1. Danny Tartabull – For some reason when I was 12 or so I thought Danny Tartabull was the worst player on the face of the earth. I attribute this to being a kid. I’ve learned my lesson and I felt really bad the first time I looked at his baseball-reference page and realize he was a really good offensive player in his three full years with the team.
2. Kyle Farnsworth – In 2007 I’d about had my fill of Rowdy Kyle, as had pretty much everyone who watched him pitch for the Yankees. In the middle of the year, people were booing when it was announced he was simply warming up in the bullpen. In late September in a game against the Orioles he came in with a big lead (and probably because it was a big lead) and was so bad that Mariano had to come in and record a save. I also managed to start a “We Want Proctor!” cheer in the very empty Tier Box/Tier Reserve.
3. Mike Mussina – I put this here because I think I might have booed him in a blind fit of rage at some point 2007 but I can’t remember. If I did, I’m sure I felt terrible afterward.
4. Bobby Abreu – In 2008 he made about three horrible plays in right field in a row in cold wet weather and after the third I (and most of the 10,000 other people suffering in the weather) just sort of let out “BOOOOOOOOOOO“. I don’t feel bad. Bobby is/was a wonder at the plate but his atrocious defense in 2008 is a big reason why he was let go.

As you can see I don’t really boo people much, and never if I’m with my mother because she’d hit me. I’m afraid I’ll never be a part of the in crowd.

My hatred for Mike Mussina wasn’t cemented in anything resembling logic (other than him being really good, of course) but rather a Sports Illustrated cover story about him and Ben McDonald. I am pretty sure I just really hated his face because I’ve gone back and read the article and there’s nothing hatable in there. Hey, I was 13 which is not exactly when you expect people to be making rational decisions.

When the Yankees signed Mike Mussina after the 2000 season I accepted it pretty much the same way as I did with the Clemens acquisition: Grudgingly. He made the pitching staff better, there was no argument about that and so I was glad to have him on the team. But in the back of my mind he was still Mike Mussina: Guy I Hate.

A lot of people have a hard time accepting players on their team who they don’t like for whatever reason, and that’s why you get non-sarcastic crying about True Yankees versus people who aren’t and WFAN callers who will never give Alex Rodriguez any credit for being one of the best baseball players of all time. I try to take a big picture view: Just because I don’t want to be someone’s friend doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate their skill. Does anyone in the entire world like Gary Sheffield? Probably not, but if you wouldn’t take Classic Sheff on your team to hit baseballs you are shortsighted and probably crazy.

And so, I accepted Mussina with open arms to the team. But I never expected to actually warm up to him beyond that.

The 2001 campaign that Mike Mussina put together was quite spectacular. If you aren’t a person who just looks at wins and losses and makes their decisions, it’s pretty easy to spot that he was much better than the guy who won the Cy Young (Roger Clemens). Here’s a high level comparison of the two:

As you can see the difference was, as I mentioned, their records. Mussina was 17-11 while Clemens was X-X and he actually finished fifth behind a bunch of guys with .700 win percentages. A common story in baseball history, but always a bummer.

At this point, I had firmly moved from “appreciate” to “like”. I’m pretty easy to win over. His crankiness became endearing and his quotes to the media amusing.

The most memorable game Mike Mussina pitched in pinstripes was, easily, Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS. Roger Clemens had done a grand job pitching badly, and after the third inning the Yankees were losing 3-0. It was 4-0 shortly after the 4th started as Clemens gave up a solo-homerun followed by a walk and a single. It seemed like it would be impossible for the Yankees to keep the game close.

With runners on first and third and no outs, Mussina stepped onto the mound to take over. He struck out Jason Varitek and got some guy named Johnny Damon to ground into a double play. No runs scored. The game didn’t get out of hand. The Yankees had a chance. Mussina gave them two more scoreless innings and received an insane ovation from the crowd (for good reason).

But no, I didn’t quite love him after this. I was extremely grateful to have a pitcher on the Yankees who could step in and do that but performances like that don’t necessarily push you over that edge and form a personal (totally one-sided) connection for a player. I would expect that if my most beloved Andy Pettitte were called on in that situation it would have ended differently, for example. Love is very rarely rational.

The moment in time I crossed over that line with Mussina was May 31st, 2006. Mussina was trying to finish up a complete game against the Detroit Tigers in the 9th inning and was having some trouble. Not entirely caused by himself (a throwing error behind him extended the game), but it was there.

