thread.

 

Good work Iowa. :thumbup

 

But be ready to get smoked for telling the truth....

hey how bout you people fill the stadium and then stuff like this won't happen

622004[/snapback]

 

 

I do my job... I go to as many games as I can!

 

The stadium is about 1 hour away and my dad works in Ft. Lauderdale. So he drives from Ft. Lauderdale to Palm Beach and then to Palm Beach to Miami.... long day of driving!

 

:thumbup

hey how bout you people fill the stadium and then stuff like this won't happen

622004[/snapback]

Well you're right, but your preaching to the choir here man. I can probably say most everyone here from the South Florida area goes to the games. It's all the other people that are the problem. Hell a lot of the out of towners go to the games too. It sucks, we must deal.

Here is the whole Article:

The Big Pitch

By Jeff Bradley

 

 

Here's a message for all GMs and owners interested in signing Carl Pavano this winter: the guy's a great teammate.

 

In fact, he's capable of carrying a team, of picking up even the light-hitting utilityman types. That was evident a few weeks ago in South Florida, at a golf tournament hosted by Flexjet, a company that sells private planes to high rollers.

 

No more than five minutes after greeting one of his foursome, Pavano shared the following: "Dude, I've got some horrendous gas today." And moments later, after his playing partner felt what he was saying, really felt it, he was gracious enough to apologize. "Hang in there with me," he said.

 

Bottom line, Pavano's a stand-up guy. Open and honest, maybe to a fault.

 

Sure, he might snap on occasion. There's a $500 Callaway driver in two pieces in his garage as proof. "Wrapped it around a tree yesterday," he explains. But still, you can learn a lot playing a round with Pavano, a 28-year-old righthander who's likely to sign a three-year deal for at least $27 million with the Red Sox or Yankees. And not just that he's a hilarious, ball-busting guy's guy who loves his golf, his beer, his motorcycles and the incredible hand he's been dealt. There's much more to Pavano than that, and it's not necessarily what you'd expect.

 

For one thing, he's not just looking for the most zeroes or the best place to hang next summer. He's looking for good relationships. Specifically, he wants to learn more about pitching from a veteran like Curt Schilling or Mike Mussina. "I'm very inquisitive," he says. "I like listening to guys talk about pitching. I think pitching is more of an art form than a science. I want to learn more about setting up hitters, about attacking weaknesses, about making adjustments. I've never really had a guy to turn to, because I've always been on young teams. I can only imagine what a guy who's got 10 or 15 years of experience can do for me."

 

For another thing, Pavano would welcome the pressure of pitching in a big market, in front of ravenous fans. At the end of last season, there was some buzz that he'd be happy to stay with the Marlins. Truth is, much as he's got a soft spot for the players with whom he won a World Series, he's happy to say goodbye to his pregame ritual at Pro Player Stadium: psyching himself up to pitch in front of 60,000 empty seats in 100 heat and 99% humidity. That process was sometimes more exhausting than the game itself. "I never want to pitch another home game in September in front of 500 fans," says Pavano, who spent nearly five seasons with the Expos before he was traded to the Marlins in July 2002. "I've done enough of that in Montreal and Florida. I'm looking for a place with more baseball energy."

 

The 6'5", 240-pound Pavano has no intention of ducking the spotlight, even though he didn't much like his regular appearances in the gossip columns during the past year. Thanks to the tabloids, many who've never even seen him pitch know that he briefly dated TV starlet Alyssa Milano. He was hailed by one Miami columnist as South Florida's sexiest single athlete, and twice was offered -- and declined -- the lead reality role on The Bachelor. Pavano at one time groused about how the tabloids were invading his personal space. Now, he says, "they may take pictures of me in New York if I sign with the Yankees. But more than likely, they'll be pictures of me leaving a restaurant, the gym or a yoga class. I promise you they won't catch me doing anything I'm ashamed of. That's just not going to happen."

