Carl Pavano: Thanks for the memories

Carl Pavano will make his final start of the season tonight, presumably signaling the end of his tumultuous time in New York. Pavano, pitching for a contract (he has a $13 million option (Ed. note: HAHA!)), is 4-1 with a 4.99 ERA in six starts. I doubt the Yankees will bring him back.

Pavano signed a four-year, $39.95 million deal in December 2004. I'll spare you the gory details because we all know what happened after. I do think that it's amazing that Pavano will not make one postseason appearance with the Yankees, however.

The deal cannot be looked at as a mistake. Hindsight is 20/20 (maybe 20/15 if you have superior vision), and there's no way of knowing that this situation would happen. Many teams were interested in Pavano's services that off-season, after all.

If anything, this situation is unfortunate and symbolic of the Yankees organization since 2000. You obviously have to fault him for the concealed rib injury stemming from a car accident, but things could have been different if he had his elbow surgery sooner, as stated in an ESPN the Magazine article a few weeks back.

(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)