Managing the Yankees

As good as the Yankees are on paper, in reality they lack dept when it comes to pitching. Our bullpen evaporated like water in the post-season leaving Mariano Rivera doing all the work load. CC Sabathia is great but how long will we keep him starting on only 3 days rest? AJ Burnett can't do it on short rest and Pettitte, the play-off savvy that he is, is getting old and might not be consistent on 3 days rest.
The Yankees hate to admit it but they lack one more pitcher to rest their starters and give them full rest. Or they desperately need somebody in the bullpen to bridge the gap to the great Mo. If only Moose were here!

Mike Mussina played with the Yankees from 2001-2008. Mussina is a five-time All Star and seven-time Gold Glove winner. He has a record of 3.68 ERA in his 18 illustrious career. Mussina possesses a nasty knuckle-curve and excellent control of all of his pitches. He is a good defender, and he also keeps runners close to first base.

Early in his career, Mussina's arsenal included a four-seam fastball that topped out at 95 mph, a two-seam fastball, a slider, a changeup, and plus his famous knuckle-curve. He has always been known as a finesse pitcher. Mussina's prolonged success is also the result of his ability to make adjustments. He has added a splitter to his repertoire and replaced his knuckle-curve with a more conventional curveball. He has become more skilled at changing speeds with his breaking pitches and using different arm angles to confuse batters as well as to compensate for the diminishing speed of his fastball, now at 86–88 mph (tops out at 90.91 mph).

Throughout his career, Mussina has also complemented his pure pitching ability by doing the little things well. He issues very few walks, holds base runners well, and fields his position superbly.

If only Mussina signed with the Yankees this year with a one year contract and a cut from his previous salary ($ 11 million). And if only the Yankees administration did a major convincing effort to let Mussina play for one more year and have the opportunity to win the World Series this time around (he played and lost the World Series against the Diamondbacks in the 2001).
Even at the age of 40, Moose can still be effective with his decision making and timely pitches. Mussina would be a big help not only to the Yankees starting rotation but to the bullpen as well. Moose can start in Game 4 of the ALCS and World Series, giving stars like CC Sabathia the normal rest that they deserved. Or he could come out of the bullpen and give 1-2 strong innings. Ether way, having Mussina on the Yankees roster will give the their ball club a big edge.

If only Mike Mussina didn't retire....