 

As it turns out, Pavano's not nearly the "player" the tabloids made him out to be. He wants the world to know he's very much in love with Lindsay Rosen, a restaurant marketing executive in Montreal, whom he met four years ago while pitching for the Expos. Sitting in his living room in West Palm Beach, Pavano flips open his iBook to show off pictures of her. Alongside Lindsay are shots of his parents, his two sisters, Joann and Michelle, his brothers-in-law and a handful of nieces and nephews.

 

These photos, Pavano says, testify to who he really is, a guy from a tight-knit Italian family, a kid who grew up hunting, skiing and snowmobiling in central Connecticut. His dad, Carmen, owns a dry cleaners in Bristol, Conn., where he takes care of some of ESPN's most famous suits. "He'd leave the house at 5 in the morning and come home after 6 at night," Carl says. "A real hard-working provider." His mom, Ann Marie, is a homemaker and part-time hairdresser who, as Carl puts it, "turns out five-star meals in 10 minutes." He calls his brothers-in-law, Tony and Sal, his two best friends in the world. He says once his new deal is signed, he'll buy a big piece of wooded property near his hometown so his entire family will have a place to gather and play.

 

The Bachelor? Right now, that's the last thing Pavano wants to be. "I guess it was flattering to be considered," he says. "But fact of the matter is, I'm not a bachelor, much less The Bachelor. I've got a girlfriend, and she's great." Pavano is acutely aware that his playboy image stems from those dates with Milano. "The worst decision I've ever made in my life," he says. "A mistake any young, single guy could make, but at the same time, I hurt someone deeply."

 

In short, he and Lindsay were going through a rough patch, a let's-see-other-people phase, when he was introduced to Milano at a party after the Marlins won the 2003 World Series in New York. Practically by the time the sun rose, a New York tab's gossip page was saying that Pavano and Milano looked like more than just friends. Their subsequent dates taught Pavano a lesson: partying like a TV star isn't all it's cracked up to be. As cameras clicked and entertainment reporters chattered, Pavano knew in his heart there was someone back in Montreal who loved him long before he outdueled Roger Clemens.

 

It was Lindsay who helped him focus and start to reach his potential back when he was pitching in front of vendors and the grounds crew at Olympic Stadium. And he wanted to be with her. He ended his relationship with Milano, and he's been trying to make things right with Lindsay ever since. Were this really The Bachelor, Pavano knows who'd get the final rose.

 

He clicks on another picture. Lindsay is thin and blonde, naturally pretty. No makeup. No posing. In the shot, she's cooking dinner for two in the apartment Carl rents in Montreal. "That's where I live in the winter," he says. "I also have a house north of the city. I love it there. I love the people, their substance. I feel very much at home there."

 

As he speaks, the Florida portion of his off-season is basically over. Just like the Marlins, his golf foursome staggered to the finish line, seven under par but 10 strokes off the pace. He hopes to have a hunting weekend in Texas with Josh Beckett and Brad Penny, but after that and a few stops on the free agent tour his new agent, Scott Shapiro, has dubbed Carlapalooza, Pavano is headed north of the border.

 

When you think of all the major leaguers who take up winter residence in Florida, it seems strange that Pavano escapes to Canada to train with the Canadiens' strength and conditioning coach, Scott Livingston. But, he says, "I need the snow in the winter. It's in my blood." His workouts include hiking in the woods, often on big old snow shoes that look like tennis rackets. "Being out there," he says, "gives me peace of mind."

 

Pavano has a lot to think about right now. The six-year ride from rookie to free agent is usually the roughest of a player's career, especially when the road is pocked with inevitable setbacks like injuries and slumps. Pavano had his share of both. Until the Marlins' championship season, he'd battled arm problems and inconsistency and had only one full year in the bigs. When the club traded for him in 2002, Pavano was best known for two things. He was one of two pitchers the Red Sox packaged in 1997 to get Pedro Martinez (Tony Armas Jr. was the other). And, in 1998, he was the man who served up home run No. 70 to Mark McGwire (a feat Pavano honors with a Big Mac-autographed framed picture in his study). "Dealing with adversity early on helped me," Pavano says.

