Carl Pavano has been the punchline of many jokes here on Yankees Chick since its inception, and while I applaud my continued hilarity and cleverness (Pavano as a verb?! I'm a goddamn genius), I fear it may be time to scale back the bullying - deserved as it may be - and offer up a few well-wishes for the poor chap. Some ill-timed injuries and scheduling issues have defaulted Mr. CP into the starting role on opening day, and I am hereby pledging my full support to the accident-prone man in hopes that my good Yankees Chick vibes will traverse the mountains, plains, deserts and valleys all the way to the pitching mound in Yankees Stadium tomorrow afternoon. This week's news that his gorgeous girlfriend kicked him to the curb (reportedly due to some cheat-tastic behavior on Carl's part... these ladies are clearly not familiar with our boy CP) has me worried, as that sort of distraction cannot be good for someone who needs assistance walking from the couch to the refrigerator, meaning he needs our support now more than ever.

It's not going to be easy, my friends, but everyone deserves a second chance, and people who have exhausted their 2nd through 16th chances deserve an 17th chance when he is logistically the only available option. Pavano has made every effort to prove his commitment this Spring, showing up to almost every game (it's kind of like a small child, where we have to reward him for making an effort), taking his teammates' skepticism in stride, and running away from swarms of bees just as fast as his little legs would carry him. Easy as it is to scoff at his chances of succeeding on opening day or in 2007 at all, I am choosing to cast aside my cynicism for a brief moment and hope for the best, and I invite you to do the same.

...And if he blows it, don't worry: we can get right back to hating him after the game.