Mussina Follows Up On Mo & Pavano Comments
Via Bryan Hoch -
In one passage of “The Yankee Years,” Mussina said that Rivera “accomplished nothing in comparison” to what he did before Mussina joined the Yankees in 2001, pointing out Rivera’s blown saves in Game 7 of the ’01 World Series and Game 4 of the ’04 American League Championship Series.
“The idea of it was not to take any stabs at Mo,” Mussina said on WFAN in New York. “I can’t put into words how important Mo has been to me as an individual player and to us as a team since I went to New York. My accomplishments would not be anywhere near what they are and our team accomplishments certainly would not be what they are without him pitching the ninth inning.
“I didn’t mean to take any stabs at him. I was just making a factual comment, and it came out sounding like I was trying to cut him down. I’m certainly not trying to cut him down, because he certainly is legendary, and he’s earned that.”
One instance Mussina has some regrets about, covered in the book, is his handling of a contentious situation with Carl Pavano. In Spring Training 2007, Mussina was critical of the oft-injured right-hander, wondering aloud to reporters if Pavano’s repeated absences were “just coincidence, over and over again.”
Mussina struck a remorseful tone Wednesday when discussing his treatment of Pavano during their time together.
“I probably could have approached that better than I did,” Mussina said. “We’re talking about another professional athlete, somebody that has to do the same job that I do. I probably could have done that better.”
Boy, for a guy who reportedly didn’t like media attention, now that he’s retired, Mussina sure has a lot to say, huh? Granted, it’s not at the Curt Schilling level…but…still…
I would read a Mike Mussina blog.
Boy, for a guy who reportedly didn’t like media attention, now that he’s retired, Mussina sure has a lot to say, huh? Granted, it’s not at the Curt Schilling level…but…still…
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I don’t find it so strange that he’s being more talkative now. As a player, you have to be very careful and very political with what you say, especially in New York. Now that there are far fewer consequences for his words, he’s free to share his thoughts. A guy as intelligent as Mussina certainly has things to say so I’m not surprised that he’s opening up a bit more, now that he’s unencumbered by the restraints of being an active player.
Fair point.
Good job Moose…An unprompted apology (or at least expression of remorse) towards Pavano shows a lot of class. Is Moose pitching coach material someday?
~~Is Moose pitching coach material someday?~~
Does he have the smarts and the street cred to do it? No question – whatsoever – in my mind.
The question is: Does he want to do it, with the travel, low pay, etc. I doubt that.
The question is: Does he want to do it, with the travel, low pay, etc. I doubt that.
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What do pitching coaches get paid? I’m not talking about the regular guys, I’m talking about the “stars” like Dave Duncan, Leo Mazzone, or Rick Petersen. Does anyone know what the top pitching coaches make?
Not like Moose really needs the money. He might just find that he misses the game.
Mazzone was making $450,000 per year. And, that was on the really high end. That’s nothing near what Moose was making as a player.