Well, I wouldn't do it. I think that it could be the start of a good run for Yankee haters.

I don't hate the yankees, I just really like everyone else.

BTW, the equivalent has got to be one of the all time great dump lines...

$44M on Pavano, btw.

And now, Jaret Wright passed his physical and is a Yankee. (According to ESPN)

Those projections SUCK.

The "projection" and the "projector" doesn't suck, but Pavano looks like he'll blow chunks next season.

So how is Pavano worth 10 million more than Ortiz?

(Sorry, could'nt resist)

I don't think highly of Pavano, but I bet he's worth 10 million more than Russ Ortiz.

I will probably pose this question again at some point but... With the contracts going around this offseason, does the White Sox trade for Freddy Garcia and subsequent signing of a 3 year 27M deal now look a lot better?

With the contracts going around this offseason, does the White Sox trade for Freddy Garcia and subsequent signing of a 3 year 27M deal now look a lot better?

The signing looks fine. The trade...it depends on how Reed turns out.

Well I mention the trade because it enabled the signing. Without the trade Garcia may have hit the market and been whisked away by a contract trumping Pavano's.

GJ, don't forgot Olivo. His 2004 sucked, but he still has a chance to emerge as one of the better catchers in the AL.

Well I mention the trade because it enabled the signing.

Yeah, but I feel that when evaluating a trade, you have to evaluate just what got exchanged. I take the signing as a separate event.

Of course, you also don't really get the benefit of hindsight, since you need to analyze the trade for the time it happened. I admit that I can't really do that, as I don't know the players well enough.

Pavano actually had a good DIPSy year in '03 as well, which is a) a good thing in terms of his potential future performance and b) indicative of the fluctuation possible with low K guys in actual on field results, which isn't a good thing.

Geez, the Yankee fans are really worrying about Pavano.

Wait until Mel gets ahold of him. Look at all the amazing things he did with Jeff Weaver and Javier Vasquez! I'm sure he'll get Pavano to his potential in no time.

Well, Pavano has gold glove SS Capn Crunch behind him, so I fully expect him to become a groundball machine and post wicked low ERA (2.25 is my guess).

Boy, I am shocked, SHOCKED, to see levski show up and attack Jeter's defense when its not even mildly relevant.

J#1F, I am not sure it's "not even mildly relevant". Pavano's K/9 rates have dropped and his GB/FB ratio has increased. He moves from the NL to the AL and will be facing a DH instead of a pitcher. If his K/9 rate continues to drop, he will be relying on his infied defense even more.

Womack's UZR at 2B last year was +9 (but still a drop from Cairo's +20); A-rod's UZR at 3B was +17. Jeter's was 0, and that was the first time in a really long time that it wasn't negative. Pavano's success, or lack of, will greatly depend on Jeter having another decent year with the glove. Unless Mel converts him into a strikeout machine.

But I wouldn't expect you to think rationally when Jeter's honor is on the line. It's much easier to stick your head in the sand and pretend that all's groovy.

this is a terrible deal i think. i just looked at the numbers over the last 3 seasons for the Marlins alone, instead of comparing Pavano with all the other free agents that are so much better than him.

He has not even been the best pitcher on his own team. Yea, I know the Marlins have strong pitching but look at this:

2002-04 numbers
Player (K/9,WHIP), approx salary next season($mil)
Beckett (9.27, 1.27), $1.5
Burnett (8.35, 1.37), $2.5
Willis (7.15, 1.33), $0.353

Pavano (5.86, 1.30), $10

I know thats the be-all end-all comparison right there but doesnt it look just a little peculiar. This guy is not worth it.

And no Im not a big Marlins follower or anything, I only keep track of what they're doing while they destroy my Mets a few times a year but this is just silly. He has one pretty good year and now he's a big-time Yankee star making crazy money.

the Yankee front-office used to be the strength of the organization, maybe even more so than their unlimited resources, but now they're just throwing cash all over the place (Wright, Womack, Pavano, possibly Milton). What are they thinking?

The Yankees think they are the Diamondbacks. Heh.

"Pavano's K/9 rates have dropped and his GB/FB ratio has increased."

For his career, his k/9 rate is 5.92, last year it was 5.63. His career GB/FB ratio is 1.40, last year it was 1.43. Yeah, you're right, you just neglected to mention that the decline is so insignificant that it doesn't really matter.

"Pavano's success, or lack of, will greatly depend on Jeter having another decent year with the glove."

Even if Jeter is -20 with the glove next year, that won't affect Pavano more then 4 or 5 runs over the course of the year. It may hurt the team, but the effects on each individual pitcher will probably be negligible.

"But I wouldn't expect you to think rationally when Jeter's honor is on the line. It's much easier to stick your head in the sand and pretend that all's groovy. "

You're right, calling him capn crunch or whatever and talking about Pavano posting a 2.25 era wasn't an obnoxious slam at all. You were being objective and I am way out of line and I'm being a fan boy. Sure, keep telling yourself that.

So much for Pavano being a lifelong Red Sox fan.

Sure, J#1F, I'm fully expecting Pavano to win the AL Cy Young next year and Jeter to win another GG. All is good.