Pursuing Carl Pavano: Has Brian Cashman lost his freaking mind?

What is wrong with Brian Cashman these days? He seems to have completely gone off the rails this offseason. I asked after the Cliff Lee fiasco what Cashman's Plan B was. Apparently it appears to be consist of trying to re-sign Carl Pavano, aka American Idle!

Cashman admitted to the press today that he has had "several discussions" with Pavano's agent about the possibility of the Crash Test Dummy bringing his bruised buttocks back to the Bronx! Peter Botte reports:

"I had several discussions (with his agent). I still believe Pav can pitch here. He has proven he can pitch in some difficult situations. The thing is, he's healthy. I don't think he was afraid to come back here, either.”

The only discussion Cashman ought to be having with Pavano's agent is to get the pitcher to return the $39.95 million he fleeced from the Yankees. Good grief.

And I don't care how deep the discussions went -- the fact that Cashman would be having them all is nothing short of outrageous. Yet some of the "In Cash We Trust" people are still trying to justify this move. When will it end?

I never blamed Cashman for signing Pavano -- he was the top free agent that year, and the Yanks actually offered him less money than Boston did -- but if he were to re-sign American Idle, I think Yankee ownership would be in their rights to fire him on the spot. Come to think of it, is Cash pulling a George Costanza here, trying to get fired? His offseason this year has been debacle after debacle, with his only "bright spot," if you will, being when he dressed as an elf to rappel down a building (something The Boss would never have allowed.) Is this all some master plan to get forced out?

So what the heck is Cashman thinking? Did he learn nothing from the Javier Vazquez and Nick Johnson debacles?  He really seems to love his own unpopular decisions so much, he wants to keep on making them. What's up with that? Even considering taking a risk again on the worst free agent signing in team history is absolutely outrageous. Fans hate Pavano. His own teammates despise him. We saw from Vazquez Part Deux that bringing back somebody with such negative connotations does not work. And we saw from Johnson Part Deux that spending money on a proven injury risk is foolish.

You know what the "best" part of these misguided negotiations is? That Pavano is a Type A free agent -- you know, the very thing that Cash had vowed not to pursue after Cliff Lee signed with Philly. So, if the Yankees were to actually sign Pavano -- Jon Heyman reports that the Yanks offered him one year and $7 million -- not only would the Yanks be stuck with Pavano Part Deux, but they would also lose a first-round draft pick.

So, let me get this straight. In Cashman's world, Rafael Soriano, who led the league in saves last year, is not worth losing that draft pick for. But Carl Pavano is? I'm outraged!

What do you think? Tell us about it!