Theo Epstein v. Mike Mussina; It’s So On
Theo Epstein and Mike Mussina are probably the last two Red Sox and Yankee figures you’d expect to be feuding, but, well, here we are. Epstein went on WEEI in Boston last week and discussed the team’s upcoming Japan expedition.
In particular, he mentioned how having the right mindset about starting the season with a trip halfway around the world is key to not getting derailed by such a big journey.
“Kevin Brown and Mike Mussina spent the whole time bitching about it … and by the time the Yankees team got back from the trip they were all using it as a crutch.”
First, I’m surprised Epstein was this frank and forthcoming, especially in his assessment of players on other teams. That’s not really his M.O. Generally, Theo is measured and even recalcitrant with the media. Remember, the whole reason Epstein left the Red Sox in the winter of 2005 was because he thought some of his colleagues (read: Larry Lucchino and Dr. Charles Steinberg) were too open with the media. Second, though, Theo is 100 percent correct, even if he probably shouldn’t have brought it up in the first place.
Mussina complained before the 2004 trip in the New York Times:
Mussina does plan to ask Matsui a question as the hours drag on across the Pacific: ”How do you say, ‘I’m tired — this trip is too long’ in Japanese?”
He also complained after he got lit up by the lowly Devil Rays:
“We don’t look like we’re that alive, yet,” said Mussina, who hasn’t slept well since making the 7,250-mile trip last week from Tampa, Fla. “We need a little life, and we just didn’t have it.”
What’s Japanese for self-fulfilling prophecy?
For what it’s worth, the Yankees did start 8-11 that year, but they’ve been slow starters in recent seasons, so I don’t really see what the trip to Japan has to do with anything. Mussina put up one of the worst seasons of his career up to that point, and was particularly bad in April, going 1-4 with a 6.55 ERA, but even though he kept complaining about Japan for most of the first half, he settled down a week after his return from the Land of the Rising Sun, posting a 4.97 ERA in his final four starts in April (not much worse than his ERA that season). Anyway, Mike Mussina crying about Japan only gets funnier when you hear his response to Theo Epstein’s perfectly legitimate comments about his whining:
Told of the comments, Mussina said sarcastically, “Yeah, we used it as an excuse for winning the division.”
Oh snap! Indeed, the Yankees did go on to win the division, but that was all after Mike Mussina whined for a half a season about a little frickin’ jetlag. The Yankees followed up their 2004 AL East title with the worst choke job in baseball history. Was that jetlag too Mike? I guess this is what happens when a guy who is considered a genius at his job because he does a crossword every day matches wits with someone who has a law degree.
February 28th, 2008 at 4:35 am
So “Wonderboy” is feeling all sassy? Let’s review:
1)His first championship occured because…..
His team was a few outs away from being unceromoniously swept into oblivion in 2004 and the Yankees puked all over themselves. (As far as this being the biggest choke in the history of sports… well if you want your legacy to be that you only won because the other team “choked” then there it is. BTW, many teams have had 4 game losing streaks in the history of sports. Not many teams have blown leads like the 78 Sox and 07 Mets.) Dan Duquette’s players stepped up. Theo deserves zero credit for 04. Spare me Dave Robert’s stolen base in game 4.
2)His team missed the playoffs the very next season, while the real team in his division was making the post season for the 11th straight season.
3) His second champioship occured in a season where:
His chief rival and a team that owned his team after June 1 to the tune of something like 9-3, spotted them 2 months of a six month season, starting something like 10 different pitchers in the first 8 weeks, 4 of whom were making their MAJOR LEAGUE DEBUTS!!! Let’s see how the Marlins, gosh I mean the Red Sox, do as frontrunners.
I say they don’t make the playoffs this year either.
February 28th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
1. You have got to be kidding me. Theo Epstein signed David Ortiz, traded for Curt Schilling and signed Keith Foulke. These three players played the biggest part in knocking off the Yankees.
2. I hate to break this to you, but they made the playoffs in 2005 dude. The Yankees and Red Sox tied atop the AL East standings with 95 wins, that year and New York won the division on a tiebreaker.
3. So the first two months of the season don’t count? The $200 million payroll doesn’t count? The fact that the Yankees lost to the Indians, a team the Red Sox later eliminated, in the ALDS doesn’t count?
I think someone is bitter.
As for not making the playoffs, I admit this is a possibility … the AL is damn good. But it’s also a possibility for the Yankees. Oh, are they just too magical and special to miss the postseason?