Classy. Screw that clown.

It's a shame and I really hope that he is okay.

IMHO, if the Red Sox weren't dead already, than with Papi unavailable for who knows how long, the tombstone can now be carved for their '06 season.

Posted this on the previous thread, but the forecast does not look good for baseball in da Bronx tonight.

Let's hope it lets up enough to get the game in. Though I imagine the Yanks would prefer another day of rest, having picked up a game while they slept last night.

I understand the difference is respect. Yanks fans respect, and somehow even admire Ortiz for beating up on the Yankees, but they have no such respect or admiration for Pavano despite his expressed intentions.

Meanwhile, so many Yankee fans would boo A-Rod tonight if he doesn't snap out of his funk, and live up to their expectations.

On Sunday, some people were wondering if anyone's ever given up switch-hitting late in their careers (obviously, suggesting it for Bernie). I've been able to find a few examples, though none of them quite fit Bernie.

The most notable is J. T. Snow, who stopped switch-hitting after the 1998 season. That year he'd had an injured shoulder and hit .164/.259/.247 against lefties. REtrosheet is inexplicably missing his 1999 righty-lefty splits, but his overall production went up. In any case, he remained a lefty batter from then on.

Wally Backman and Todd Hundley gave up switch-hitting near the end of their careers, but by that point I don't know if anyone noticed. Same goes for Jose Valentin, though he's still playing.

REggie Jefferson was a switch-hitter for a while, but I'm not sure when he gave it up. Orlando Merced came up as a switch-hitter, gave it up early, and went back to it later.

All of these players were natural lefties; they were turned into switch-hitters as pros because they couldn't hit lefties. When they still couldn't hit lefties, they gave it up. Mariano Duncan is the only exception I've found among those who gave it up, a natural righty who became a switch-hitter because he couldn't hit righties.

That's not Bernie. He's a "natural" switch-hitter, like Mantle or Murray or (I think) Reggie Smith, a guy who's been switch-hitting since he was a kid. I can't find a precendent for that, which doesn't mean it isn't there.

The difference is quite simple.

Ortiz has shown up for work every day for the Sox for the past 3+ years, been reasonably healthy, and produced at a very high level.

Pavano passed by a black cat while walking under a ladder and looking at a cracked mirror.

(But really, he never was worth 4/40M in ANY circumstance)

I don't know many Yankee fans that dislike Ortiz. Aside from being a tremendous baseball player, he's looks to be a great guy.

As for your assessment "He [Pavano] never was worth 4/40 in ANY circumstance."

Brian Cashman thought so. In fact, so did the Red Sox, Tigers, and Mariners among others. I recall Pavano actually took less than his other offers to play for the Yanks.

The fact also remains, it is more in the interests of Yankees fans for Pavano to get well soon, and return to the field, than it is for Ortiz to get back to crushing the ball.

Be that as it may, I wish them both good health.

And I think Pavano was a Steinbrenner decision, not a Cashman decision. Steinbrenner loves guys who are tough on the Yanks in the postseason (Jaret Wright, Big Unit, Kevin Brown, Mike Mussina, David Wells, Tommy John, Don Gullett....)

13 It is my understanding that Bernie did not learn to switch hit until he was already in the Yanks system. I think that was part of his development, Posada, too.

With Pedro, it probably wasn't only his injury history, but also his airplane hangar filled with Red Sox-Yankees "who's my daddy?" baggage that kept him out of pinstripes.

If Pavano suffered a serious health issue, I think we would all feel the same as we do toward Papi. That is "Gee, I hope he's gonna be ok". I think we'd feel that way about most ballplayers, Kevin Brown included. (Ok - maybe I'm pushing it there).

My thoughts and prayers go out to David Ortiz and his family today. I hope this "irregular heartbeat" is no big deal and he get a clean bill of health from his doctors. However, I would not mind one bit if he was home chillin out when the Red Sox come to the Bronx next month.

Heh heh heh ...

2. I didn't have great hopes that Pavano would help this team, but it would have been nice to give him a start or two down the stretch to rest one of the old guys.

3. I don't know how to do that link thing to other posts, but regarding #13 above, the thing about Mariano Duncan is that he came up in the Dodgers' system at a time when the Dodgers decided that any punchless right-handed hitter who could run should be made to switch-hit. It wasn't that Duncan couldn't hit righties.

