CBS Sportsline reported the rehabbing Carl Pavano had a tough time the other night, pitching for Tampa of the FSL against Daytona (3 runs, 5 hits, 2.2 IP), while the underachieving Yankee described the outing as “a step in the right direction.”

Sportsline neglected to mention the following, however (from the NY Daily News’ Sam Borden, link taken from Repoz and Baseball Think Factory) :

Carl Pavano was involved in a verbal dispute with a fan at his rehab outing in Tampa on Thursday night, during which he made an off-color remark alluding to the fan’s sexual orientation, according to sources.

The fan was heckling Pavano all night – he even acknowledged as such in a complaint filed with the team, sources said – and the righthander finally snapped at him. Sources said that Pavano questioned why the fan was at the Florida State League game, then made his derogatory comment.

The fan immediately complained to the team and was said to be demanding some sort of “compensation,” according to sources.

The heckler in question is shown above.  Sources say he’s demanding compensation somewhere in the range of $9 million USD.

Terrific news for the non-deaf watching in high-def: Joe Buck has the day off and Dick Stockon is paired with Tim McCarver, calling today’s Angels/Yankees game for Fox. Not only are we spared any further possibility of Buck dueting with Meat Loaf, but Stockton has done his best to let us know who to look out for in the NFC this Autumn.