With the score 5-1, 2 outs and a runner on base Joe Torre decided that his pitcher had run out of juice. He began to get ready to head to the mound for a visit-and-lift when Mussina looked in the dugout and saw him and screamed ”YOU STAY THERE!”.

That was it, I was in love. Right then, forever.

Yes, it came late in his Yankees career and 2007 was often extremely painful to watch (especially when I was in attendance for some of the absolute horror-shows) but it was there. I finally gave in and learned to love the Moose. All hail the cranky old man on the mound. I miss his postgame (and pregame and between game) quotes from reporters.

Next day was Old Timer’s Day, where there were no big boats but there were some big fish. I took a lot of pictures (though significantly fewer than last year), so check them all out if you want.

Teaser shot:

Jeff Nelson tips his hat after a show-off catch.

Full Old Timer’s Day Gallery:

CONGRATULATIONS ON A GREAT CAREER IN THE BRONX. THE YANKEES WISH YOU ALL THE BEST.
Since signing with the Yankees as a free agent prior to the 2001 season, Mike Mussina compiled a record of 123-72 with a 3.88ERA. During his tenure with the Yankees, no other American League pitcher recorded as many wins as Moose. He struck out 1,278 batters in pinstripes, ranking sixth on the club’s all-time list. His 72 wins at Yankee Stadium were the third-most since 1976 when the facility was remodeled, behind Ron Guidry (99) and Andy Pettitte (95). With 270 wins over an 18-year Major League career, Mussina is eligible for election into the Hall of Fame in 2014.

His overall numbers stack up well against some notable Hall of Famers, including Ferguson Jenkins, Juan Marichal, Catfish Hunter and even Bob Gibson. Actually, he has a better winning percentage (.638) than any of them, and indeed at 270-153, he would have the best percentage of any player not in the Hall.

The problem goes back to his answer regarding memorable moments. You look at Mussina’s career and it’s hard to find the wow factor that usually defines the very best players of an era.

Oh I see, memorable moments are what define whether a player should be in the Hall of Fame. How about a game where Mike Mussina came in relief, after Roger Clemens completely fell apart with men on first and third with no outs after he was promised a clean inning since he had never come in relief before and he allowed no runs to score and the Yankees went on to win the game in extra innings? You know, the 2003 ALCS, Game 7 maybe?

He didn’t win a Cy Young Award, finished second once, and had a few other fourths and fifths. He didn’t win a championship, and though Mussina pitched well in some big postseason games, he never had a brilliant postseason that demanded attention in the manner of John Smoltz, Jack Morris, Curt Schilling, or even Josh Beckett or Cole Hamels.

Jack Morris pitched one fantastic game in the World Series. One. In the 1991 ALCS he racked up a 4.01ERA but his team won both games he played so I guess it’s okay to ignore that. Additionally I suppose we ought to just induct Beckett and Hamels right now before they finish up their careers because postseason!!!

How about the 1992 World Series where Jack Morris put together a simply awful postseason and his team won it all despite him? I’m sick of hearing about Jack Morris being a great pitcher when he was clearly not because of one game (probably the only game he pitched that they remember) herds of sports writers think he is some kind of Gold Standard.

Never mind Gibson, who won 251 games in his career, or 19 fewer than Mussina, but had two Cy Youngs, one MVP, and won World Series for the Cardinals in 1964 and ’67 practically singlehandedly.

Oh really? Bob Gibson practically won the 1964 World Series for the Cardinals singlehandedly? Just because he was World Series MVP doesn’t mean he did it all by himself. First off, he got one of those “losses” people talk about in Game 2. He also gave up 5 runs in Game 7, not exactly a brilliant pitching performance by any measure.

It takes five minutes to look at the box scores and find this information. But I guess that’s too much time for John Harper.

Consider Marichal, for example. His record of 243-142 with a 2.89 ERA is no more Hall-worthy than Mussina’s, especially if you factor in higher ERAs for pitchers across the board over the last 15-20 years during the offense/steroids era.

But Bob Gibson’s 2.91 ERA makes him a no brainer even though he pitched in the same era as Marichal. Got it.

