Three in a row for the Moose
-
- May
- 3
How about Mike Mussina? He’s 3-0 with a 2.50 ERA in his last three starts and has allowed one extra-base hit in his last 11 innings.
“I know the ball’s not going to come out of my hand going 93 again,” Mussina said. “So I have to pitch with what I have and I’m doing OK.”
Joe Girardi hinted after the game that Mussina could get an extra day of rest with the team off on Monday. Originally, it looked like the Yankees would simply skip Ian Kennedy and keep the other four starters on regular rest. But now they’re at least considering adding a fifth starter. Either way, it seems Kennedy will get skipped.
Girardi didn’t say what pitcher he would use. Kei Igawa, perhaps. It just seems to be in the discussion stage at this point. Girardi and Brian Cashman have to talk it over.
Not much else to report. Jose Molina was pleased to snap his long hitless skid. But like every other backup catcher, he considers it a good day when his starter does well.
I am not covering the game tomorrow. My niece has her first communion so I’ll be getting up early to attend church and dodge bolts of lightning. The estimable Kevin Devaney Jr. is covering the game and I’m quite confident he’ll call me with a lineup to post.
This entry was posted
on Saturday, May 3rd, 2008 at 7:25 pm by Peter Abraham.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Share and Enjoy: 
| 
Print This Post
| 
Email This Post
Peter Abraham
I’m happy that Moose has found his way these last 3 starts. Some of the offensive line-ups have been pretty weak though. I want to see Moose put up those numbers against Boston. But still and all, I am glad to see Moose changing his pitching style. It was important for him to do that NOW and not later. The Yankees NEED Mussina for a 14-15 win season.
Three comments: 1. If Rassner has a good outing, then the question is whether to keep Kennedy up (be it to pitch as the 5th starter or as a long man) or send him down.
If Rassner doesn’t pitch well, perhaps Rassner could stay as the long man.
2. I’m not sure if someone’s mentioned this, but I wonder if IPK’s problem isn’t that he hasn’t had a chance to get into a groove this year.
Last September you could tell when he came up that he was in full command of his pitches, and had all sorts of confidence, but he hasn’t gotten there yet this year….
3. In re: Moose, I wonder if Stottlemyre and Guidry were unwilling (or unable) to talk Moose into changing his style.
Granted, it could be that the Moose was stubborn, but some credit should go to Eiland for working with Moose on this…
congrats on your niece, Pete. Second, will Moose be back next year?
Pete, are you reporting that Girardi said Kennedy is out? or is it that there’s some speculation as to whether he or Igawa would make the next start in the 5th slot on thursday?
I was at the game today! Moose looked great, I also think I got hypothermia from the wind.
Pete, you enjoy the day with your family. As for Kei, I was fortunate enough to be 4 rows behind home plate at today’s SWB Yankees game. Three rows behind me was Kei Igawa charting pitches I assume. Got his autograph on a foul ball we got and a picture with my 7 year old. Good day!
I’d rather the Yankees go with the 4-man rotation until May 10 and leave Igawa out of it for now.
And Moose is a creature of habit. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Leave him on regular rest.
“Some of the offensive line-ups have been pretty weak though. I want to see Moose put up those numbers against Boston.”
well, he’s probably not going to. and so what?
Moose is your 4/5 starter at this point, and that’s what it means to be a back of the rotation guy. he’s not going to shut down Boston or Detroit, but he should be good enough to keep you in it against the rest of the league.
he’s beaten TB, Cleveland, Chicago, and Seattle. those are 4 solid teams. he’s kept them in the game in just about every start except for the terrible start against Boston, and i guess you could throw the start in Fenway in there.
he’s probably not going to beat Boston at this point. do you know how many times Manny has faced him at this point? with the unbalanced schedule + 5 postseason appearances, Manny has seen Moose like 120+ times. that’s more than Mussina has seen any other hitter in MLB. he just doesn’t have anything left to show him.
watching Mussina re-invent himself this season has been a blast to watch. he’s proving a TON of people wrong on this site, and he’s doing it with brains instead of power.
i hope he can keep it up, it’s a great story.
Tell your niece happy communion Pete! Do they still dress up in the little white dresses with the veils?
I love watching Moose.
I just wish we could get Doug Mankowitz back at first. That hole is going to kill us. I hate Giambi.
I don’t want to see us recall Igawa.
