The best part about clinching in blowout style is that you don’t have to talk about the game; we can just talk about the celebration afterwards. Before I get to the subject of this post, I’d like to point out my favorite moments of the postgame (best.postgame.ever.):
- Edwar apparently likes dousing people with beer while they’re on camera. Guess the kid feels neglected.
- There was a shot of Joba chugging a bottle of champagne. Less than 10 minutes later, he was being interviewed by Kim Jones, and actually kept his shit together. Bravo, Joba.
- Melky must have been puking his guts out later on, seeing how much champagne he drank.
- Four or five guys dousing Robinson Cano as Kim Jones interviewed him. We can only speculate, but yeah, they did that on purpose.
- Joe Torre rambling on and on, sounding very drunk and very emotional. His head was flapping around so much during his interview that the skin under his chin was wobbling like a turkey.
- Robinson Cano enjoying a cold Keystone Light. Really? Key Light? The Yanks couldn’t do better than that?
- Mike Mussina and Shelley Duncan horsing around. I just wouldn’t expect those two to have much interaction.
The reason why I have a hard time bashing Mussina is explained on Pete’s blog:
“Mussina, who is not a party guy, celebrated with his teammates a bit then grabbed a beer and sat in Torre’s office with the coaches. The hard feelings are forgotten, there are more games to play now.”
This is a far cry from “Replace me? With who?” Once indignant about his removal from the rotation, Mussina apparently understands that it helped turn around his season. He got extra rest, had extra time to work on his delivery, and was able to get himself back into mental shape. So he chills with the people responsible. I have a certain admiration for that.
He’s gotta realize, though, that he can’t be effective pitching every five days over a six-month season; he’s older and his body is no longer up to the task. In a perfect coincidence, Joba Chamberlain won’t be able to go every five days over a six-month season next year because of innings pitched concerns. For that matter, same with Phil Hughes (Ian Kennedy has built up his innings and could go around 200 next year). Any chance the Yanks move outside the box and set up a six-man rotation, as to limit the innings of Mussina, Joba, and Hughes? Makes sense to me. It’s better than shuffling Joba between the rotation and the bullpen.
A few other lingering thoughts. Pettitte, scheduled to pitch Friday, would be lined up on normal rest for Game 2 if the series were to start on October 3. If it started on the fourth, he’d be on five days’ rest. Wang finishes his second straight season with 19 wins, and will be on either seven or eight days’ rest when the Yanks open the ALDS. Mussina goes tomorrow, and will start Game 3 on either eight or nine day’s rest — unless the Yanks go with Clemens there, in which case he’ll have nine or 10 days’ rest. Either way, I think Moose, despite his longing for routine, will benefit from the long layoff. Hughes makes his final regular season appearance today. He could be the Game 4 starter.
Finally: Anyone else willing to give Edwar another shot at the postseason roster after working with Mo? Hey, it worked for Vizcaino.
Update: Check out Yes Network on YouTube for all the video.
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