However, Marichal set himself apart as a superstar with an eight-year run in which he posted seasons of 18-11, 25-8, 21-8, 22-13, 25-6, 14-10, 26-9, and 21-11. That pretty much defines dominance. On the other hand, Mussina never went 6-16, as Marichal did once – nor did he ever hit anyone over the head with a bat, as Marichal did to John Roseboro, but that’s another story

Since we’re using Win Loss records here, 8 years of Mike Mussina, starting in 1992: 18-5, 14-6, 16-5 (strike shortened season), 19-9, 19-11, 15-8, 13-10, 18-7. Oh hey that’s pretty impressive. However since none of those have twenty wins (because twenty is some arbitrary number that was decided to be pivotal at some point) I guess they don’t count for anything.

The bottom line is Hall of Famers usually identify themselves with periods of brilliance. You can make the case that Mussina was more consistent over his 18 years than Tom Glavine, but Glavine has two Cy Young awards, five 20-win seasons and a world championship, in addition to 305 wins, all of which make him practically automatic.

Well at least one of those Cy Youngs he won should have gone to Greg Maddux who was clearly a better pitcher than Tom Glavine in every way except of course, wins. Kevin Brown was too, for that matter. Here are their lines from that year, minus a W-L record:

Glavine  229IP, 2.47ERA, 1.20WHIP, 157K, 74BB
Maddux   251IP, 2.22ERA, 0.98WHIP, 204K, 45BB
Brown    257IP, 2.38ERA, 1.07WHIP, 257K, 49BB

He was worse in pretty much every category you look at to judge pitchers, yet he won the Cy Young because he won twenty games and the others didn’t. And since we’re using Cy Young wins to determine Hall of Fame candidacy here, you can see that it is pretty flawed.

Here’s another example: In 2001, Roger Clemens won the Cy Young because he had a record of 20-3, he also had rather lackluster stats outside of that. Mussina pitched a brilliant season, went 17-11 and finished 5th in the voting. He pitched three complete game shutouts, he started nine games where he allowed no earned runs, but no he just didn’t have the wins that show you the true chops of a pitcher.

Also, Harper’s complete and utter failure to negotiate the difference between playing for the Orioles in the AL East and playing for the perennial 100 game winning Braves teams thinking maybe–just maybe–that might have something to do with TWENTY WIN SEASONS is amazing to me.

I am not knocking any of the actual Hall of Fame pitchers such as Gibson and Marichal here, I think they are definitely worthy and don’t have any issues with their induction. But the fact of the matter is, that means that Mussina is also worthy by the same standards Harper is holding up except 20 win seasons and that is just so fabulously stupid I can’t stand it.

Today before Mike Mussina came on WFAN to talk about his retirement, Jon Heyman was on. Jon Heyman is a well known idiot and he said something that really bugged me (and Mike Francesa agreed but he has some very strange opinions and ideas about baseball so I discount his opinion by a lot)–that the Hall of Fame should be for “impact players”. Players who “impacted” the game? What does this mean? I don’t know, Jon Heyman didn’t say other than Jack Morris is one of these and Bert Blyleven isn’t which shows you that it probably means absolutely nothing and is stupid. In case you’ve forgotten, Jon Heyman had a pretty awful ballot in 2007 with awful reasoning.

Anyway, there are a lot of Jon Heymans out there but there are also a lot of reasonable and intelligent people too. A lot of them are even sportswriters! So, while this is a hot topic now and will probably not come up again for another 5 years here are the arguments (both for baseball smarties and baseball dummies) that have been written supporting Moose’s Hall of Fame candidacy:

Joe Posnanski said so three times! Once, twice, thrice. He is my favorite sports writer so everyone should definitely listen to him.

Tyler Kepner asked around and it seems a lot of people agree with the support.

River Avenue Blues wrote up a quick support addressing the TWENTY WIN SEASON question for those of you who don’t live in your mother’s basement (my mom doesn’t have a house so I’m exempt).

Before I finish this, one of the things that really frustrates me is that if Moose had 300 wins like Tom Glavine (and he is a better pitcher than Tom Glavine, seriously go compare the two on baseball-reference) none of this would be necessary. However if he stuck around for three more years to get those wins, he would be exactly what everyone hates: a “compiler”. Instead he went out on a great note and didn’t drag anything out to try and hit a stupid milestone. Shouldn’t he get some credit for that?

