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Mike Mussina calls the kettle black

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It’s no secret around here that I am no fan of Mike Mussina’s. While he has put up some huge seasons for the Yanks and has turned in some stellar games over the years, I’ve long questioned his desire and drive on the mound.

Too many times, I’ve seen Mike Mussina grow flustered with his fielders after an error or with his pitches after he doesn’t get a close call from an umpire. Too many times, I’ve seen Mussina squander away a lead because he’s just given up. Maybe it’s his drive for perfection just manifesting itself; maybe it’s 3000+ Big League innings coming home to roost.

But whatever the cause or the symptoms, something about Mike Mussina just rubs me the wrong way.

So enter Andy Pettitte and the HGH/Mitchell Report scandal. In discussions with the media yesterday, Mike Mussina shared his thoughts on the topic. Generally, he was very supportive of Andy but realistic. Pettitte, Mussina said, will face some trying times this season, especially when he pitches in Boston and if he struggles out of the gate. But the best part was Mussina’s money quote.

“However it happens, he has to be able to go out there and pitch,” Mike Mussina said of Pettitte. “He has to find a way to deal with it. I don’t think he will be able to do his job properly if he has to answer questions all season long.”

So many times over the last three seasons, I’ve yelled at the TV with Mussina on the mound. I’ve pled, begged, shouted and just plain stated: Mike Mussina has to find a way to deal with it. Sure, Jeter made a bad throw, Giambi made a bad scoop, the pitch was on the black. But just deal with it.

I got a chuckle out of Mussina’s quote today, and then I thought to myself, “Hey, Mike, take your own advice. It’s for the good of the team too.”

Can Mike Mussina be league-average?

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While the 2007 Yankees made the playoffs with a half-season contributions from plenty of key pieces, a lot of fans seem to doubt their 2008 prospects. True, they will be relying on a bunch of rookies, but they got them to the playoffs in 2007. There’s no reason why they can’t ride full-season contributions from these players to be an even better team.

But for now, that’s a topic for another day. We’ll get there as soon as we know the makeup of the 2008 Yankees. Instead, let’s take a brief foray into the world of Mike Mussina, one of the key cogs for the 2008 Yankees. Now, as avid readers know, I’m not a fan of Mike Mussina. Despite his early success in pinstripes, his last few seasons and generally demeanor — crossword puzzles aside — have not won me over.

As Mike noted in the comments to my piece on Joba, the Yankees need Mussina to be league-average at worst in 2008. Is that a reasonable expectation? Surprisingly, I think so.

In 2007, Mussina’s stats were not pretty. He went 11-10 but had a career-high 5.15 ERA. He allowed 36 more hits than innings pitched and struck out a career low 91. The decline in strike outs — from 7.85 per 9 IP in 2006 to 5.39 in 2007 — is alarming. Those numbers are well worse than league-average, and Mussina’s VORP declined from over 40 to 11, just a shade above replacement level. Those are alarming trends.

But when you break out Mussina’s defense-independent stats, things look a little better. His fielding-independent pitching line, a number that equates roughly to ERA, was 4.58 or roughly league average. His home run totals were down, and while his line drive percentage was up, a lot of those baserunners from line drives seem to be a result of poor fielding.

For 2008, the Yankees need Mussina to keep his strike out rate at around 6.0 to 6.5 per 9 innings. They need him to take those home run totals down, and they need him to figure out why his LOB percentage dropped to 66.1 percent. For whatever reason, Mussina is getting worse at keeping baserunners from scoring. Considering this outlook, it’s not out of the realm of possibilities that Mike Mussina could be a league-average starter for the Yankees in 2008. That would be a welcome development indeed.

Phils slightly interested in Mussina

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Our buddies at MLB Trade Rumors directed us to this article in the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. Scroll past the football bits, and you’ll land on this gem:

The Philadelphia Phillies reportedly have a mild interest in New York Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina. Pitching against National League lineups, without designated hitters, could extend Mussina’s career long enough to boost his Hall of Fame hopes. He’s no cinch to make the Yankees’ starting rotation.

Granted, I have mild interest in a lot of things that never come true, but hey, it’s a slow day. Now, as long-time readers of RAB know, I’m no fan of Mike Mussina, and while my kneejerk reaction to this rumor was something along the lines of “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out,” I think the Yankees actually need Mike Mussina.

In 2008, somehow, the Yankees are going to need to fashion together 1,458 innings, give or take a few extra-inning affairs. By and large, this means finding some starters to throw 200+ innings or, barring that, finding enough starters to put together enough innings. The Yankees have Andy Pettitte and Chien-Ming Wang penciled in for about 200-220 innings each. But after that, things look a little dicey.

Had Phil Hughes escaped injury, he would have been on target for about 180-200 innings pitched in 2008, but it was not meant to be. After reaching 146 in 2006, Hughes missed significant time and ended the year with a combined total of 116 IP. The Yanks will try to cap him around 150 in 2008, I think. Joba Chamberlain threw a combined 116 IP as well in 2007, and I’d probably peg him at 150 max in 2008.

So that leaves Ian Kennedy. He threw a shade under 170 innings in 2007 with an increase of 70 innings pitched from 2006. The Yanks could push him up to 190 or so, but they would probably want to keep him around 170 again.

Enter Mike Mussina. Unless we want to live through Kei Igawa and a parade of Jeff Karstens, Darrell Rasner and the guy begging for change on the street, the Yankees may need 150 innings or so out of Mike Mussina.

So never mind that this trade – this hypothetical, maybe-the-Phillies-are-interested trade – has a minuscule change in hell of happening. It might not even be good for the Yanks if it did.

Why I have a hard time bashing Mussina

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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.

Yanks’ old arms gearing up a final October

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It’s rough being an old pitcher on the Yankees these days. All the talk swirls around the young arms: Joba, Ian, Edwar, Phil. Even Brian Cashman gushes for paragraphs about Humberto and Ross, not to mention the slew of injured pitchers rehabbing with the Yanks.

For the Yankees and their October dreams, success lies squarely in the past, and starting tonight, we’ll see if that past is ready for one last gasp of greatness.

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Moose offers up some perspective

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Peter Abraham has a few choice words from Mike Mussina:

“We’re leading the wild card now and we want to stay after it. The last four days we haven’t played very well. We’ve been flat it seems like. We’ve got to get our heads on right and play with some energy.”

I was all set to write a post on this tonight, but Mussina summed up my feelings in fewer words. After dropping three of four this weekend, panic has set in a bit among Yankee fans. But the Yanks still lead the Wild Card, and they will win games. I think we’re see a re-energized Yankee team take the field behind Chien-Ming Wang on Tuesday night. Time to go for the kill.

Clemens undergoes MRI

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After giving up five runs in four innings, Roger Clemens left the game today. His first stop: New York-Presbyterian Hospital for an MRI. Even if it comes up completely clean, he’ll miss his next start. Mike Mussina, who didn’t look very impressive but at least was hitting 88 and 89 on the YES gun in his 3.2 innings, will start in his place.