She is the reason why Carl Pavano missed his scheduled spring training start on Friday night. Now if you had her at home, you’d probably have gone home too.
In all seriousness, Pavano missed the start because his girlfriend, Gia Allemand, had a serious medical condition. Pavano said that she is doing well from her “unknown medical condition.” Pavano said he was having trouble deciding whether or not to pitch that night but Joe Torre and other members of the Yankees coaching staff and front office gave him permission to miss the game.
If you don’t know who she is, she was with him when he got into the accident last season that he didn’t tell the Yankees about. Pavano is now being sued for his role in the accident.
“It was definitely weighing on me,” Pavano said. “There was definitely a little bit of struggle about me wanting to pitch. I needed a voice of reason because my head was going in both directions. Sometimes there’s things you’ve got to take care or that take precedent over the situation at hand.”
It’s tough situation being a professional athlete and having a life outside of it. There are times when something has to give. Do you pitch or do you tend to your ailing loved one? With Pavano not telling the Yankees of the accident last year and his injured ribs, you can see why he struggled with the decision. He really hasn’t lived up to the big money contract that he signed because of injuries and now he is trying to win a spot in the Yankees rotation after not having pitched in the big leagues since June 27, 2005. Did he make the right decision? Well, we will see as spring training progresses.
