Why We Love Mike Mussina

By Paulie Knep
Love of Sports Correspondent

This season was supposed to represent the changing of the guard for the New York Yankees’ pitching staff.

Out with the old and in with the new.

Prospects Philip Hughes and Ian Kennedy were expected to follow staff ace Chien-Ming Wang in the rotation and win 15 games each. Young rock star phenom Joba Chamberlain was slated to join them for the second half of the season after opening the season in the bullpen. Management hoped that the old guard, i.e. Andy Pettitte and Mike Mussina, had enough left in the tank to hold up the back end of the rotation.

Mussina specifically, was a big question mark. The 39-year-old looked atrocious at times last year and was demoted to the bullpen for a stretch late in the season. His fastball, which once topped out at over 90 mph, had slowed to an 85 mph meatball and batters had been teeing off on his pitches.

Mussina has never been a crowd favorite in the Bronx. He signed with the Yankees before the 2001 season, the year in which the Yankee dynasty came to an end, so he never garnered the type of affection fans reserved for the pitchers from the championship teams, like Pettitte, Cone and Rivera. His stoic demeanor also made him appear dull in comparison to some of the more colorful hurlers to wear the pinstripes, such as Clemens, Wells and Chamberlain.

Mussina also came to the Yankees with tremendous expectations, based on his new six-year, $85 million contract. Even though he’s been a model of consistency since he came to New York, he didn’t dominate as Yankee fans thought he should. He never earned a Cy Young award or won 20 games. Additionally, his idiosynchratic and somewhat reclusive nature didn’t mesh well with the New York media, which never helps a player’s public image.

So, when Mussina ended the 2007 season with a 5.15 ERA and the highly touted young arms were waiting in the wings, fans were quick to punch his ticket out of town. To make matters worse, he began this season 1-3 with a 5.75, further fueling speculation his New York career was over.

On April 20, Yankee owner Hank Steinbrenner criticized Mussina publicly, saying he needed to learn to pitch like Jamie Moyer (the 44-year-old change of speed pitcher for the Phillies who has had an impressive career despite a lack of velocity).

However, Hughes and Kennedy weren’t the instant sensations the Yankees had hoped for. They struggled with their confidence and control, before being sidelined with injuries, and Wang was just average before being relegated to the disabled list himself. The old men, Pettitte and Mussina, have been the team’s most reliable starters.

When it appeared Moose was done, he reinvented himself. He began mixing up his pitches more, throwing his knuckle-curve in fastball counts and vice-versa. He’s also been more effective at getting ahead in the count, throwing a first-pitch strike 67% of the time, and suddenly, he’s winning ball games again.

Coming into this season, Mussina was working on an American League record streak of 16 consecutive seasons with at least 10 wins. In April, you couldn’t find one person in New York who thought he’d extend that streak to 17.

Shockingly, Mussina’s won 10 games already and we’re not even at the All-Star break yet. His 3.87 ERA is the best among Yankee starters, and it looks like he’s going to represent the Yankees in the All-Star Game in two weeks.

Yankee fans shouldn’t be surprised that Mussina found a way to get it done once again. He’s built a career on consistency and reliability. Ten wins doesn’t signify a great season, but 10 wins for 17 consecutive seasons represents a spectacular career.

Mussina’s one of the most underrated baseball players of his generation. He’s quietly won 260 games to date, more than Pedro Martinez, Curt Schilling and John Smoltz, and is just the ninth pitcher to win over 100 games for two different teams. Suddenly, 300 wins and a plaque in Cooperstown aren’t out of the question.

The Yankees are in third place after a disappointing first half of the season, marred by injuries to several key players. However, they’re just four games out of the wild card spot and with a number of their injured players back in the lineup are in position to make a strong playoff push in the second half. Mike Mussina is a big reason why.

The man no Yankee fan wanted back this season has been the team’s MVP up until this point. Without Mussina, the Yankees would be below .500 and their rotation would be in shambles.

When he does hang up his pinstripes, Yankee fans are going to miss making Moose calls more than they ever imagined.

Maybe Hank Steinbrenner should tell the kids who were supposed to carry this team, Hughes, Kennedy and Chamberlain, they need to learn to pitch like Moose. Get on that Bandwagon now, boys.