Last year, John Feinstein followed two veteran New York starting pitchers around for his new book Living on the Black. The year didn't end well for either Tom Glavine or Mike Mussina, which should make it an interesting read. Some excerpts shared by Ken Davidoff of Newsday make it clear that it's a humorous one as well. Before the 2007 season, Mussina spoke openly about the frustration he felt about Carl Pavano's continual unavailability because of injury and the lack of respect that he had from his teammates as a result. Davidoff relates seeing the two men having a conversation but never knew the content until Feinstein's book enlightened him.
"Were you quoted accurately in the papers today?" Pavano asked Mussina.
Mussina shouldn't be too hard on Pavano. After all, he's a wealthier man today because of Pavano's failure to make good on his four-year, $39.95 million contract. When he sat down with Brian Cashman to negotiate a new contract following the 2006 season, Mussina was presented with a two-year, $18 million offer."Absolutely," Mussina responded.
"Brian, you're not paying me less than you're paying Carl Pavano," Mussina responded. "Don't insult me." Mussina wound up re-signing for two years and $23 million.Cashman better hope his kids don't read that before trying hammer out an agreement about allowance. "Well, Jimmy, you didn't clean your room every day last week, were rude to your mother and forgot to walk the dog."
"You signed Carl Pavano for $39.95 million."
"Here's your money."