 

Often, a walk year can be agonizing for a player because he knows his numbers are so important to his future. Pavano positioned himself perfectly. He followed up his stellar 2003 postseason (2-0, 1.40 in eight games) by going 18-8 with a 3.00 ERA for the third-place Marlins. "Carl's a strike-one pitcher, always ahead in the count," says A.J. Burnett, one of his best friends. "And he's got a great memory for what's working against individual hitters. He's a very intellectual pitcher, very prepared. If I had the chance, I'd follow him wherever he goes. I'd love to finish my career as a teammate of the Iron Horse."

 

Pavano has worked 200-plus innings in each of the past two seasons. He's never walked as many as 44 batters, nor has he struck out more than 139. "With on-base percentage all the rage," says Shapiro, "Carl's like the perfect counter to that strategy. He doesn't strike out a lot of guys. But the on-base percentage against him is among the lowest in the game." Scouts call this "forcing contact," and it not only keeps the defense on its toes, it also means he can keep his pitch count down and go deep into the game. And it makes Pavano a perfect No. 2 or 3 starter, with the potential to be a No. 1 before too long.

 

Still, there's stress. "A year ago, I never thought I'd be in this position," he says. "I dreamed about it, but didn't think it would be a reality. I'm trying to enjoy this time, because I may not ever get another chance to control my destiny, to go someplace where I can negate all the variables I've had to deal with in the past. I can choose a team that has a winning atmosphere, year in and year out, and the financial means to compete every season. One thing I know is, I can't rush this decision. In the perfect world, this will be where I end up building a home, starting a family and finishing my career."

 

Carlapalooza will swing through such far-flung outposts as Seattle, Detroit and Baltimore. Pavano has already broken bread with Joe Torre and enjoyed lunch at Schilling's house. That was actually a reunion of sorts; the two pitchers first met when Carl was a star-struck 12-year-old Little Leaguer and Curt was the ace of the Double-A New Britain Red Sox.

 

Though Pavano grew up a Yankees fan, his hometown, Southington, Conn., sits right on the border of Red Sox Nation. As a kid playing ball with his buddies, "I pretended to be Don Mattingly when I was hitting and Roger Clemens, in his Red Sox days, when I was pitching." Pavano was originally drafted and signed by the Sox in 1994. Now, when he thinks of rejoining the organization, he hopes it's as the No. 3 behind Schilling and Pedro. "That," Carl says, "would be a pretty nice rotation."

 

And when he thinks of pitching for the Yankees, he thinks of the 2003 Series, the fans at the Stadium living and dying on every pitch. "All the history, the tradition," he says. "It's not all about money. To be a part of something great. That's what I want." His mom and sisters recently went shopping in Manhattan and came home with some gold Yankees necklaces, just in case.

 

While it's possible he could be overwhelmed by an offer from the Orioles or Tigers, Pavano keeps thinking it'd be nice to be close to home. In the end, it's all about family, the family he grew up with and the one he hopes to build. Which brings us back to Lindsay. "I know," he says, "what it's really going to take to make me happy."

Now's his chance.

:fyou

Here is the whole Article:

The Big Pitch

By Jeff Bradley

 

 

Here's a message for all GMs and owners interested in signing Carl Pavano this winter: the guy's a great teammate.

 

In fact, he's capable of carrying a team, of picking up even the light-hitting utilityman types. That was evident a few weeks ago in South Florida, at a golf tournament hosted by Flexjet, a company that sells private planes to high rollers.

 

No more than five minutes after greeting one of his foursome, Pavano shared the following: "Dude, I've got some horrendous gas today." And moments later, after his playing partner felt what he was saying, really felt it, he was gracious enough to apologize. "Hang in there with me," he said.

?

Bottom line, Pavano's a stand-up guy. Open and honest, maybe to a fault.

