Mike Mussina

The New York Yankees showed Friday night, with a dramatic 1-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox, that their years-long attempt to find a number one starter is finally over with the development of Joba Chamberlain.

But as Sidney Ponson’s horrible outing Sunday night in New York’s 9-2 loss to the Red Sox showed, it is the back of their rotation that needs help if the Yankees are to win the American League Eastern Division title, or even the wild card. Teams need top-flight starting pitching once they reach the postseason—but the Yankees may not have enough depth to get there.

The Yankees have three reliable pitchers right now: the reborn Mike Mussina, Andy Pettitte, and, of course, Joba Chamberlain.  read more »

Don’t let the scoreline fool you: Mike Mussina is living on borrowed time.

His fastball during last night’s 6-1 win over Tampa Bay at Yankee Stadium wasn’t particularly fast—MLB.com’s Gameday listed his initial 85 mile-per-hour fastball offering as a changeup—and his once-great curveball was merely good. This will not be good enough against the American League’s better lineups.

Mussina has built a solid Hall of Fame case on a pair of factors—dramatic difference in velocity between his good fastball and excellent curveball, along with above-average control. But Mussina’s maximum velocity is down considerably, eliminating one of his advantages. It also has led him to nibble off the corners, trying desperately to expand the plate—and eliminating his other major advantage.  read more »

The Yankees may have been encouraged by Mike Mussina’s second outing of the spring over the weekend, when the 39-year-old veteran struck out 5 batters in just 2 2/3 innings. Then again, he also walked a pair and allowed a home run, failing to finish the third frame.

It’s too soon in the spring to draw conclusions from any pitching performance. But the Yankees are keeping a particularly wary eye on Mussina, who limped to the 2007 finish line.  read more »