Archive for Mike Mussina
Should Moose head to Cooperstown?
Posted by: | CommentsA little Sunday afternoon discussion for you: Jonah Keri thinks that Mike Mussina belongs in the Hall. Do you? What if he reaches 20 wins this year and somehow makes it up to the 285-300 range over the next few years? This old Moose seems to have a few tricks up his sleeve, and one of them may be earning himself a spot in Cooperstown.
Moose and the Hall
Posted by: | CommentsNever one to shy away from controversy, Mike Mussina, by pitching above and beyond expectations, may be courting the biggest debate of his career this season.
On one side are those who love Moose. They want him to land in the Hall of Fame when all is said and done. On the other hand are those people so hung up on the Big Nmbers that they can’t adequately judge a player’s Hall of Fame credentials.
Foremost among those detractors is Murray Chass. The one-time Times scribe who now keeps a Website he refuses to call a blog wrote about Mussina and the Hall this weekend. Says Chass:
Mussina, with a 15-7 record and 3.27 earned run average, is only five wins from the 20-win plateau that has eluded him in his 18-year career. Twice he won 19, three times 18, but never 20. No starting pitcher is in the Hall of Fame without a 20-win season on his resume. Even Dennis Eckersley, who became a relief pitcher halfway through his career, had a 20-win season.
Only four Hall of Fame pitchers reached that status without a 20-win season, and they were all relief pitchers – Hoyt Wilhelm, Rollie Fingers, Bruce Sutter, Rich (Goose) Gossage.
Mussina hasn’t won the Cy Young award either. No pitcher who has been virtually invisible in Cy Young award voting is in the Hall of Fame…
Mussina has an impressive career won-lost record (265-151) but not much else. He has never been a dominant pitcher, has never pitched his team to a World Series championship. He, in fact, is the darkest symbol of the Yankees’ failed post-season teams of recent seasons.
Chass concludes by noting that even a 20-win season by Mussina this year wouldn’t be enough to resurrect Moose’s Hall of Fame chances. That’s stellar logic.
The problem I have with Chass’ argument is that it ignores anything that makes sense. Are we to judge Hall of Famers solely by their awards and postseason success? Should Ted Williams — zero World Series rings — keep his plaque in Cooperstown? Should Ty Cobb, one of the game’s great racists, be lauded?
What I do know abut Mike Mussina is that his 3.42 ERA in the postseason is better than his career regular season ERA. What I know about Moose’s postseason pitching performance is that his teams lost despite his efforts. Just because a select few writers who have repeatedly shown their ignorance of baseball failed to vote Mussina a largely meaningless Cy Young award does not mean he doesn’t deserve Hall of Fame consideration.
Rather, for 18 years, Mike Mussina has been among the best in baseball. His career ERA is significantly better than average over that time period. He has 265 wins to his name and 2759 strike outs.
In the end, it all boils down to that hot-button question: Does Mike Mussina deserve a spot in the Hall? Right now, he’s on the fence, but it’s not for lack of postseason success or Cy Young Awards or 20-win seasons. Anyone who judges a pitcher solely on those metrics is missing the bigger pitcher. If Mike Mussina has been one of the best pitchers of his generation, then he deserves that spot in Cooperstown. There’s more to that evaluation than those three considerations. Someone tell that to Murray Chass.
Mike Mussina and the Sense of Humor of Doom
Posted by: | CommentsDave Brown, Yahoo! Sports’ very own Answer Man, sat down for an interview with Mike Mussina, and the results are priceless.
The always amusing and rather verbose Mike Mussina discusses the new Yankee Stadium, living in New York City, crossword puzzles and the smells on the subway. We also learn that the Yanks’ 15-game winner subscribes to Popular Photography, no longer throws a knuckleball and doesn’t find The Onion’s constant ribbing particularly amusing.
But my favorite part is this exchange:
Q: Why don’t people go to Orioles games anymore?
MM: I don’t think fourth place every year really brings in the fans.
Zing!
This might just be my favorite interview with an athlete I’ve ever read if for the simple fact that Mike Mussina actually has something to say and sounds smart while saying it. Check it out. (Hat tip to BBTF.)
Restacking the pitching deck
Posted by: | CommentsPosted by mobile phone:
The Yanks have flip-flopped Mike Mussina and Joba Chamberlain in the rotation. Following last Thursday’s rain-shortened outing, Mussina will throw tonight againts the Rangers and Saturday against the Red Sox. The Yanks’ emerging ace will get an extra day off and throw tomorrow and Sunday night on ESPN. I’m sad because I have tickets tonight and wanted to see Joba. But it’s hard to argue with an extra day off. Hopefully Moose won’t mind the short rest after a short outing.
Mike Mussina, candyman
Posted by: | CommentsJoe Girardi irked a few Yankees earlier this year when he banned unhealthy food from the post-game spread. Ever looking for edge, Mike Mussina made a deal: When Moose reaches 10 wins, the ice cream returns. Well, Mussina won his tenth game on the road, and the ice cream is back. Once Moose reached 12 wins, the donuts can return, and 15 wins will bring back the candy. If that’s what’s keeping Moose dealin’ this year, maybe the Yanks should have tried this sooner.
Mike Mussina and Carl Pavano probably don’t exchange Christmas cards
Posted by: | CommentsScott Proctor’s Arm alerts us to a Ken Davidoff post on the musings of Mike Mussina. My favorite story concerns Mussina’s 2006 contract negotiations:
You probably won’t be shocked to learn of Mussina’s contempt for the always-injured Pavano, but you’ll laugh nonetheless. When Mussina was negotiating a new contract with the Yankees in October 2006, Brian Cashman offered him a two-year, $18-million package.
“Brian, you’re not paying me less than you’re paying Carl Pavano,” Mussina responded. “Don’t insult me.” Mussina wound up re-signing for two years and $23 million.
More disturbing is the tale that Andrew notes on SPA about Chien-Ming Wang‘s not expecting to pitch his disastrous Game 4 of the ALDS last year. But that’s Yankee history.
While I’ve long thought of Mussina as something of a curmudgeon, this tale and the whole white board thing he’s got going on this year make me think that perhaps the Yankee win leader has a sense of humor after all.
Touché, Hank. Touché.
Posted by: | CommentsWhile we focused on Hank’s call to stick Joba in the rotation, the Yanks’ co-chairman also managed to invoke the name of Mike Mussina as well earlier this week. Steinbrenner said that Mike Mussina needs to learn to pitch like Jamie Moyer. Well, as PeteAbe points out, Mussina already pitches like Jamie Moyer at least when it comes to Manny Ramirez.
Moose season in the American League
Posted by: | CommentsSG at RLYW wonders if Moose is cooked, and it’s hard to disagree with him. While SG notes that Mussina was two bad pitches to Manny away from throwing a decent game, to me, the more telling sign came in the first inning.
With Jacoby Ellsbury off second, Dustin Pedroia came to bat, and Mussina threw a 1-2 85-mph that Pedroia lined hard to a leaping Robinson Cano. The ball was tattooed, and the Yanks escaped unharmed. But it was clear that Mussina had nothing last night. How many more starts will he be allowed to make?
Just 5 days 'til pitchers and catchers report.
