Yanks lose game, Mussina

Someone really ought to teach the Yanks how to stretch. First, Wang, then Hideki and now Mussina all go down to a hamstring bug. Mussina claims he’ll only miss a start, but that’s what everyone said last year about Robbie Cano before he missed 35 games.

Meanwhile, as Peter Abraham points out, you’ll be hearing Marty Miller’s name a lot over the next few days. He’s the new director of performance enhancing, and as The Times noted over the weekend, his new strenuous routine may be responsible for this rash of injuries. Check yourself before you wreck yourself, Marty.

(In case you’re wondering, Moose was a participant in Marty’s program. That voluntary involvement may have ended in the third inning tonight.)

Meanwhile, A-Rod went 1 for 3 with an RBI and continued his hot hitting. But outside of a 2 for 4 night for Johnny Damon, the Yanks’ bats were silent. A few nice plays in the field concluded the Bombers’ part of the highlight real. Derek Jeter turned a nifty double play on an over-the-shoulder catch, and Doug Mientkiewiczi made a nifty dive on a shot down the line.

The story tonight though, which Joe and I were discussing during the game, was the Big V: Velocity. Proctor didn’t have it, and Krazy Kyle — he of the leadoff walk, loss and 4 ER in 0.1 IP tonight — didn’t have it either. The gun readings showed these two power pitchers reaching the low 90s instead of their usual upper 90s. Maybe it’s a dead arm period after Spring Training; maybe it’s Marty Miller’s fault; maybe we could find a way to blame A-Rod. But it’s a concern.

Anyway, as long as Ron Villone doesn’t show up in the Bronx, and Fransworth and Proctor rediscover their heat, we’ll be ok. Two out of three in Minnesota is the way to go.

Image of Mussina leaving the field with Gene Monahan from The New York Times.