Major League Baseball

Pavano should give Twins what they needed

Published Aug. 8, 2009 4:22 a.m. ET

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The Minnesota Twins needed someone like Carl Pavano. On Friday, they got him.


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But even now, they probably don't have enough pitching to win the American League Central.

The Twins are running third in the division, and the teams ahead of them — Detroit and Chicago — upgraded their rotations last week by trading for Jarrod Washburn and Jake Peavy, respectively. Minnesota had to counter, particularly after losing Kevin Slowey to season-ending wrist surgery.

So, the Twins acquired Pavano, 33, from the division rival Indians for a player to be named. At the moment, their rotation also includes Nick Blackburn, 27, Scott Baker, 27, and Anthony Swarzak, 23. The fifth starter will be Glen Perkins or Francisco Liriano — neither has been good lately — but that spot won't be needed again until next weekend.

"With Slowey going down, we were looking for some help," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "Everybody talked about a veteran presence. Well, there you have your veteran presence."

Pavano has had an odd mix of very good outings and very poor outings. The end result: a 9-8 record and 5.37 ERA with Cleveland. But he's already beaten the Tigers three times this year — one reason he'll be on the mound Saturday in Detroit.

Perhaps more importantly, Pavano has recorded at least one out in the seventh inning in four of his last six starts. That's a very good sign for the Twins. Their bullpen has thrown more innings than the relievers of the two teams they are chasing.




"That's probably the biggest thing for us — to get a guy that's been logging innings and getting deep into games," closer Joe Nathan said.

But here's the big concern with the Minnesota rotation: Blackburn is the only starter on pace for what one would consider a good season these days in the American League — 30 or more starts, 200 or more innings, 4.50 ERA or better.

The Tigers have three such pitchers: Edwin Jackson, Jarrod Washburn and Justin Verlander. The White Sox have two, Mark Buehrle and Gavin Floyd, with John Danks just behind the innings pace and Peavy in waiting.

It's going to be very hard for the Twins to compete with that.

Take Friday's game, for example. Swarzak, a rookie, has shown some promise this year, beating contenders like the Cubs and Angels. But he allowed six runs in Friday's first inning and didn't record an out in the second.

The Twins lost, 10-8, to begin a series that Baker predicted would be "a good test" of the team's ability to contend. Not a good sign.

Still, give some credit to general manager Bill Smith and the front office. Last week, in a Minneapolis Star Tribune story, stars Nathan, Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer acknowledged to feeling some frustration at the team's inability to swing big deadline deals in the past.

Well, the Twins added shortstop Orlando Cabrera at the deadline. Pavano followed on Friday.

The Twins are better now than they were last week. There's only one problem: They have lost six of seven to fall 5 1/2 games behind Detroit, with the steadying White Sox in between.

Pavano needs to have a quick impact, if he's going to have any impact at all.

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