Yankees Win Again, Moose Steps Up

Mike Mussina's line for today's win: 7 innings; 7 hits; 3 ER; 5 K's; 1 BB; 97 pitches (66 strikes)

There haven't been any reports yet, but it seems a forgone conclusion that Moose pitched his way into the postseason rotation. I'm not sure if Yankee fans should be happy about that.

Don't get me wrong, I have much respect for Mussina. He has been one of the most consistent starting pitchers to ever toe a major league rubber. He's spent his entire career within the AL East, the toughest division to pitch in, bar-none. As much as Moose is a control pitcher, some baseball fans like to forget the fact that he was a monster for Baltimore, throwing a power fastball that helped him toward four 200 strikeout seasons. He tossed 200+ innings in nine consecutive seasons.

With all that said, I'm still on the fence in terms of having him start game four of a divisional playoff series. Is it possible to come back from the horrible three game stretch Moose had in mid-August? Absolutely. Has his last three impressive starts erased his inability to hold a lead against Detroit last October? Absolutely not.

As previously stated, Joe Torre hasn't said anything directly, but he's dropped enough hints and seen enough positives to again give Mike the ball in the postseason.

The repercussions: Phil Hughes moves to an already crowded bullpen, alongside fellow starter Ian Kennedy.
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