“Spitting The Bit” sounds a little overboard. There was nothing wrong with Moose’s performances in the Jeter “The Flip” game against Oakland and the 2003 Aaron F. Boone game against the Bosox. Both high pressure and high leverage situations that Mussina passed with flying colors. The only thing Yankees fans have to complain about Moose is that the Yankees didn’t get him five years earlier in his career.

I think the Moose has 12 more starts in his arm… and that’s really all we need.

Mike Mussina has the same stuff as most pitchers who top out in AA. The fact that he’s got as much as he has this season out of so little is a serious testament to who he is and what he’s made of. And he gets almost zero credit for it. No right hander brings less stuff to the mound then Moose, with the possible exception of Maddux, who pitches in the NL, in the best pitchers park in the league. Mussina has been surviving on toughness, smarts and just a refusal to give in. And up until two starts ago, he was doing pretty well for himself. His body failed him before the season started, the fact that we’re only asking this question now, in August, just shows you how damn impressive Mussina, the man, is, IMO.

Moose hunting is not legal in Michigan until October so he should do well

Yeah, Moose is probably going to miss out on the HOF, but that is more circumstance than what he has done.  There are probably 3 or 4 years where he could have won 20 games pitching in front of a better team, or at least getting more run support.  And he was one bad throw from Rivera away from getting his ring.

I think what gets a lot of Yankee fans with Moose is A) he wasn’t/isn’t as good THEY thought he should be and B) The perception of him being a whiner, not a team player, etc.  For A, well, to each his own.  For B, I think if you get sucked into reading headlines, or just the first couple of paragraphs in stories in the NY papers, you could believe that. 

I think a lot of times a headline in the NY Post will say, “Moose: Umps did me in!”.  First paragraph Moose will say something like, “The umpire’s strike-zone was tight today, and I think I got squeezed on a few pitches”.  Three paragraphs later, they’ll continue with him saying, “but in the end, it’s my responsibility to make the pitches and get the outs”.  Or that piece may not be in the Post, but if you check the game recap on ESPN it is.  The media framing the public’s perception of a player; go figure.

YANKEES
Damon LF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui DH
Posada C
Giambi 1B
Cano 2B
Cabrera CF
Mussina RHP (8-9, 5.22)

I’ll take this line up tonight.. definitely. Giambi needs to be in there, and we are betting in the OF with Damon in there as well.

if he played it like this yesterday instead of DHing Damon and playing Matsui in the OF, they may have won.

“yup,” yup

I’ve always like the Moose, maybe more than most Yankee fans, my father in particular - who clings to the notion that Moose is prone to “spitting the bit” in big spots.

All due respect, your father is a loon.  But that’s OK, I have a brother who thinks Dave Winfield is the worst player in the Hall of Fame.  Out of curiosity, though, what’s his explanation for Moose saving the day when Clemens spit the bit?

There are probably 3 or 4 years where he could have won 20 games pitching in front of a better team, or at least getting more run support.

Or maybe getting to play a full season instead of a strike-shortened one a couple of times.

And I’d be willing to make a small wager that Scully scripted those lines himself.  He writes a helluva lot better than most Hollywood types.

—For B, I think if you get sucked into reading headlines, or just the first couple of paragraphs in stories in the NY papers, you could believe that. —

Well, there is also evidence in terms of how he reacts when someone like Arod makes an error, or how he NEEDS to be on a regular schedule before he pitches, or even the rumor that when he went to LAA early for game 5 a couple of years ago he was tired b/c of extracurricular activities.