Instead of being on a program to get him back on a mound sometime in September, righthander Carl Pavano has been shut down for the season with a bone bruise - three months after being told he had a strained shoulder capsule.

Since he's a free agent after the season, his career with the Twins could be over as well.

"It is what it is," a frustrated Pavano said during a telephone interview. "You have an injury. You do the work to come back and it didn't happen. You gotta move on and get ready for another day. That's where I'm at."

The diagnosos came after Pavano had another Magnetic Resonance Imaging 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 happned 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 it 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."

It should be pointed out here that Altchek saw the Twins' MRI exams back in May and concurred with what they concluded. He even told Pavano at the time that he could tell that the shoulder was getting stronger.

Twins assistant Genera Manager Rob Antony, who is traveling with the club on this road trip, admitted that he was surprised by the diagnosis.

"He was going to pitch today then go see the doctor but when we could get him in sooner, he went and Altchek saw him," Antony said. "That's the thing all along, our doctors and Altchek have conferred on everything. To me, I'm not sure how many more medical opinions you can get on this guy, or more tests done, than we did."

SPAN CAN'T GO THROUGH WITH MRI

Twins outfielder Denard Span was supposed to undergo a Magnetic Resonance Imaging exam on his clavicle today, but he couldn't go through with it.

Why? Well, anyone who has had an MRI knows that many of those machines have chambers that are very confined. Span revealed today that he's claustrophobic and just couldn't go through with the exam - and that was after taking a few milligrams of Valium and being strapped to a table.

"I didn't have enough Valium," he said.

I have covered players who are claustrophobic and wanted to keep that a secret. Span is the first one to admit it on the record. He knows he might take some flack for it.

"I'm not happy about it, either," he said.

Span said he does feel better and actually wants to take a few swings and see how he feels. If he has to got back in and try to get another MRI, he will. He's relieved that he was able to make it through a MRI of his neck yesterday.

The Twins might be running out of patience, however, if this goes on more than a couple more days. Stay tuned.

Twins (51-70)

1. Ben Revere, CF
2. Darin Mastroianni, RF
3. Joe Mauer, DH
4. Josh Willingham, LF
5. Justin Morneau, 1B
6. Ryan Doumit, C
7. Trevor Plouffe, 3B
8. Jamey Carroll, 2B
9. Pedro Florimon, SS

Pitching: Cole De Vries, RHP

Athletics (65-56)

1. Coco Crisp, CF
2. Stephen Drew, SS
3. Josh Reddick, RF
4. Yoenis Cespedes, LF
5. Chris Carter, 1B
6. Seth Smith, DH
7. Josh Donaldson, 3B
8. Derek Norris, C
9. Adam Rosales, 2B

Pitching: Brett Anderson, LHP