from the Baltimore Sun’s Roch Kubatko :
Pavano already made stops in Boston, Detroit and New York before the Orioles took their turn. They weren’t about to skimp on the details.
The video department provided him with a glimpse of what the future could hold by putting his photo on the scoreboard in an Orioles uniform and treating the occasion like Opening Day – even posting a head shot of Oakland Athletics left-hander Mark Mulder opposite Pavano’s likeness as a preview of the April 4 game at Camden Yards.
The recorded voice of public-address announcer Dave McGowan introduced Pavano as the starting pitcher, and career highlights were shown on the big screen. The free agent played catch with Shapiro as the Orioles cued Eminem’s “Business,” the song that accompanies him from the bullpen before each game.
“He said nobody’s done that for him before,” Mazzilli said. “It was good … real good.”
Yes, indeed, a cliched video montage should be enough to convince Carl Pavano that spending the rest of his career finishing no higher than 3rd place is a terrific idea. Well, that and the Orioles outbidding Boston and New York. And why did the the O’s stop there with the innovative tools of seduction? How about making an Orioles jersey with “PAVANO” on the back? Maybe a pleading testimonial from any number of local luminaries? (Art Donovan, Jad Fair, Andre Braugher, John Waters, etc.) Given their also-ran status, shouldn’t Baltimore be pushing the envelope on this one?
(Waters, above, surprised that Peter Angelos lost his phone number)