Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Mike Mussina - AL All-Star? I think not

I obviously have a history of being tough on Mike Mussina. However, if you know me personally, you will know that I have always believed that Mike Mussina has been UNDER-appreciated as a member of the New York Yankees. That debate aside, there is a new one brewing: should Mike Mussina be named to the 2008 AL All-Star team?

I have to admit, for the past month, I have been blinded by the win/loss record of Moose and Michael Kay's incessant babbling about the Mike Mussina renaissance. I figured if the guy has 12 wins at the break, how can he be denied a spot on the team? Then I realized, there is a lot more that goes into pitching and wins aren't exactly the best measure of who the best pitchers are. Here are some better measures and how Mike Mussina ranks:

His VORP is 94th in the American League among PITCHERS:

His ERA+ is 106, (can't find rankings, but he isn't anywhere close to the top). (he is 39th in ERA)

He is 10th in the AL in WHIP

He is 4th in the AL in K/BB

However, he is tied for the AL lead with 10 wins and we all know that is what anyone looks at.

So, who would I take before Mike Mussina on the All-Star team? Here are a few names:

Roy Halladay
Cliff Lee
Shawn Marcum
Scott Kazmir
Felix Hernandez
John Danks
C.C Sabathia

There is a derogatory nickname that has always floated around when discussing Mike Mussina - "Mr. Almost". If the for the AL All-Star game do the right thing, that moniker will certainly stick when considering Mike Mussina's 2008 All-Star game chances.

Talk about it in the NYYSI Forums!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Are you kidding me? He'll be the starter. The game is at Yankee Stadium.

Anonymous said...

Musina is a hall of fame pitcher , with the credentials better thn halladay and comparable to those on Your list , he wont be Mr. Almost when the hall comes fr him,

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