Nearly two weeks ago it was reported that the Twins and Carl Pavano had reached an agreement on a two-year contract, but nothing had officially been set in stone.

Until now, that is.

According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the two sides agreed on a deal that will pay Pavano $8 million in 2011 and $8.5 million in 2012. Another $500,000 is available through performance-based incentives.

A two-year deal worth $16.5 million is quite an investment for a 35-year-old pitcher but Pavano pitched very well in the Twin Cities last year. He finished with a 17-11 record, a 3.75 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP in 32 starts, so if he comes close to those numbers again over the next two seasons the contract will be worth it. He was a major part of the club’s success last season, so the contract works for both sides.

In other news, Yankee fans collectively just said, “Thank God.”

The Yankees entered the playoffs losers of eight of their last 11 games. But no matter how much they’ve struggled or how many chinks in the armor they may have shown, this is still their time of year.

For five innings Wednesday night, the Yankees were making Twins’ starter Francisco Liriano look like Cy Young. They trailed 3-0 in the top of the sixth, but after Nick Swisher struck out swinging to start the inning, Mark Teixeira doubled to deep left, Alex Rodriguez walked and then Teixeira scored on a Robinson Cano single to right.

After Marcus Thames struck out, Jorge Posada lined a single to right to score A-Rod and move Cano to second. Curtis Granderson delivered the big blow by tripling off the wall in deep right center to score Cano and Posada to give the Yankees a 4-3 lead.

They never trailed after that.

The Twins scratched across a run in their half of the inning, but Teixeira blasted a 355-foot home run in the top of 7th to give the Yankees a 6-4 lead. After allowing two base runners to reach in the ninth, Mariano Rivera got Jim Thome to pop out to third to end the game and give New York a 6-4 victory.

This is the time of year when the Yankees are never out of any game. They may have showed their age throughout the regular season, but there’s no replacement for postseason experience. When the stakes are high, this is when the Bombers are at their best.

Of course, this is still a team that’s going to struggle to win it all. Their pitching is a major concern and Joe Girardi’s stomach must have been in knots watching his ace C.C. Sabathia struggle in the early innings last night before finally settling in. He’s supposed to be the rock of the rotation and if he struggles, then the Yanks are doomed.

Game 2 is set for tonight at 6:07PM ET, as Andy Pettitte will take on former Yankee Carl Pavano.

1. Nick Adenhart will be missed.
What’s most tragic about Nick Adenhart’s death early Thursday morning is that because of the stupidity of another driver, the Adenhart family, the Angels and the baseball world all lost someone very important. This wasn’t a case of another athlete staying out all night and making a bad decision. Nick was a passenger in a friend’s vehicle that was struck by a minivan of a driver that was under the influence of alcohol and driving on a suspended license. It was senseless and my thoughts and prayers go out to Nick’s family. At 22 years old, Nick should have been enjoying the bright lights of the big leagues and getting ready for his next start. Instead, his family is left to grieve for a young man’s life that was cut incredibly too short.

2. Here’s hoping Joe Martinez is okay.
Giants’ reliever Joe Martinez needed just one more out in the ninth inning to wrap up San Francisco’s (eventual) 7-1 victory over the Brewers Thursday night, but Mike Cameron laced a line drive back up the middle and struck Martinez right in the side of the head. Martinez stood up after the ball hit him, but then sat down immediately as trainers rushed to his aid. He eventually left the field under his own power (holding a towel to his bloody face and nose), but he was rushed to the hospital for a CAT scan and so far there is no update. I watched the game live and it was as scary of a moment as I’ve ever witnessed. Players on both sides were visibly shaken, including Cameron, who showed incredible sensitivity to the situation and looked deeply saddened by what had just happened. Hopefully Martinez didn’t suffer any permanent damage and he can return to the field in due time.

3. Joey Votto is a beast.
In the Reds’ 8-6 victory over the Mets on Thursday night, Joey Votto hit his second home run of the season and drove in four runs on three hits. Votto is hitting .538 to start the season and it already looks like he’s ready to carry a young Cincinnati team (which also features young, emerging stars in Brandon Phillips and Jay Bruce) at the age of 25. Young players like Votto are great for the game and it looks like baseball is quickly breeding another star.

