Just ask Smelmooo....for the last 3 years or so, I've grown to hate Mike Mussina. When others were chanting Moose (which really sounds like BOOO!), I was actually booing.
While Mussina has gone 98-66 as a Yankees starter since joining the team in 2001 and won an amazing 256 games over his career, I never liked him. I always associated him with his old team -- the Baltimore Orioles - and felt that he symbolized everything that was wrong with the free spending Yankees after the Dynasty died in 2001 -- according that bastard Buster Olney.
There's been times since 2001 that Mussina has been the Yankees number 1 pitcher. I put up with him then. But as the years went on, his fastball lost a few miles on it each other and I grew to hate him more each and every start out. I don't know what it was about him. It came to the point where I stopped watching Yankees games when Mussina pitched - which is weird for someone who tries to watch every Yankees game during the year.
This year though has been different. At the beginning of the year, Mussina was slated at the team's fifth starter and not much was expected of him. Many said that he would be out of the rotation by mid-season. That isn't close to happening now as since the beginning of the season - besides two bad starts against the Red Sox - Mussina has pitching superbly.
In 9 starts this season, Mussina has gone 6-3 with a 3.99 ERA. He's won his last 5 straight starts where he's given up only 9 runs. He's not throwing flame up there to get hitters out, but is keeping them off balance with his 83 mph fastball - yes, 83 mph - and his 66 mph change-up - yes, you heard that right. I could even hit a 66 mph baseball in my high school days.
Now, I look forward to every game that he's pitching. He's been a bright light in the dark first 1/4 of the Yankees 2008 season. You can't say that for many people on this $200+ million team.
And that's why now I love Mike Mussina.
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