Flash of Potential
New York YankeesShare This Post April 9th, 2007Nearly two years removed from his last Major League win, Carl Pavano turned in the seasons top performance from a Yankees starter to get his long awaited victory. Pavano pitched seven strong innings, limiting a potent Twins lineup to six hits and two earned runs on 79 pitches. The win also marked the first of the season from the New York starting staff. Pavano had alot of support behind him as he opposed his experimental replacement from last season, Sidney Ponson. The Yankees immediately took advantage of their inflated numbers against Ponson to put up five runs in the first two innings and three more before his departure in the sixth. For the third straight game, Alex Rodriguez homered to add to his Major League leading homerun total and pace early season critics.
But the real story was the flash of potential Carl Pavano displayed Monday night, something the Yankees haven’t seen since signing him to a high priced contract during the 2004 offseason. Taking the mound with a 3 run advantage to start the game not only eased Pavano mentally, it allowed him to be aggressive with his pitch selection and rely more on the Yankees defense than backing himself into deep counts and working from behind. The overall performance was reminiscent of his 18 win season with the Marlins, and the Yankees are hoping his performance tonight is a prelude of things to come.
(6 votes, average: 4.83 out of 5)
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April 9th, 2007 at 10:42 pm
It’s all about climate. The entire team seemed to be more at ease tonight with the comfortable 70 degree dome. It’s nice once and a while to see such a dominant offensive display accompanied by no errors in the field… although one was probably saved by the cat like play of God sent Doug Mientkiewicz.
I was also extremely eager to see how Pavano would adapt after his less than stellar last outing. I’d grade him a “B” just on sheer guts alone. Of course A-Rod gets all the pressure for his clutch performances, but theres no one on the Yanks rotation more under a microscope than Carl. If he goes every 5th day and gives performances like tonight, he’ll be just fine. Great job Carl.
April 10th, 2007 at 10:46 am
The Yankees team that stepped out onto the field tonight was one word - confident.
Carl was determined to show his team that they can still trust him, and, through 7 innings, his confidence showed as he battled each batter. What is most impressive about his outing was the fact that he gave up NO walks. Sure, there were some hard hit balls against him and some stellar plays from the defensive end, but he allowed no freebies, making each batter work for it. 60% of his pitches were for strikes. And confidence didn’t stop once the bullpen was open. Bruney is slowly evolving into a nice setup man, and Farnsworth, well, we’re just glad he still throws hard. As I watched the game, all 3 pitchers went straight at batters, attacking them until they were put away.
The other starting 8 also showed signs of confidence in the field, flashing some fancy glove work along with some nice throws. Props to Cano on his “Jeter-esque” play on a sharp groundball up the middle. And the bats? Well, it takes more than luck at the plate to put up 8 runs. A-Rod and Abreu’s swings for long balls was the sweetest thing I’ve seen all week - if that wasn’t confidence in each swing, then I don’t know what is.