A Moose for All Seasons

Faithful 26goingon27 readers may have noticed our recent lampooning of Mike Mussina. Now, I personally am a “Moose Man”, and not in that weird Canadian sort of way, but he certainly deserved the criticism when he came up short in a must-win game against Boston last week. Now, I believe that Moose's failings are the result of high expectations; he’s a very good pitcher, who is supposed to be a great pitcher. For instance, Moose has never won 20 games, but he has won 19 twice, 18 three times, and 17 twice. Perhaps more impressive is that in 16 major league seasons, Moose has won at least 15 games ten times. Here’s another way to look at it, although he’s never won a Cy Young Award, he’s finished in the top 6 times. Similarly, while never winning the ERA crown, he’s been in the top 5 seven times. There’s also the near no-hitters and near perfect games. Those are all impressive accomplishments that put him on the almost Hall of Fame status.

Despite those accomplishments, Moose has earned his share of criticism, for one, he was one of the most highly paid players in the game and he was not one of the five best pitchers in the game during that period. Furthermore, he’s a whiner, complaining about having his starts mixed up and other assorted things. He doesn’t have overpowering stuff, but gets a lot of strikeouts, but gets them with off speed pitches and a knuckle-curve - very unsexy. Finally, the Yankees have not won a World Series since he’s been here. It is that last factor that has somehow earned him the perception of being unclutch, the harshest of insults to be hurled at a Yankee. So, is Moose truly unclutch or is it just perception? Here’s a look at how he’s performed in the playoffs for the Bronx Bombers.

Note: I am ignoring Mussina’s career with the Orioles. I realize this may be unfair to him, however we're concerned with Mike as a Yank not an O.

2001
American League Division Series against Oakland Athletics
Mussina’s first playoff appearance for the Yankees was in 2001 against the Athletics. Mussina pitched game 3 against Barry Zito, with the Yankees down 2 games to none. Moose pitched very well in that game, scattering 4 hits and a walk over 7 innings, while striking out 4. The Yankees won 1-0 and proceeded to take the next two games to win the series. Unfortunately, Moose’s performance tends to get overshadowed by some guy named Jeter and some flip play he made. It is worth noting that Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte, guys most Yankee fans count as playoff dependable, lost the first 2 games of the series. I’d say this counts as a very good pitching performance in a must win situation, and is therefore a clutch start.
Yankees win the series 3-2

American League Championship Series against Seattle Mariners
Against the Mariners, Moose pitched game 2, with the Yanks having won the opener. Once again Moose pitched well, 6 innings, 4 hits, 1 walk, 2 runs and 3 Ks. The Yanks won 3-2. So far, so good for the Moose man.
Yankees win the series 4-1.


World Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks
The World Series that year was a memorable one for a lot of reasons better chronicled in other places. Moose pitched games 1 and 5. In game 1, Moose got hammered, getting knocked out in the third inning after giving up 5 runs and 6 hits, although 2 of the runs were unearned and he did strike out 4. In game 5, better known for Scott Brosius’ Tino Martinez imitation, Moose pitched very well, going 8 innings, scattering 5 hits and striking out 10, though he did give up 2 solo homers. Once again, an excellent pitching performance was obscured by other Yankees’ late inning heroics.
The Yankees lose the series 4-3.

So in the 2001 playoffs, Moose makes 4 starts and wins 3, so far, so clutch. Clemens had an outstanding playoff run in 2001, but otherwise, Moose was our second best playoff pitcher that year.

2002
American League Division Series against Angels of Anaheim, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sonoma County, Orange County, etc.
Moose pitched game 3 against the Angels. The series was tied 1-1 going into this game. An awful start for Moose - 4 innings, 6 hits, 4 runs and 1 K. Most disturbing was the Yankees got off to a good start against Angel’s starter Ramon Ortiz, scoring 6 off him in the first 3 innings and Moose could not hold the lead. Although Mike Stanton would eventually blow this game, Moose deserves the lions’ share of the blame for this loss.

Note: The Yankee pitchers were awful in this series. Clemens won game 1, but gave up 4 runs in 5.2 innings; Pettitte, got knocked out after 3 innings in game 2, giving up 4 runs and 8 hits, and finally Boomer Wells gave up 8 in 4.2 innings in the finale. Overall, a horrid showing by the Pinstriped hurlers.
The Yankees lose the series 3-1.

