Chance for Pavano to fire back at NY

Carl Pavano struggled for four years in New York, where he became Public Enemy No. 1 to the media, the front office, the fans, and even some teammates. Injuries and personal issues limited him to nine starts in the final three years of a four-year, $39.5 million contract, a time Pavano calls a “black period’’ in his career.

But that was then and this is now. Traded from the Indians to the Twins, Pavano feels much like he did before the Yankee experience, when he was a rising star who won 18 games with the Marlins in 2004.

Pavano will start for Minnesota tonight in Game 3 of the AL Division Series. The man he was famously traded for, Pedro Martinez, was scheduled to go for the Phillies against the Rockies yesterday until the game was postponed.

That both pitchers are still in play some 12 seasons after the trade that Dan Duquette pulled off for the best pitcher in baseball and perhaps of this generation is pretty amazing in its own right. No matter what happens from here, Pavano always will be part of the answer to that trivia question, along with Tony Armas Jr., who also was traded to the Expos in the Martinez deal.

Pavano, 33, has pitched well twice against the Yankees this season, but tonight’s matchup has deeper meaning.

“It’s tough,’’ Pavano said. “I mean, you know, it was a black period in my career, four years where I was kind of treading water for a while.

“But obviously, with the way this year has gone, I’ve been able to go out there with sustained health, and go out there and be successful and get through the year. And now everything has come full circle. I am getting a start in the playoffs. I can’t ask for more than that.

“When I look back on it, obviously things could have been a lot different but it didn’t work out that way. But I feel like I am getting back to where I was before those problems.’’

If there was a feeling that his teammates in New York didn’t care for him, Johnny Damon said he wasn’t one of them.

“I liked him,’’ Damon said. “I would never question anyone’s injuries. He didn’t feel right. He felt that every time he threw a pitch he was going to have a major setback, so unfortunately he couldn’t live up to the contract he signed, and that happens sometime.

“He’s a nice guy and I’m glad he’s having a good comeback year. He’s pitched well against us twice this year so we’ll have to see whether we can figure him out.’’

In those two starts, both no-decisions, Pavano allowed 11 hits and 4 earned runs in 13 1/3 innings, with one walk and eight strikeouts. Pavano is no stranger to the postseason, either. In eight appearances (two starts) with the Marlins, he went 2-0 with a 1.40 ERA.

While Pavano never fit in with the Yankees, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire has appreciated his team-first attitude and hasn’t seen any of the Pavano that was written about in New York.

“Yeah, that’s your New York tabloids,’’ Gardenhire said. “I can’t deal with that. I mean, we are just a Minnesota-nice group and we like the hell out of the guy and we can’t wait to see him on the mound.

“And, you know, with all the stuff that’s gone on in the past with Carl, I just know one thing: What he has meant to us and what he has helped us achieve here has been fantastic. He has been a steady force for our baseball team when he’s pitching and when he’s not pitching. And that’s all we give a flip about.

“I played in New York. I have been part of that drama. I made one error and it was, ‘Gardenhire does it again,’ in headlines. Hell, I didn’t play enough to say that.’’

Gardenhire related a story of how Pavano was asked to throw a side session with young catcher Jose Morales because Joe Mauer needed rest. Pavano didn’t hit it off with Morales while throwing, “So for the next couple of days, he sat with Morales and was showing him about situations and what you would do here,’’ said Gardenhire. “And I thought that was fantastic that a veteran pitcher would take an opportunity with a young guy on the bench and talk to him about situational pitching.’’

While Pavano says he misses some of the teammates he left behind in New York, the realist in him can’t help but feel “there were a lot of good times, but there were a lot of frustrating times that always stand out a lot more. I am thankful I got another opportunity to get back to where I was before all the frustrating times.’’

And tonight, Pavano could save his team from elimination by the Yankees.