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January 31, 2007
Mike Mussina Honored
Anyone who regularly reads this space has probably noticed that I've not written about the New York Yankees as much recently as I used to. I'm still just as much of a fan as ever, it's just that nothing's gone on that I've felt particularly motivated to blog about other than the major stories like the return of Andy Pettitte (one of the few whose still not loving it), Randy Johnson being traded, and the possible return of Roger Clemens. I'm very much looking forward to the start of the season so hopefully I'll have more to say about the Yankees then.
In the meantime Mike Mussina was honored last night at the 27th annual Thurman Munson Awards dinner. The dinner raises money each year to help those with diseases, and also honors New York atheletes who are involved with philanthropic causes. This year's baseball honoree was Mussina, whose foundation awards scholarships to high school students for college. Mussina is my favorite Yankee, and his committment to helping others with his foundation makes me like him even more!
Mussina was also asked about a variety of Yankee-related topics. About Carl Pavano, Mussina said,
"He's got to earn some trust from some players again, and from the coaching staff and the manager and the organization. If he can do it, we know he can pitch and we know he can get people out. If he gets over those hurdles, he'll be an asset."
Not only does Pavano need to earn the trust of those on the team, but he also needs to earn the trust of the fans again. There's very few people who think that Pavano is capable of contributing in a positive way to the Yankees. Even if he pitches well to start the season, how long is it going to be before he goes down with another injury? That said, if he stays healthy and pitches extremely well, I think a lot of fans will forget that he missed so much time. If fans can forgive Jason Giambi for Balco, then I'd say they can forgive Pavano for seemingly being made out of glass. That same is likely true for his teammates.
Another topic that came up was the recently traded Randy Johnson, whom Mussina seemed to indicate never enjoyed playing in New York. Mussina said that Johnson,
"...doesn't seem like he has a lot of fun pitching in New York, and he certainly wears it on his sleeve."
and
"When you put on the pinstripes, you're expected to do that 35 times a year. Realistically, that's not possible, but you can't fight it either. You have to roll with it and expect to do well. I just think he got a bad taste in his mouth."
Which essentially means that RJ never adjusted to, or was comfortable pitching in New York with all the pressure. That's kind of amazing to me because if there's one player I figured would be albe to handle playing for the Yankees and all that goes along with it, I would have thought it would be RJ. Instead of being intimidated, RJ's used to intimidating others. But that never happened with the Yankees, and I guess RJ wasn't able to deal with not living up to expectations. Which makes me even happier that the Yankees traded him because a player with a bad attitude, who isn't really enjoying where he's playing probably isn't able to give his best to the team.
As for Roger Clemens, Mussina joked that he wanted the Yankees to sign him because, "He'd be the only guy older than I am." Which is exactly why I hope the Yankees ultimately pass on Clemens.
Posted by silverdsl at January 31, 2007 11:27 AM