Will Carroll:

Here's the long and short on Carl Pavano--even before he had an MRI or saw a specialist, he'd made the decision to have Tommy John surgery. Even after seeing specialists and finding that while his UCL was torn, it was not torn so significantly that doctors recommended the surgery. Much like Octavio Dotel a few years ago, though, Pavano is simply not willing to pitch through the soreness. There's probably a high number of pitchers in the game today (far too high a number, actually) that have similar, perhaps worse damage and get out there. I'm not advocating that anyone pitch with pain, but when the possibility exists that someone can come back without surgery, I think they owe it to the team paying the bills to do it. Pavano's not willing to, perhaps closing a chapter that the Yankees would rather not have had written. Call him 'American Idle' or the 'Rajah of Rehab' if you want. In my opinion, he's gone beyond that, and is simply stealing money.

Via Steve via The Lineup Card.