Secondly Hal is officially in charge of the team now. No surprise that Hank isn’t the “official” owner given that he can’t even be bothered to go to games at Yankee Stadium.

Mike Mussina’s Golden Year – The cranky old man started out as he had pitched pretty much the whole year in 2007 and lots of people wanted him out. I admit, I was one of these people. He was trying to pitch the way he did when he threw his fastball considerably faster. Then, apparently at the urging of Kevin Eiland, he went and reinvented himself and what happened was incredibly fabulous. His four-seamer still borders 90 but Moose all but abandoned it to throw a two seamer that had great movement and his wide variety of secondary pitches. He pitched 200 innings, won 20 games, stayed healthy the whole year and walked virtually no one all year (1.39BB/9, 4.84K/BB). While it’s unlikely he’d post an ERA+ of 128 in 2009, it’s clear that if Mussina comes back he’ll likely be above-average and average at worst. It was a surprising and awesome resurgence from a great pitcher and really the best thing about the season. In early August, the Hardball Times published an article about “The Mussina Renassance” that is worth reading if you want a more in-depth look at his year.

Where Did This Bullpen Come From? – Brian Bruney showed up to Spring Training half the man he used to be with (at least) twice the control over his pitches, Edwar Ramirez made himself useful with the addition a cutter, Jose Veras was good most of the time (sort of) and Kyle Farnsworth put in a mostly good 3/4 of a season with the team. The Yankees bullpen ERA went from 22nd in MLB in 2007 (4.35) to 7th in 2008 (3.78). That is what you call a huge improvement, and even Damaso Marte could not completely screw things up. The weak point was that they ranked in the bottom third of the league in homeruns surrendered (and a lot of that is Edwar, who while useful gets hit very hard when he is hit at all), however they came in fourth in SLG overall. It was really great to see Bruney, who has always had killer stuff, find command hopefully it wasn’t a fluke. David Robertson hit some bumps but he is very young and will hopefully find his stride next year, some guy named Mark Melancon will in all likelihood be joining the team as well.

Saint Mariano Rivera – The season Mariano had was really amazing, and if some bespectacled blowhard hadn’t set a superfluous record, it would be getting a lot more attention. Here’s the total line for the season:

6-5, 70.7IP, 41H, 11R, 11ER, 4HR, 6BB, 77K, 1.40ERA, .665WHIP

Just look at that. Six walks all season. Six. That is ridiculous and gives him a K/BB of 12.83. The only season from a relief pitcher that outshines that in recent history in terms of K/BB and WHIP is Dennis Eckersley’s 1990 (which was better than Mariano’s 2008). Funnily enough, the season Eckersley posted was overshadowed by Bobby Thighpen’s record setting saves year.

Mussina gets Win #20, Mariano gets the save.

There was some bullpen matchup insanity including the patented Damaso Marte no-out appearance, and Cody Ransom is apparently so bad at shortstop that Derek Jeter was brought in as a defensive replacement for the 9th inning but a win was eked out and the only goal worth hoping for this season stayed alive.

In more tragic news, Cliff Lee sucks against teams that can hit baseballs with any proficiency and the Red Sox won tonight officially booting the Yankees out of the playoffs. It was going to happen some day, I’m not terribly upset (other than the team under performing part of that deal) and now we can look forward to the off season and playing internet GM. Of course, the Yankees haven’t determined who their GM going forward is yet. If it’s not Brian Cashman hopefully it’s someone else who seems like they would be extremely competent like Kim Ng (who used to work for the team, even).

Out of tragedy is born hope, however, because with any luck Boston will sit a whole bunch of players for the last game of the season which happens to be the one Mussina is pitching! Even if it doesn’t happen, it’s really been awesome seeing him reinvent himself as a pitcher (which is an extremely tough thing to do). Because he is no longer dominating and amassing large amounts of strikeouts, he’s relying more on making contact which means like many pitchers he will have bad outings where he just gets smacked around. The most interesting thing about this season is that he has really cut down on the walks, which means less men on base when those hits do happen, which means less runs. His BB/9 and k/BB ratio are up there with his best statistical years. After tonight his K/BB ratio is over 5, which is really good. He is not the guy throwing 95mph with a killer curve anymore but it’s as great to watch him this year as it was frustrating last year.

In short: Go Moose! Get your 20 win season so the BBWAA won’t fret over it when they look at your name on the Hall of Fame ballot.