CLEVELAND - The rest of the Twins' original starting rotation plans have fallen apart, and now Carl Pavano is hanging by a thread, too.
Pavano, who's been plagued with right shoulder issues all season, stopped just short of saying he needs to go on the disabled list Friday night, after getting pounded for six earned runs in a 7-1 loss to Cleveland at Progressive Field.
"I'm hurting this team right now; there's no doubt about it," Pavano said after falling to 2-5 with a 6.00 ERA. "We came in with some momentum and I killed it right away. By the [fourth] inning, we're down seven. That's no way to start a series."
Pavano, 36, turned in a quality start as recently as May 19, when he held Milwaukee to two runs over six innings, but in his past two games, he's allowed 12 earned runs on 19 hits over eight innings.
"I think it's coming time where decisions need to be made," Pavano said. "I need to give myself a chance. This has gone on long enough. My stuff is not what we're used to seeing from me. I wish I could say it was a rough patch, but I'm really treading water right now."
Twins manager Ron Gardenhire planned to meet with pitching coach Rick Anderson and Pavano to discuss a new strategy. The team is in a real box right now because Pavano is in the final year of his two-year, $16.5 million contract.
There was hope that Pavano might be able to generate some trade value if he could get past the shoulder issue, but it just won't go away.
"He's one of our starters," Gardenhire said. "If he's not healthy we won't [keep using him], but no one's told me he's not healthy. We know he's been fighting through the arm thing, but he's able to pitch with it. We'll talk about this [Saturday] and see where we go."