As for Pavano, yeah, he was probably overpaid, but lets not kid anyone, the guy can (could) pitch. Its not like we gave that money to Kyle Snyder of Loiaza, or ever Jaret Wright; Pavano has real ability, showed real moxy, and seemed to really want to take the ball for us. That being said, he had a history of injuries causing him to miss serious. I would say we should have had some out in his contract a la Wright, but then we wouldn't have been able to sign him. Hindsight is a great thing, eh?

Get better Papi.

But that's just me.

His Yankee career thus far:
2 years - 4 wins - $20 Million

Has there ever been a bigger bust in major league history?

I was going on sketchy information - it's not the easiest subject to google - and, as it happens, Duncan also couldn't hit righties at all. Correlation, not causation; my mistake.

Do the link thing by putting the number in brackets, [like so].

I'm not Pavano defender or supporter, but I think we let this play out before passing judgement as far as "all time" whatevers. He has not produced for the Yankees. He would have to go 10-7 (or something like that) to even match Kevin Brown's "contribution".

But he is under contract for two more years. If he's still a bum after 2008, then we award him Worst. Signing. Ever. But until then - I say we give him a Giambi and see where this goes.

My fingers and toes are crossed, 'cause arms are in short supply everywhere and the Yankees sure could use a pitcher who can contribute to the team. Now and next year.

Aside from that, I don't have any reason to think he's a "bum." And I certainly don't see how being a bust is his fault.

Everyone knows that signing pitchers is a gamble, and with the number of free agent pitchers the Yankees have signed over the years, you have to expect that some won't work out. Decisions made by the Steibrenner-Tampa axis over the last few years probably carry an even greater risk, because their judgment isn't awfully good. But the Yankees took this gamble, and lost. That's not Pavano's fault.

As for the sympathy on this site, I think we all have some form of Stockholm Syndrome when it comes to Ortiz -- you know, if you're held hostage long enough, you begin to relate to your captors...

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/hotsheet/262342.html

Papi is indeed one scary dude, but I'm more afraid of Manny than Papi. Manny is a hitting savant - a rainman among right handed sluggers. Papi can be handled - although careful handling is required. He is making outs 3/4's of the time this year, just about. The key is making sure the 1/4th of the time doesn't cost you the game.

Manny, on the other hand, you just never know. After what he did to Proctor this year - the guy scares me.

Maybe Cashman, as his "disciplinary action", should take away Pav's Porsche and whatever other sports cars he has and give him a Minivan with anti-lock brakes, all season tires, side cushion air bags, cup holders, and fold down seats.

Just like mine. :-)

Heck - he can HAVE mine. I'll take his beat up Porsche in exchange. The kids can ride in - well - they can walk.

As for Pavano, I'd like to leave all talk about him behind - no pun intended - and instead discuss these numbers:

BP Postseason Odds
Generated Tue Aug 29 08:54:53 EDT 2006

Yanks
Chance of Winning Division: 98.32712
Chance of Winning WC: .16378
Chance of Making Playoffs: 98.49089

Red Sox
Chance of Winning Division: 1.33212
Chance of Winning WC: 1.54203
Chance of Making Playoffs: 2.87414

And with that, I think Bob B brings up a great point in 20. I'd much rather face the White Sox in the first round, because their pitching is probably the worst of all the playoff contenders.

I laughed at the notion of Pavano making a comeback this season right after it was mentioned in the euphoria of the sweep, partically due to my latent cynicism, but mainly because of my suspicion of someone who has suffered various muscle and bone injuries over a year and a half of time suddenly zooming through rehabs within two weeks and making a difference. There's more to it than Pavano knows or is willing to admit, and in light of how he chose to disclose this latest ailment; if it were my money and my concern, I'd send him through a regimen of physical tests to ensure that there is nothing more than muscle and bone damage from wear and tear that has occurred from the moment he signed to now.

These discussions at some point bring yet another issue I can relate to in one way or another. I'll share some insight with you that I kind of correlate to both Big Papi and Pavano...

When I was in high school, I began having grand mal seizures. I was pretty atheletic then; though not for school, I played plenty of basbeball and basketball, not to mention intramural football. The first seizure is always frightening and bewildering because you have no idea why it happens. But what was probably the most frightening experience of my previous life occurred after the on-court death of Hank Gathers; you see, it was during a battery of neurological, physical and other tests that the doct