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It’s hard to believe the start of baseball season is next week. It seems like a very short time ago when the Phillies and Rays were playing a Game 5 of the World Series in frigid Philly, having to suspend it and pick up the next night. It seemed like nothing was going to stop that Phillies team, much to the dismay of this Mets’ fan. Anyway, it’s a fresh start and a clean slate and a whole lot of possibilities. Here are a few of those as I see them…

NL MVP: David Wright, New York Mets—Am I playing homer? Yes. But this kid works really hard every off-season and consistently puts up big numbers, and he hasn’t even come close to showing his potential. This year Wright is going to show the world why the Mets have built their franchise around him, and he’s going to (finally) lead them to a World Series.

AL MVP: Grady Sizemore, Cleveland Indians—Last year, Sizemore had a full season low batting average of .268 but racked up career highs in home runs (33), RBI (90) and stolen bases (38). Last season Sizemore finished 10th in the AL MVP voting but like Wright, he is on the verge of something huge, and he’s going to lead the Indians to the playoffs.

NL Cy Young: Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants—I love a good short-guy-kicks-ass story, the kind where most scouts write someone off because of their size (5’10, 160 pounds), and then they go and prove everyone wrong except the team who drafted them. That’s Tim Lincecum, who won the NL Cy Young last season for the Giants, winning 18 of his team’s 72 wins, or ONE QUARTER of them. His stuff is absolutely sick, and at times just unhittable and he will coast to his second straight Cy Young.

AL Cy Young: Daisuke Matsuzaka, Boston Red Sox—Last season, Dice-K went 18-3 but was largely overshadowed by Cliff Lee’s 22-3 masterpiece as well as by K-Rod’s record-breaking 62 saves. But this guy has taken over as the dominating shutdown starter in Boston after Josh Beckett battled inconsistency last year, and this year he’s going to roll to the Cy Young.

NL Rookie of the Year: Micah Hoffpauir, Chicago Cubs—Last season, during the second straight historic collapse by the Mets, Hoffpauir was Babe Ruth for one game, going 5 for 5 with two home runs and five RBI. That was his only multi-hit game, but you don’t just have a showing like that by accident.

AL Rookie of the Year: David Price, Tampa Bay Rays—Sure, the Rays optioned their young phenom to the minors recently, but don’t let that fool you. Once Price logs a few innings, he’ll be back in Tampa blowing hitters away the way he did in the ALCS against Boston last season. And he’ll find himself as the #2 or #3 starter before long.

NL Manager of the Year: Jerry Manuel, New York Mets—When Willie Randolph was let go in New York last season, the Mets were 34-35. After Manuel replaced him, the Mets went 55-38 the rest of the way. Okay, they choked again down the stretch, but this year it’s Jerry’s team from the start, and he’s going to show everyone that his no-nonsense and player-friendly approach can win lots of games, as well as championships. It doesn’t hurt that he has two lights-out closers (K-Rod, JJ Putz) anchoring his bullpen now.

AL Manager of the Year: Eric Wedge, Cleveland Indians—The Indians missed the playoffs last season after taking the eventual champion Red Sox to 7 games the year before. The Tribe plays well in odd numbered years as of late—going 93-69 in 2005 and 96-66 in 2007. This season, with the additions of Kerry Wood, Mark DeRosa and Carl Pavano, Cleveland is going to surprise a lot of folks.

NL Comeback Player of the Year: Eric Byrnes, Arizona Diamondbacks—Byrnes was way off his career averages in 2008, hitting a paltry .209 with 6 homers and 23 RBI. He has nowhere to go but up, and this season I have a feeling Byrnes’ numbers are going to match his intensity on the field.

AL Comeback Player of the Year: John Smoltz, Boston Red Sox—After season-ending shoulder surgery in June of 2008, the Braves finally let one of the cornerstones of their franchise go, as the free agent pitcher signed with the Sox. He won’t see the mound until June, but Smoltz threw in the bullpen this week and showed no signs of pain. He’s going to make the Braves sorry—really sorry.