 

Sure, he might snap on occasion. There's a $500 Callaway driver in two pieces in his garage as proof. "Wrapped it around a tree yesterday," he explains. But still, you can learn a lot playing a round with Pavano, a 28-year-old righthander who's likely to sign a three-year deal for at least $27 million with the Red Sox or Yankees. And not just that he's a hilarious, ball-busting guy's guy who loves his golf, his beer, his motorcycles and the incredible hand he's been dealt. There's much more to Pavano than that, and it's not necessarily what you'd expect.

 

For one thing, he's not just looking for the most zeroes or the best place to hang next summer. He's looking for good relationships. Specifically, he wants to learn more about pitching from a veteran like Curt Schilling or Mike Mussina. "I'm very inquisitive," he says. "I like listening to guys talk about pitching. I think pitching is more of an art form than a science. I want to learn more about setting up hitters, about attacking weaknesses, about making adjustments. I've never really had a guy to turn to, because I've always been on young teams. I can only imagine what a guy who's got 10 or 15 years of experience can do for me."

 

For another thing, Pavano would welcome the pressure of pitching in a big market, in front of ravenous fans. At the end of last season, there was some buzz that he'd be happy to stay with the Marlins. Truth is, much as he's got a soft spot for the players with whom he won a World Series, he's happy to say goodbye to his pregame ritual at Pro Player Stadium: psyching himself up to pitch in front of 60,000 empty seats in 100? heat and 99% humidity. That process was sometimes more exhausting than the game itself. "I never want to pitch another home game in September in front of 500 fans," says Pavano, who spent nearly five seasons with the Expos before he was traded to the Marlins in July 2002. "I've done enough of that in Montreal and Florida. I'm looking for a place with more baseball energy."

 

The 6'5", 240-pound Pavano has no intention of ducking the spotlight, even though he didn't much like his regular appearances in the gossip columns during the past year. Thanks to the tabloids, many who've never even seen him pitch know that he briefly dated TV starlet Alyssa Milano. He was hailed by one Miami columnist as South Florida's sexiest single athlete, and twice was offered -- and declined -- the lead reality role on The Bachelor. Pavano at one time groused about how the tabloids were invading his personal space. Now, he says, "they may take pictures of me in New York if I sign with the Yankees. But more than likely, they'll be pictures of me leaving a restaurant, the gym or a yoga class. I promise you they won't catch me doing anything I'm ashamed of. That's just not going to happen."

 

As it turns out, Pavano's not nearly the "player" the tabloids made him out to be. He wants the world to know he's very much in love with Lindsay Rosen, a restaurant marketing executive in Montreal, whom he met four years ago while pitching for the Expos. Sitting in his living room in West Palm Beach, Pavano flips open his iBook to show off pictures of her. Alongside Lindsay are shots of his parents, his two sisters, Joann and Michelle, his brothers-in-law and a handful of nieces and nephews.

 

These photos, Pavano says, testify to who he really is, a guy from a tight-knit Italian family, a kid who grew up hunting, skiing and snowmobiling in central Connecticut. His dad, Carmen, owns a dry cleaners in Bristol, Conn., where he takes care of some of ESPN's most famous suits. "He'd leave the house at 5 in the morning and come home after 6 at night," Carl says. "A real hard-working provider." His mom, Ann Marie, is a homemaker and part-time hairdresser who, as Carl puts it, "turns out five-star meals in 10 minutes." He calls his brothers-in-law, Tony and Sal, his two best friends in the world. He says once his new deal is signed, he'll buy a big piece of wooded property near his hometown so his entire family will have a place to gather and play.

 

The Bachelor? Right now, that's the last thing Pavano wants to be. "I guess it was flattering to be considered," he says. "But fact of the matter is, I'm not a bachelor, much less The Bachelor. I've got a girlfriend, and she's great." Pavano is acutely aware that his playboy image stems from those dates with Milano. "The worst decision I've ever made in my life," he says. "A mistake any young, single guy could make, but at the same time, I hurt someone deeply."

