The quest for .500 is a success for the Yankees

Here we go again. New York, I would like to introduce you to the game of baseball. It's nice when the Yankees, as a team, look like they have heard of it before. You can make the argument that the Tigers, a team now playing towards its World Series potential, is a vastly superior team to the aging, powerless, and slumping Mariners. You can make that case to try and downplay these first two games. On the other hand, when the Yankees are playing well, and it has not happened as often as you would like to see as a fan, the team has a scary formula for success. Andy Pettitte is going to perform well this season, he will pitch like a two-starter and chances are when push comes to shove he will win when you need him to. Chien-Ming Wang is an ace on a vigilante mission to take out every other "ace" in the league. CC Sabathia, James Shields, Roy Halladay, and Erik Bedard have been made victims. In case he got ahead of himself, Clay Buchholz fell on the losing end of a solid performance earlier in the year as well. Wang is not only failing to lose, but he's beating the best.

The wild card between a shaky rotation (and a mediocre team) and a solid 1-2-3 punch (and a playoff threat) is Mike Mussina. Phil Hughes is hurt and was struggling; Ian Kennedy is simply not there yet. Darrell Rasner will be nothing more than a suitable back-of-the-rotation guy, as he has demonstrated in his brief career. With Joba forming half of the best 1-2 punch in the bullpen, the burden of success rests with Mike Mussina, something Brian Cashman was hoping wouldn't have to happen. Don't be mistakened, Hughes or Kennedy might still grow into a solid role this year and there is always the opportunity for a trade, a signing, or a dark horse (namingly Chamberlain). However, right now, in this state of the Yankees, the Moose must deliver. And wouldn't you know it? He has. In Mussina's last three starts, he is 3-0, pitching 18 innings, surrendering just five earned runs, walking two and striking out 10 batters. There is a silver lining to his success so far.

When Curt Schilling figured out he couldn't throw 95 miles per hour last year, he adjusted to become more of a "feel" pitcher. He relied on control, pitching smarts and experience and it worked (for the most part). Schilling, had he not been injured, found a way to prolong his career. Well now you have a case like Mike Mussina, who pitched six innings of one run ball and had five strikeouts today. Mussina hasn't thrown 94 MPH since the early part of the millenium and now he won't reach 90. Last year, Mussina faced the awkward challenge of going from a guy who can hit 90 to a guy who's fastball was a room service speed of 87. As a result, September was rude to him and players sat on his batting practice pitches.

The only difference between Mussina and Schilling is that it took the off-season and Dave Eiland to adjust Mussina to his new age. The Moose now relies on pitching to both sides of the plate, changing eye levels, throwing strikes, and using speeds of 65-85 miles per hour (he has slowed down his change-up and curve ball) to compensate for his lack of "hard" stuff. The dirty little secret to Major League pitching is you don't need to throw hard to be successful; you just have to know what to throw, where to throw it, and change speeds upwards of 10 miles per hour. Mussina had the first two variables last season, and this year he has added the changing of speeds back into his game. The man is not going to throw like an ace and he will usually not reach 100 pitches and will probably be injured at some point. However, asking him to be a feisty, three starter until someone else can step up? It doesn't seem out of the question when you know a veteran has reinvented himself.

On the other side, Erik  Bedard settled down after some sloppy defense to pitch well yesterday, but just well enough to lose. Today was a different story for "King Felix." Felix Hernandez is a nasty pitcher with a ton of potential when he's healthy. Today, the Yankees had their way with the phenom, smacking him around for six runs and 12 hits (and just three strikeouts) in 5.2 innings. It just goes to show that every young pitcher struggles at some point. The important thing to remember about the young Yankees' starters, particularly in trying to revisit the Johan Santana trade, is that the deal will not be reviewable until years from now. We know Santana will pitch well this year, and probably the next three years, but how will he be in the second half of that contract? We knew Hughes and Kennedy would struggle this season (maybe not this much), but how will they be pitching in five years when they enter their mid and late 20's? And how will they pitch the 10 years after that? When those questions get answered, then we can evaluate the deal Brian Cashman did not make. For now, it might be the difference between 90 and 98 wins, but three years from now, the extra money might buy a difference-maker, or the Yankees may win a couple of titles.

In any case, it is relieving to see New York play well. For as bad as their pitching was last series, it has been that good against the Mariners. Wang and Mussina have combined for 12 innings and two earned runs, and the bullpen has been perfect in six innings, including pitchers like: LaTroy Hawkins, Kyle Farnsworth, Edwar Ramirez and newly recalled Jose Veras. All of whom have pitched a scoreless inning the last two games. As I have stated numerous times, we know what we have in Joba and Mo, it's these other callups and veterans that we don't know how important or effective they will be. Personally, I think the Yankees' bullpen has a lot more upside and options to be dominating than their rotation this season. But if I'm right, that makes Joba Chamberlain's role that much more interesting. I'm not sure what that will translate into, but it's always nice to have young and powerful arms in the system.

With the performance, Mussina has lowered his ERA to 4.23 on the season, setting a distinct separation between the top three starters on the team and the back of the rotation, an area still trying to find its identity. When that happens, perhaps this team will be more consistent in the future.