Three more wins for Mike
When last we left Mike Mussina, he had picked up two nice wins in a row and improved his season record to 3-3. He has since picked up three more, raising his career win total to 256. That count has put him at 40th all-time, with Ted Lyons next on the list with 260.
Let's recap the wins.
254, against the Mariners. "Mussina (4-3) mixed pitches and speeds well and kept the Mariners off balance over six innings," the Times said. "He allowed seven hits and a run, struck out five and walked no one." Quote that gets picked up everywhere: "I cut it loose," describing an 89-mph strikeout pitch.
255, over the Indians. Mike pitched five and was fine through four. The Indians scored three runs and tied things up in the fifth, but he finished the inning. Damon put the Yankees ahead again in the bottom of the inning, and Mike got the win.
256, over Tampa Bay. "Mussina (6-3) worked six and a third innings, allowing a run, five hits and a walk," the Times said of the 2-1 win.
Much has been made of Mussina's diminished fastball, but he has at least four other pitches and is now commanding them all. He started Wednesday's game with a 68-mile-per-hour curveball and sprinkled in plenty of changeups at 66 m.p.h. Timing is everything, as they say.
"Whether it's Joba throwing 96 or me throwing 86, they have to gear their approach to whatever speed is coming," Mussina said. "Well, if I can make them gear from 68 up to 85 or 86, that's a big spread. No matter how hard the top is, the spread is pretty large.
"And if I can throw changeups for strikes at 70 miles an hour, and dump curveballs in there for strikes at 70, and work in between — throw sinkers at 81-82, throw cutters at 81-82, throw fastballs at 85-86 — then that makes it hard on them, no matter what the speed is.
"I'm not going to strike out 10 guys a game, and I know that. But I can mess with them enough that they're not going to get the swing that they want to get. And that's all I'm trying to do."
In other news, Mike is the winningest pitcher in interleague play. His next start is Tuesday against Baltimore. Meanwhile, Strategic Failure — still tracking Moose's victories — attempts to answer the question, "Why Mussina?" I owe the same answer to this blog sometime.
May 19th, 2008 at 12:00 AM
There's no way he's going to be able to get away with throwing that batting practice fastball, his 66-mph meatball and a decent curveball the entire season. His ERA will settle back into the 4.50 range before the end of the year. Mussina is going to be a very interesting case for the Hall of Fame. Some great baseball minds love him and others think he's a slightly-above average stats compiler. (I'd tend to agree with the latter.)
May 19th, 2008 at 9:02 PM
I guess I fall in the former category. This season is going to be interesting. How far can a mental pitcher go with only a mental game?