Mike Mussina pitches a new optimism

[BronxBomberz]

With Roger Clemens residing in steroids purgatory, Mike Mussina once again is the Yankees' oldest starting pitcher. He certainly looked all of his 39 years during a wretched stretch late last season.

Much has been made about the Yanks' decision to give two of their five rotation slots to young guns Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy, but the bigger risk might be sticking with Mussina after he went 11-10 with a career-worst 5.15ERA over 28games in 2007.

"Last year was last year. It wasn't my best year, and I know that. But you've got to let those things go," said Mussina, who will oppose Toronto's A.J. Burnett tonight. "It's like having a bad game - or three bad games - you've got to let them go and move on. That's pretty much what I've done."

Mussina certainly had three bad ones last August - bad enough to get bumped from Joe Torre's September rotation after he was strafed for 19 earned runs in 9-2/3 innings (a 17.69 ERA) in two losses to the Tigers and another against the Angels. Injuries to Clemens and later to Kennedy gave Mussina a reprieve, and he won three important games down the stretch before shifting to the bullpen for the AL division series.

Mussina, who had made a big-league-record 498 consecutive starts to begin his career before making his first relief appearance on Sept. 3, publicly supported Torre's decision to remove him from the rotation. But he seems to be looking forward to the clean slate he has received from new manager Joe Girardi.

"He had a pretty good September, so it wasn't like his last month was his tough month," Girardi said. "Most pitchers are going to have months like (August). Mike has been a model of consistency over his whole career, so people get shocked when things go haywire.

Following what he referred to as a "more-involved" workout regimen before and during spring training, Mussina says he feels "better physically now than I did last year," when he missed a few early starts with hamstring problems.

With Mussina's contract set to expire in October, the Yanks are counting on a healthy and productive season from the righthander, who is 43rd on the all-time list with 250 wins after reaching double-digits for an AL-record 16 straight season.

"It's just like the end of any other contract. You've just got to play," Mussina said. "This team doesn't negotiate early, so that's not an issue. And because I'm getting up there in age, there are other factors that go into what I'm going to do next year. So I'll just play."

Mussina also believes his rookie year with Baltimore in 1991 fresh out of Stanford doesn't compare with the expectations facing Hughes and Kennedy this season in New York.

"It's not the same. I wasn't on a team that had expectations this high," Mussina said. "I was the only guy that young at the time being moved into the rotation. It was a different era, almost 20 years ago. The stuff these guys go through in the minor leagues, we didn't do. We weren't protected as much; they sent us out there to see if we'd survive. You had to survive it if you were going to keep going. That's just how it was."

Mike Mussina pitches a new optimism

[Turn 2]

I really like Moose no matter what team he pitches for I will root for him. I hope he can turn it around from last year as he is a class act.

[browntown653]

I think Moose has a bit more left in him than he did last season. Not saying I expect him to be an ace, but if he's in the mid 4-s that should be all we need for him.

[bwitty24]

I hope he can get past the 5th inning without getting rocked this year.

[Turn 2]

His endurance is surely what has taken a hit recently. He still has the quality stuff, but when he gets tired he just starts leaving things up in the zone and he will get hit if that is the case.