Amazing… Moose beats the teams with the #10, #12, ans #14 team batting avg out of 14 teams…. and suddenly…. he’s good again. But, when he actually faced a quality offense… he got shelled….. food for thought.
Does anyone know why A-Jax has not played for Trenton the last couple of games? Pete?
Worry about Moose next yr. in the offseason the guy is 39..
Damon leads the Yanks in total bases.. he has 12 doubles and 4 HR’s look at the total bases for some of the hitters it is not pretty.
Jeter has so few walks and K’s because he is swinging early and often.
Cano and Giambi look like they are as hot as ever!!!!!!
Cano is in a miserable terrible slump.. When he is not getting basehits he has zero value to the team…he never walks etc…..
“I just wish we could get Doug Mankowitz back at first.”
.191/.283/.255
“Does anyone know why A-Jax has not played for Trenton the last couple of games? Pete?”
caught the club house flu
“Cano and Giambi look like they are as hot as ever!!!!!!”
ok sarcasm
“Cano is in a miserable terrible slump.. When he is not getting basehits he has zero value to the team…he never walks etc…..”
relax, they just faced one of the best frickin’ young SP in the game in King Felix, he hit the ball hard problem was it was at Ichiro, Giambi is a different story.
Couple of points. Right now flying under the radar is Matsui, hes been awesome. Kennedy? I thought for sure they would trade him last off season, while his stock was high. We already have a pitcher just like him, high 80`s fastball, afraid to come over the plate, but they guy we have (Mussina) has loads more experience and more pitches. Holding onto Kennedy makes little sense since the Yanks already have a guy like that.
Giambi has to hit the ball the other way on occasion or he should sit.
Let’s just say Rasner is really, really good for this time up while Hughes is recovering and Kennedy is fixing things up. (I doubt Igawa is gonna be consistantly good.) Would the Yanks rather stick with Hughes or Kennedy? Or both or maybe none?
oh and I really think that if…no, WHEN the yankees make it to the World Series that Mussina, Giambi, Matzui…maybe Damon will retire, especially if they end up with really good numbers by the end of 08. Actually, I think thats the best way to retire..with a world series or with outstanding numbers, good way to go.
OK…if they let Igawa pitch even one game this year, they are giving up on that game…I don’t care if he has a 0.00 ERA in AAA, the dude is the poster child for AAAA pitcher. He will get smoked ! IMHO… totally SMOKED !
Ok just got home after a great dinner out after the game and have uploaded my photos from today. Link is below fr any interested. I have decided to capture my season at the stadium his year so this is what I have so far.
Other than the win and the entertainment provided by Damon todayny fav moment had to be and not sure they even caught this on TV was Jeter dealing with the Pigeons that came on the field around the 4th or 5th inning. Just sort of stood there between he and Ensberg and it would not move finally it almost fle at him andhe (jeter) looked like he was acharacter from the movie the Bords. It happened agin a few minutes later pretty funny stuff.
Well anyway will be back to the STadium again tomorrow. This time using y friends seats behind the plate so will have a different photo perspective for sure.
http://yankeesseason2008.shutterfly.com
“Moose beats the teams with the #10, #12, ans #14 team batting avg out of 14 teams…. and suddenly…. he’s good again. ”
who cares about batting average? the Rangers have a higher batting average than the Tigers, do you think the Rangers have a better offense than the Tigers?
how about Runs/game?
in that case, he’s beaten the #4, 5, 8 and 9 teams.
are you really telling me that Cleveland isn’t a good team? that the Rays don’t have a good offense?
yes, he’s not a #1 or #2 starter anymore. he’s not going to shut down the elite offenses anymore.
but he’s doing just fine against the middle of the pack teams.
i don’t get why yankee fans have so much hate for Mussina.
Thanks, Brandon.
“When he is not getting basehits he has zero value to the team…he never walks etc…..”
actually, he’s been walking at a pretty good clip this year.
no one is ever going to confuse him with Giambi, but he’s on pace to walk about 40 times.
if he was, you know, hitting at all, his walk rate would be adequate.
ok wish we had that edit button back my mind was moving faster than my hands sorry for all the typos
LOVE watching Mussina prove people wrong - he’s still got plenty left. It’s not going to be A+ stuff, but he can and will win games. Seeing a Moose/Damon-fueled win made my day.
I’ve witnessed Rasner pitch twice (both were wins), and he seems to have good stuff…. here’s to hoping he can help out!
