A Life Lesson

Things that you can count on being small

. A Hobbit
.Mini-Me
.A newborn
.Tax rebates
.Mike Mussina in a big spot

Last night's Yankees 7-3 loss to the Red Sox proved once again that Mike Mussina is nowhere near the pitcher he was from 2001-2004. Over the last 3 years, Mussina has proven to gag in the spotlight. Some of it is physical - he's 38, his fastball can barely break a pane of glass, and some is mental - the slightest change in his routine makes him cantankerous and whiny.

Mussina put the Yankees in an immediate hole, that they would never recover from when, he served up a 1st inning 3-run shot to Manny Ramirez. He's become a master at not holding leads or giving the lead up when the game is tied. It's plagued the Yankees in the regular season (last week's White Sox game for instance), and in the post-season (e.g. the '06 ALDS).

Brian Cashman clearly made a mistake in bringing Mussina back. Mussina's fastball is not reaching 90 and his propensity for getting injured has increased greatly. He looks like a guy who has thrown over 3,200 big league innings. The Yankees should buy Mussina out of the 2nd year of his contract and move on to a younger, more durable, guttier pitcher.