Yankees' Infamous Legends

The New York Yankees have a heralded archive of lustrous legends. From Monument Park in the Bronx, to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, Yankees' history doesn't speak it shouts.

The road to pinstriped prominence is replete with potholes. For every Ruth, Mantle and Rivera there is a plethora of Whitsons, Smalleys or Igawas. Recently, two prominent Bronx busts, Carl Pavano and Randy Johnson, have garnered attention.

Carl "American Idle" Pavano was purchased in 2005. Four injury plagued, frustrating years followed. Here is an excerpt from Joe Torre's book the Yankee Years that references Mike Mussina: 'He just didn't like being under the microscope. He couldn't play being under the microscope everyday.' "So Pavano's choice was not to play at all?" 'That's what it turned out to be,' Mussina said. The book then adds the opinion of Tim Raines to the mix: "Pavano? He's never going to pitch for you. Forget it...The guy didn't want to pitch in Montreal. There was always something wrong with him. In Florida, same thing. He didn't want to pitch except for the year he was pitching for a contract." Yankee GM Brian Cashman signed Pavano to a four year guaranteed contract. Pavano moved from "Rehab Mountain" to the "Mistake by the Lake." Guaranteed money evaporated, replaced by work induced incentives. Eighteen starts and Carl hits a five million dollar jackpot. A gamer emerges. Money can buy most things, credibility isn't on the list.

Randy Johnson is also in the news. The legendary lefty is knocking on the door of 300 wins. Baseball America, profiles "The Big Unit": There, however is a level of excellence that a Hall of Fame-bound pitcher comes to expect from himself."--(Ringolsby/Baseball America/print edition.) Johnson never delivered on his credentials in the Bronx.

"What the 2005 Yankees needed most of all to establish stability and presence was an ace...The Yankees were so sure they had that guy in Randy Johnson that their entire front office voted unanimously to pursue Johnson, who was 41 years old rather than Beltran, a fleet athletic everyday player in his prime. They were dead wrong...He fit the profile of the stopper the Yankees so desperately needed--the statistical profile anyway. He was, in fact, a sensitive, hyperaware person who in the growing tradition of Weaver, Contreras, Vasquez and Pavano was uncomfortable with the constant criticism that came with playing in New York."--(The Yankee Years/Torre/ Verducci)

Yankee fan's frustration with Pavano and Johnson should enhance their appreciation of the players that survived the arduous journey in the Big Apple. Jeter, Posada, Rivera and Pettitte are in our midst. The clock is ticking. Savor the success. Forget the failure.

PHOTO/NY TIMES