Didn’t get a chance to see much of the game today so I’m watching the Encore.
A few observations:
Moose seems much more comfortable on the mound and in control today. I don’t care if he beats little leaguers as long as it counts in the win column and he can give the team innings.
I like the high socks on Giambi. Someone guessed he was going with the A-Rod look but maybe he’s trying to channel his inner Mietkiewicz to improve his defense.
Derek was not happy getting the error on the play that pulled Giambi off the bag. The camera caught him giving Giambi a major smirk and saying “GD it Jason”. For those of you that want Giambi gone, the Captain was on your side today in the top of the 7th.
It’s cause Yankees fans want 5 Walter Johnsons/Cy Youngs/Christy Mathewsons/etc.
This goes without saying, and its totally off topic, but it’s awesome how the readership has taken off for this blog in the last year or so.
Kudos to Pete.
“Cano is in a miserable terrible slump.. When he is not getting basehits he has zero value to the team…he never walks etc…..”
Zero value? A bit of an overreaction, don’t you think? He’s a pretty good second baseman.
Nice pics Gayle.
Don’t worry, most of us speak the language “typo” here.
Gayle,
Nice pics thanks for posting. It reminded me I haven’t loaded my pictures from Spring Training yet!
I need to do it because a month from today we will be in NYC! :8
The emoticons stopped working.
HI Pete - enjoy the time w/your family at the communion tomorrow - where is it? I have one tomorrow also.
I’m still laughing at the guy quoting batting average as the measure of team’s offensive capabilities.
Victor Martinez has been the best hitter in the AL, you know.
Gayle - great pics! I’m going to the game tomorrow (we went back in april, too) - will try to post my pics so you can see them, too!
I went to my cousin’s daughters communion today. Lots of kids although it was a pretty quick service. Hope you don’t have to drive over any of the bridges, traffic will be a mess with the bike race.
Jennifer what bike race?? YOu have me nervous now as I cross the GW going to the game
And Pete, here’s a suggestion:
Why not set the stage for an intelligent debate about Wang being an ace? Define what “ace” means, and let us discuss.
Most people will agree that ace is a very subjective term.
I use it in multiple ways:
A) “A team’s ace.” Wang is the Yankees’ ace, no doubt about that. In the same way that Millwood is the Rangers’ ace, and Mark Hendrickson is the Marlins’ ace.
B) “A true ace.” This really has nothing whatsoever to do with definition A. It’s a guy who can be counted on to be dominant or near-dominant every time out, to the point where you’re surprised if he gives up more than a few runs or loses the game. They are the ones worth giving huge contracts to. There are very few - they can definitely be counted on two hands, and almost certainly on one.
Pete;
Enjoy the celebration Sunday and relax! Life is to short. 27/08.
cano is walking at a good rate that is why his OBP is lessthen 300!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And he hasn’t hit against anyone including King Felix who gave up 11 hits or so today.
stop defending Cano so far he has SUCKED
gayle
Trying to find info on it. I don’t think it goes over the GW, but it creates, a mess around nyc. I’ll continue to look.
Pete: Congratulations. Hope you enjoy the day!
http://www.bikenewyork.org/rides/fbbt/route_map.html
I think you’ll be okay. Goes to the southern tip of da Bronx.
A few years ago, I didn’t realize it was going on, had to drive to Brooklyn, got stuck in awful traffic on Staten Island cause they close the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.
Moooose! Redux
Now that Mike Mussina is starting to put some wins together it makes you wonder if the old Moose is back for good…
It’s good to have you back Moose…hope you stay a while!
Igawa? Come on, Cashman, are you serious? Is your ego that big that it prevents you from see your own mistakes and acknowledging them as such?
At least IPK has something to learn from failing.
What will more of Igawa demonstrating his utter incapacity to pitch in the AL gain the Yankees?
Doesn’t even at impress at AAA. He has 3.58 ERA, for gods sakes.
Do we really need to watch Igawa implode again before you finally concede your error? God, you’re turning out to be as stubborn, myopic, and hubristic as George at his worst. No wonder you’ve lasted inside the Yankees hierarchy so long.
Shame on you!
KS: Don’t you mean Pete, not Cashman?
Watching the game now. Moose looked like he was pitching fairly quickly, pitching high, inside, or low and outside. He looked good.
