Twins' Pavano seeks redemption against old team

Righthander Carl Pavano has given the Twins what they dearly needed when they traded for him Aug. 7 -- a reliable starter who helped them reach the postseason and who also has set a good example for younger players.

"We are a Minnesota nice group and we like the heck out of the guy,'' Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. 

Mention Pavano in New York -- and it's like he has an evil twin.

For four years, Pavano earned $39.95 million. In return, he gave them 145 innings, nine wins and hundreds of days on the disabled list because of shoulder and elbow injuries -- and a broken rib in a traffic accident that still rankles Yankee fans because he was speeding at the time, and then tried to hide the injury.

"It's definitely a black period in my career,'' he admitted.

While the Twins were booed as expected during pregame introductions Wednesday before Game 1 of the ALDS, fans at Yankee Stadium pounded Pavano with jeers as soon as his name was announced. Pavano laughed it off, and Gardenhire gave him a hug in support.

"I just told him he needed some love,'' Gardenhire joked.

Pavano will take the ball tonight as the Twins try to avoid being swept by the Yankees in the ALDS. He defeated the Yankees earlier this season while pitching with Cleveland but still wants another shot at his former club. Pavano would love to duplicate what he did to the Yankees in Game 4 of the 2003 World Series, when he held them to one run over eight innings while with the Florida Marlins.

Somewhere tonight, Pavano will be booed. Because Yankees fans don't forget -- and they rarely forgive, as Pavano knows all too well.

"I am getting a start in the playoffs,'' Pavano said. "I can't ask for much more than that. When I look back on it, obviously things could have been a little different, but it didn't work out that way. But I feel like I am getting back to where I was before all those problems.''

Pavano went 18-8 while pitching a career-high 222 1/3 innings for Florida in 2004. That landed him the fat deal with the Yankees. At 29, he was in the same rotation with Randy Johnson, Mike Mussina and Kevin Brown. But he was limited to 17 starts in 2005 because of rotator cuff tendinitis.

Pavano never pitched in a major league game the next season. He endured back and shoulder problems before having a bone chip removed from his elbow.

He went on rehab and was on the verge of being activated when he left a minor league game on Aug. 25 with discomfort that wound up being a broken rib suffered in a traffic accident more than a week earlier.

Finally healthy in 2007, Pavano was the Opening Day starter and got a no-decision in a 9-5 win over Tampa Bay.

He made one more start, beating the Twins on April 9, for his first win since 2005 -- before landing on the DL and opting to have Tommy John surgery. He didn't return until August 2008.

During that time, there were questions about his pain threshold, his withholding of information about the accident and even whether he really needed Tommy John surgery.

"I think the frustration on the Yankees' side is they knew he was a good pitcher and they wanted him on the mound,'' Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.

"That was the bottom line.''

Pavano was pilloried by the media, with the New York Post referring to him as "American Idle."

Former manager Joe Torre zinged Pavano in his controversial book released before this season, writing that Pavano was disliked in the Yankees clubhouse.

"Nobody feels worse about what happened here than I do,'' Pavano said at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday.

Looking to resurrect his career, he signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract with Cleveland before this season. He was 9-8 with a 5.37 ERA there before the Twins sent pitching prospect Johan Pino to the Indians. The Twins rotation at the time was falling apart with injuries to Kevin Slowey, Francisco Liriano and Glen Perkins.

Pavano went 5-4 with a 4.64 ERA the rest of the regular season and finished with 199 1/3 innings between Cleveland and Minnesota -- his most since his big 2004 season.

"All the stuff that's gone on in the past with Carl, I just know one thing.'' Gardenhire said. "What he has meant to us and what he has helped us achieve has been fantastic. He has come on and has been a steady force for our baseball team, when he is pitching and when he is not pitching.

"And that's all we really give a flip about.''

Pavano cares about re-establishing his career -- and putting as much distance between now and his four years with the Yankees as possible.

"There were a lot of good times there, but there were a lot of frustrating times that always stand out a lot more,'' he said. "I am thankful I got another opportunity after that to get back where I was before all the frustrating times.''