2003
American League Division Series against the Minnesota Twins
Moose was out dueled by Johan Santana and the Twins’ bullpen in game 1 of the American League Division. Still, Moose pitched well, giving up 3 runs over 7 innings while striking out 6. Hard to put this loss on him.
The Yankees win the series 3-1.

American League Championship Series against the Boston Red Sox
In game 1 of a superb American League Championship Series against Boston, Moose was off his game. Going 5.2 innings, giving up 8 hits, 4 runs on 3 homeruns and only striking out 4, while being bested by knuckler Tim Wakefield. In game 4, Moose did a far better job then in game 1, striking out 10 and giving up 3 runs over 6.2 innings, but still lost to Wakefield who threw a gem. Throughout this series, Mussina had a terrible time with the longball, giving up 5 homers in his two starts.

In game 7, Moose shined brightly in a game that is forever memorialized in baseball lore. In the 4th inning with the Bombers down 4-0 and facing a sharp Pedro Martinez, Moose came in with 2 on and no one out. Giving up another run at this point could have proven deadly, but with cool precision, Moose got Jason Varitek to strike out and Johnny Damon to ground into a double play - snuffing out the threat. While the MLB commercials love showing Aaron Boone’s shot, Moose’s pitching in the 4th was a significant factor in turning the game around.
The Yankees beat Boston 4-3.

World Series against Florida Marlins
In the World Series against Florida, Moose was outstanding in game 3, giving up 1 run in 7 innings, while striking out 9. The Yanks did lose this series in 6, but Moose pitched the best game out of any Yankee starter.
Yankees lose the series 4-2.

2003 was a fairly good playoff run for Mussina. Overall he made 4 starts, was outstanding in 1, good in another, okay in a third, and awful in the 4th. He also deserves credit for his outstanding relief work.

2004
American League Division Series against the Minnesota Twins
In the American League Division Series against the Twins, Mussina was once again bested by Johan Santana, not that there’s anything wrong with that. Moose pitched very well, 7 innings, 7 hits, 2 runs and 7 strikeouts.
The Yankees win the series 3-1.

American League Championship Series against the Boston Red Sox
I’m not going to spend a lot of time on the series against Boston, because it will just make me mad. So, in short, Moose was solid in game 1, going 6.2 innings and striking out 8 while giving up 4 runs in a Yankees win. In game 5, Moose pitched well, giving up 2 runs in 6 innings while striking out 7.
No results as this series never really happened.

2005
American League Division Series against the Anaheim Angels of the Northwest
Against the Angels, Moose had two starts. He was workmanlike in game 1, getting the win, while pitching 5.2 innings, striking out 4 and giving up 0 runs. Although he wasn’t scored upon, the fact that he didn’t make it out of the 6th tarnishes this start. In game 5, Moose was awful, getting knocked out in the third after giving up 5 runs on 6 hits, while striking out 3. (This game featured the fielding ineptitude of Gary Sheffield and Bubba Crosby, so those runs are a bit misleading, he was bad, but not that bad).
Yankees lose the series 3-2.

2006
American League Division Series against the Detroit Tigers
Moose pitched game 2 of the American League Division series against Detroit.
I was at this game, it was painful.

Moose’s line was solid, 7 innings, 4 runs, 8 hits and 5 strikeouts. Moose wasn’t bad, but disappointing in the sense that he just could not hold Detroit down in what should have been a winnable game.
Yankees lose the series 3-1.

In conclusion, Moose has been a solid, but unspectacular postseason pitcher. His two signature performances were his winning the “Flip” game in 2001 and his relief appearance against Boston in 2004. His worst performances were game 5 of the 2005 ALDS, game 1 of the 2001 WS, and game 3 of the 2002 ALDS. He was also outstanding in the 2003 World Series against Florida and in game 5 of the 2001 World Series against Arizona. Other than that Moose has a mixture of solid but unspectacular starts. Truth be told, his overall numbers are solid, he just lacks those killer, spectacular post season starts that make Yankee fans embrace Pettitte, Clemens, Cone and El Duque. In other words, he is basically the same pitcher in the post season as he is in the regular season, usually solid, sometimes spectacular and occasionally awful. He doesn’t seem to elevate his game, but he doesn’t pitch poorly either. Is he clutch, unclutch, I’m not sure? He’s won some big games in the post season, Moose just lacks that signature game, perhaps this is the year he gets it.