Masterful Moose

Where on earth would the Yankees be this season without Mike Mussina?

The veteran right-hander delivered another gem of a performance on Wednesday against a sloppy Twins team, tossing eight scoreless innings in the Yankees' 5-1 victory. New York has now won all six of its games since the All-Star break and 10 straight overall at the Stadium.

It's a shame that Mussina won't pitch against the Red Sox this weekend at Fenway, because frankly, I'm no longer surprised by what he's doing. I expect him to perform like a front line pitcher. It's almost like the clock has been turned back to 2001 and we have another ace in the rotation. It's incredible.

It's not the same Moose, of course. Much has been made about why Mussina has returned to past glories, the popular theory being that the veteran has mixed up his approach to combat his eroded skills. "Pitching backwards" is the baseball term, though I think that confidence is a big part of it as well. You can see the way he carries himself, he's a different pitcher than the one who got bullied by Manny Ramirez in April.

Remember that Mussina? The Mussina who tried to beat Ramirez at Fenway and watched a game-deciding double slice through the right-center field gap? The Mussina who a week later tried to challenge Ramirez with an 87-mph fastball at the Stadium only to give up a pair of bombs? It was almost sad to watch, a former great player betrayed by age. And now a couple months later he leads baseball in victories? Wow.

His monthly splits tell the story. In April, it was very much the Mussina that you expected heading into the season. But then -- without warning -- he simply took off:

April: 3-3, 4.73 ERA, 32.1 IP, 36 H, 12 K, 5 BB
May: 5-1, 3.72 ERA, 29.0 IP, 34 H, 21 K, 5 BB
June: 2-2, 3.18 ERA, 34.0 IP, 33 H, 25 K, 5 BB
July: 3-0, 1.04 ERA, 26.0 IP, 28 H, 23 K, 1 BB

Outstanding.

It will be fun to watch if Mussina can get to 20 wins, a figure he's never reached in his distinguished career (he's won 19 twice, 18 three times and 16 in the strike-shortened '94 season). Working under the premise that he has 13 starts remaining, Mussina will need seven victories to get to 20. Pitching at his current level, this is very possible.

Let me state that I cannot friggin' believe I just typed that last paragraph. With much respect to Mo, Mussina is the MVP of this team right now. He's the reason the race to surpass the Rays is beginning to seem inevitable. He's the reason why this rotation actually has improved since Wang's foot injury. He's the reason the Yankees aren't a .500 team. He is the ace of the New York Yankees.

Who would've thunk it?