 

In short, he and Lindsay were going through a rough patch, a let's-see-other-people phase, when he was introduced to Milano at a party after the Marlins won the 2003 World Series in New York. Practically by the time the sun rose, a New York tab's gossip page was saying that Pavano and Milano looked like more than just friends. Their subsequent dates taught Pavano a lesson: partying like a TV star isn't all it's cracked up to be. As cameras clicked and entertainment reporters chattered, Pavano knew in his heart there was someone back in Montreal who loved him long before he outdueled Roger Clemens.

 

It was Lindsay who helped him focus and start to reach his potential back when he was pitching in front of vendors and the grounds crew at Olympic Stadium. And he wanted to be with her. He ended his relationship with Milano, and he's been trying to make things right with Lindsay ever since. Were this really The Bachelor, Pavano knows who'd get the final rose.

 

He clicks on another picture. Lindsay is thin and blonde, naturally pretty. No makeup. No posing. In the shot, she's cooking dinner for two in the apartment Carl rents in Montreal. "That's where I live in the winter," he says. "I also have a house north of the city. I love it there. I love the people, their substance. I feel very much at home there."

 

As he speaks, the Florida portion of his off-season is basically over. Just like the Marlins, his golf foursome staggered to the finish line, seven under par but 10 strokes off the pace. He hopes to have a hunting weekend in Texas with Josh Beckett and Brad Penny, but after that and a few stops on the free agent tour his new agent, Scott Shapiro, has dubbed Carlapalooza, Pavano is headed north of the border.

 

When you think of all the major leaguers who take up winter residence in Florida, it seems strange that Pavano escapes to Canada to train with the Canadiens' strength and conditioning coach, Scott Livingston. But, he says, "I need the snow in the winter. It's in my blood." His workouts include hiking in the woods, often on big old snow shoes that look like tennis rackets. "Being out there," he says, "gives me peace of mind."

 

Pavano has a lot to think about right now. The six-year ride from rookie to free agent is usually the roughest of a player's career, especially when the road is pocked with inevitable setbacks like injuries and slumps. Pavano had his share of both. Until the Marlins' championship season, he'd battled arm problems and inconsistency and had only one full year in the bigs. When the club traded for him in 2002, Pavano was best known for two things. He was one of two pitchers the Red Sox packaged in 1997 to get Pedro Martinez (Tony Armas Jr. was the other). And, in 1998, he was the man who served up home run No. 70 to Mark McGwire (a feat Pavano honors with a Big Mac-autographed framed picture in his study). "Dealing with adversity early on helped me," Pavano says.

 

Often, a walk year can be agonizing for a player because he knows his numbers are so important to his future. Pavano positioned himself perfectly. He followed up his stellar 2003 postseason (2-0, 1.40 in eight games) by going 18-8 with a 3.00 ERA for the third-place Marlins. "Carl's a strike-one pitcher, always ahead in the count," says A.J. Burnett, one of his best friends. "And he's got a great memory for what's working against individual hitters. He's a very intellectual pitcher, very prepared. If I had the chance, I'd follow him wherever he goes. I'd love to finish my career as a teammate of the Iron Horse."

?

Pavano has worked 200-plus innings in each of the past two seasons. He's never walked as many as 44 batters, nor has he struck out more than 139. "With on-base percentage all the rage," says Shapiro, "Carl's like the perfect counter to that strategy. He doesn't strike out a lot of guys. But the on-base percentage against him is among the lowest in the game." Scouts call this "forcing contact," and it not only keeps the defense on its toes, it also means he can keep his pitch count down and go deep into the game. And it makes Pavano a perfect No. 2 or 3 starter, with the potential to be a No. 1 before too long.

