Not 97

1997 has come and gone, and things are no longer the same. For me, I'm not in uniform, nor do I live in New Orleans any longer. I'm not married to that person any more, and despite the cost, I am far better off. But, enough about me.....

Mike Mussina no longer has the velocity he had in '97. Gone are the days when he will come within an out or two of a perfect game. Nowadays, batters who suffer the ignomy of going out on strikes against him sulk away sullenly, grinding their teeth and perhaps grinding sawdust out of their bat, thinking that they shoulda, coulda, woulda done better. That, my friends, is Pitching.

Moose (apparently now channelling Jamie Moyer ;-) ) is finding ways to keep the Yankees in ballgames. Last night in Cleveland, our lads were no-hit through five scoreless frames. Mike went five, allowing only two runs and keeping the Yanks alive for a four run outburst in the sixth. Enough to win, both for him personally (now 3 and 3) and the Yanks as a team, now 2 games up on .500 and salvaging a split with the Indians.

Now, all you haters who say such bad things about Mr. Mussina - he's not going to throw the ball through a wall. Get over it, and get over the vitriol. Get over yourselves. Wang is nearly light's-out and Andy has been a stalwart. With the kids having growing pains, we need Moose to be the glue that holds the rotation together. Having found his way, he has become that glue. Don't expect 20 wins from the Moose, but do expect a post-season appearance from the Bombers.