OAKLAND, CALIF. - Twins righthander Carl Pavano got a new diagnosis for his right shoulder Tuesday and a whole new frustration along with it.
New York specialist Dr. David Altchek said Pavano has a bruise on the humerus bone, an injury that likely would have recovered in a few weeks had he rested it. Instead, Pavano worked three months on rehabilitating what was believed to be a strained shoulder capsule.
Now it's too late for rest, so Pavano's season is over. Since he's a free agent after the season, his career with the Twins could be over, too.
"It is what it is," Pavano said during a telephone interview. "You have an injury. You do the work to come back and it didn't happen. You've got to move on and get ready for another day. That's where I'm at."
The diagnosis came after Pavano had another MRI exam in New York. Pavano had similar exams with the Twins this season, but the bruise went undetected in those.
Despite being asked a few times if he was upset with the way his injury was handled by the club, Pavano would not point fingers. He said that something similar happened in 2005 when he was with the Yankees. He battled tendinitis in his shoulder that year, and a bruise on the same bone popped up late in the season.
"We put in the work to get it right," he said of the Twins training staff. "Me and the staff, and this was the outcome. Because it didn't go your way doesn't mean you can change everything."
Pavano pitched until June 1, going 2-5 with a 6.00 ERA and watching his fastball average 86.8 miles an hour, according to www.fangraphs.com. He didn't travel with the team between a couple of starts in May so he could undergo deep tissue massages and other therapy. He was willing to pitch through the discomfort if he also improved, but that improvement was minimal and he landed on the disabled list on June 4 with a diagnosis of right rotator cuff weakness.