 

Still, there's stress. "A year ago, I never thought I'd be in this position," he says. "I dreamed about it, but didn't think it would be a reality. I'm trying to enjoy this time, because I may not ever get another chance to control my destiny, to go someplace where I can negate all the variables I've had to deal with in the past. I can choose a team that has a winning atmosphere, year in and year out, and the financial means to compete every season. One thing I know is, I can't rush this decision. In the perfect world, this will be where I end up building a home, starting a family and finishing my career."

 

Carlapalooza will swing through such far-flung outposts as Seattle, Detroit and Baltimore. Pavano has already broken bread with Joe Torre and enjoyed lunch at Schilling's house. That was actually a reunion of sorts; the two pitchers first met when Carl was a star-struck 12-year-old Little Leaguer and Curt was the ace of the Double-A New Britain Red Sox.

 

Though Pavano grew up a Yankees fan, his hometown, Southington, Conn., sits right on the border of Red Sox Nation. As a kid playing ball with his buddies, "I pretended to be Don Mattingly when I was hitting and Roger Clemens, in his Red Sox days, when I was pitching." Pavano was originally drafted and signed by the Sox in 1994. Now, when he thinks of rejoining the organization, he hopes it's as the No. 3 behind Schilling and Pedro. "That," Carl says, "would be a pretty nice rotation."

 

And when he thinks of pitching for the Yankees, he thinks of the 2003 Series, the fans at the Stadium living and dying on every pitch. "All the history, the tradition," he says. "It's not all about money. To be a part of something great. That's what I want." His mom and sisters recently went shopping in Manhattan and came home with some gold Yankees necklaces, just in case.

 

While it's possible he could be overwhelmed by an offer from the Orioles or Tigers, Pavano keeps thinking it'd be nice to be close to home. In the end, it's all about family, the family he grew up with and the one he hopes to build. Which brings us back to Lindsay. "I know," he says, "what it's really going to take to make me happy."

Now's his chance.

:fyou

622017[/snapback]

 

I guess he really wants to leave the Marlins :crying

These greedy as motherf***ers are complaining because they play in front of 500 people yet they make millions of dollars. Give me a f***ing break, maybe if the team didn't play as miserably as they did last year more people would have showed up. Sure the won 83 games but most of the year this team played like complete s*** I ABSOLUTELY LOVE how they f***ers don't give credit to the fans who DO go to the games. AJ should stop whining about the f***ing fans and actually finish a f***ing year without a f***ing injury. Hey AJ here's a tip win 15 you bum and stop whining about the 15 fans in the stands. These f***ers have it made all they have to do is play baseball and cheat like crazy on their wives then make millions of dollars. While the fans have to bust our asses every month just to live comfortably. This is the f***ing reason why a fan should never fall in love with a certain player. Because the first chance they get they'll treat you like s***.

 

 

God damnit I'm pissed.

As mention during the season, a friend of the team mention to me that the Expos game against the Marlins(the doubleheader) down at the Pro. really pissed off alot of the players by the turn out during the WC run. The first game was started by Pavano(which less than 1000 people showed up). Carl was visibly upset before, during, and after the game. IMO this was the last straw for Carl staying a fish and it could be for a few players once they become free agents. Believe me when Penny was traded Carl was 70/30 to come back. The organization kind knew Pav's feelings "at the time", but again something change.

621973[/snapback]

 

You'd think a guy who sat in his closet with a flashlight clutched against his chest during Frances would be sympathetic to the priorities of hurricane survivors.

 

 

 

This reminds me of a story I read on another messageboard about A.J. He thought that he was a free agent this winter and was telling a friend about the big bucks he was going to make. I think I saved it as a note on Opera...

If anyone still cares about the AJ Burnett free agency issue from early last week, the skinny is this:

He fired his agent last year, after the agent took the team's side in a health related issue. Because of this, he may actually be in the dark about his contract status. This sounds inconceivable, but is most likely true. He may actually think he is a free agent, or have thought so during his last conversation with my friend. He most likely will be apprised of the true situation soon.

 

 

Sad, we could have locked up Brad Penny over these three punks.