Carl Pavano is a walking punchline

Yankees SP Carl Pavano, who has missed the entire season with a variety of injuries, including two broken ribs that he sustained in a recent car crash, visited the Yankees’ clubhouse yesterday to…I dunno…just to say that he had been there, I guess.

But according to the New York Times, Pavano was not greeted warmly and his teammates mostly gave him the cold shoulder. Joe Torre and Brian Cashman mocked him. From the NYT:

Pavano, who has not pitched for the Yankees in 452 days, had a locker in the clubhouse, but did not dress for batting practice. He said he always met the team in St. Petersburg, but he did not seem to be one of the guys.

Pavano said he was unaware that teammates papered his locker in New York with the back pages of newspapers that mocked him after his car accident, which he hid from the team. On Friday, his teammates mostly ignored him.

“If guys have something to say to me, I have an open ear,” Pavano said.

“But I don’t expect me to be their focus. They’ve won all year without me.”

Pavano has missed time with injuries to his shoulder, back, buttocks, elbow and ribs. Before he shook his hand, Torre jokingly asked Pavano if that was O.K. “I don’t know what’s hurting,” Torre said.

Boy, it sounds like Pavano is the least liked guy in New York right about now. He makes Alex Rodriguez look like Mr. Popular. Is there any way Pavano can regain his teammates trust? Of course. He can show up next season and win 20 games (like fans, teammates can be fickle). But as far as this season is concerned, he’s probably be better off just getting out of the way, rehabbing his ribs, cuddling up with his beauty pageant girlfriend and cashing his unearned Yankees paycheck.