I was just talking about this with a friend the other day… what ever happened to moose’s knuckle curve? Just wondering…
Betsy if your there….
first off I didn’t mean to offend your opinion, second Tabata didn’t show anyone on the field up (he went into the lockerroom when he smashed his bat), I know it doesn’t impress you about him actually being real and that wasn’t the problem. I took offense to the spoiled brat comment you made. That is something Jose sure as hell isn’t. When Kevin Brown punched the wall it was w/ his pitching hand (w/ a 20 MIL dollar fallback), it showed stupidity, Paul O’neill is loved for the temper tantrums he threw. Tabata actually had a whole different experience, in AA he was struggling at 19 yrs. old, if he doesn’t make it he doesn’t have anything to fall back on here in the U.S., this kid is from Venezuela it’s either make it here in baseball or become a never was w/ no financial backing, spoiled brat is a seperation w/ him, I take offense because I’m part latino I know what these guys go through I’ve seen the ABCD camps in the Dominican Republic I’ve seen 15 yr. olds pluck from thier family because a scout wants to rob talent for the cheapest price they can get. I think you’d see it different if you saw what they go through or from where they came from to get it going.
Tabata takes this game serious, he works out day to day but no one ever reports his good work ethics, you always have to ask a Patrick Teale in the know or a field director to know that he actually isn’t lazy. That’s the part that upsets me, he then shows he’s human, that baseball actually matters to him and then people want to label him w/o knowing the whole story. You know how much this kid signed for at 16 ? $500,000, chump change because I bet most if not all of that money went towards his family, getting his mom a house, buying a little bit of land, the rest daily expenses. That’s why it gets to me when we call players like him spoiled.
Beware, someone here is throwing a sissy fit …………..
Brandon, I’m here - I responded in the game thread, but I will repost it here so it doesn’t get lost.
Brandon, I’m sorry for going off on you like that - we just had a misunderstanding.
I appreciate your filling me in on Jose’s background and no - I can’t imagine what it must be like for a baby like he is to carry the hopes and dreams of his family on this back (maybe the hopes and dreams of his whole town). I didn’t consider how big of a deal it is for him as a Latino because I don’t judge people on their race or ethnicity; therefore, I never considered treating Jose any differently than I would anyone else. If Phil had done what he did, I would have been very disappointed. However, knowing what I know now, I have to say that it sure appears that I jumped the gun on him without knowing the pressures that are burdening his young shoulders. I hope he’s going to be ok and I hope the Yankees understand what the kid is going through. Jose also needs to understand that slumps happen and he’s going to be ok, but then - I can understand why he’d be afraid that he might not be. When you’re mired in a terrible slump and you are not a veteran with a proven track record, it’s easy to think that this is all there is - that you just can’t hack it at the highest levels. Then, the fear comes, the fear of your dream dying.
If Jose is really a decent kid, I’ll be rooting hard for him.
I understand what you’re saying about what Tabata may be going through but, unfortunately, what he did doesn’t help his reputation.
He essentially walked out on his job…not a very professional thing for anyone to do.
But what concerns me the most, is that he had such an exteme reaction to only one month of struggles. As we all know, there is a lot of pressure involved with playing for the Yankees. Some of our young guys like Hughes and Kennedy are experiencing that now. Part of proving that you’re ready to play in NY, is showing that you’ll be able to handle adversity. Running away in the middle of a game and thinking of quitting after a bad month suggests that he’s nowhere near ready for the bright lights of NY.
The good thing is Tabata is just a kid, and hopefully he’ll grow from the adversity he is facing now. Hopefully his performance will come around (and he’s starting to show some signs), and he will learn that he can overcome similar rough patches in the future.
Great to see Moose putting together a string of wins. Let’s not offer him a contract extension yet tho. We will be losing over $80 million of contracts this off season and will have a good shot at signing a top shelf FA starting pitcher to join Wang, the youngsters, and maybe Pettitte if we want to resign him. As witty as Moose is, and as valiant as he’s been the last few starts, let’s make these decisions at the end of the year.
“cano is walking at a good rate that is why his OBP is lessthen 300!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And he hasn’t hit against anyone including King Felix who gave up 11 hits or so today.
stop defending Cano so far he has SUCKED”
i never said he hasn’t sucked.
but you should look up what isoD means before you try to argue about his walk rate.
“Igawa? Come on, Cashman, are you serious? Is your ego that big that it prevents you from see your own mistakes and acknowledging them as such? ”
isn’t sending Kennedy down the very definition of ackowledging a mistake?