03/14: YB Community Projection: Mike Mussina
Posted by: James
Mike Mussina - Starting Pitcher
Age: 37 Years Old.
Three-year history and splits:
Outlook: For the second year in a row, Mike Mussina wasn't the pitcher Yankees fans have come to expect. He was just another old (37) league average (ERA+ of 101) pitcher who battled injuries to pitch 180 innings. He definitely wasn't the hall-of-fame caliber pitcher (yes, I said it - don't believe me? Read this) he had been in the past. He started off slow but he had a long good stretch during the season, essentially pitching well from May through July (110 2/3 innings) when he posted a 9-4 record with a 3.50 ERA. Then the injuries kicked in (elbow problems) and he just wasn't the same throughout the rest of the year. The real question now is; which pitcher is going to show up in 2005 (see a trend here?). I know that he was coming off an injury but unlike Randy Johnson who finished strong, Moose disturbingly went 4-3 with a 5.16 ERA in 12 starts after the All-Star break.
I like Mike and it's known around the league that Moose is a smart guy but if your fastball is topping out at 90 mph (he barely even touched that high early on in the season) when you used to consistently hit the low 90s, you will have problems adjusting. That's what looks to be happening here. Mussina is still a good pitcher and barring further injuries, I think that he will show flashes of his old dominance during the season. I just don't think that the stuff is there for Yankees fans to expect a return to the Mussina of old. Still, if anyone can figure out a way to work and thrive with a new set of tools, the Moose from Stanford can.
Please post your predictions for the following stat line in the comments section:
Age: 37 Years Old.
Three-year history and splits:
| SEASON | G | GS | CG | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | W | L | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 31 | 31 | 2 | 215.2 | 192 | 86 | 81 | 21 | 40 | 195 | 17 | 8 | 3.40 |
| 2004 | 27 | 27 | 1 | 165.2 | 178 | 91 | 84 | 22 | 40 | 132 | 12 | 9 | 4.59 |
| 2005 | 30 | 30 | 2 | 180.2 | 199 | 93 | 88 | 23 | 47 | 142 | 13 | 8 | 4.41 |
Outlook: For the second year in a row, Mike Mussina wasn't the pitcher Yankees fans have come to expect. He was just another old (37) league average (ERA+ of 101) pitcher who battled injuries to pitch 180 innings. He definitely wasn't the hall-of-fame caliber pitcher (yes, I said it - don't believe me? Read this) he had been in the past. He started off slow but he had a long good stretch during the season, essentially pitching well from May through July (110 2/3 innings) when he posted a 9-4 record with a 3.50 ERA. Then the injuries kicked in (elbow problems) and he just wasn't the same throughout the rest of the year. The real question now is; which pitcher is going to show up in 2005 (see a trend here?). I know that he was coming off an injury but unlike Randy Johnson who finished strong, Moose disturbingly went 4-3 with a 5.16 ERA in 12 starts after the All-Star break.
I like Mike and it's known around the league that Moose is a smart guy but if your fastball is topping out at 90 mph (he barely even touched that high early on in the season) when you used to consistently hit the low 90s, you will have problems adjusting. That's what looks to be happening here. Mussina is still a good pitcher and barring further injuries, I think that he will show flashes of his old dominance during the season. I just don't think that the stuff is there for Yankees fans to expect a return to the Mussina of old. Still, if anyone can figure out a way to work and thrive with a new set of tools, the Moose from Stanford can.
Please post your predictions for the following stat line in the comments section:
| G | GS | Innings | W | L | BB | K | ERA |
|---|
Kyle wrote:
30 30 185 11 9 0 0 140 40 4.2