Mythical Moose

Some fine baseball in the Twins' home-opening series--a few deliberate clockwork one-run innings, and a big swat or two every game. They have momentum to clash with that of the Yankees, who are coming off a home-opener sweep of their own. Michael Cole Mussina gets the start, and so the pundits today revive the sputtering myth of his career-long dominance against the Twins: "For all the success he has enjoyed over a career now spanning 16 years, Mike Mussina has never been a 20-game winner...Except against the Minnesota Twins." But that statue was toppled when the Twins prevailed in game one of the 2003 playoffs in the Bronx. He's hardly made a dent since. Mussina is still a crafty pitcher, but the Moose's mojo is spent.

The numbers: April of 2003 he got a 2-1 victory, giving up the run and six hits over eight innings and outdueling Kyle Lohse, who gave up 3 hits over 7 innings. Mussina beat them again later in the month and scattered five hits and two earned runs over seven. In Game one of the A.L. division series, all one could hear above the crowd was how Mussina had never lost to the Twins, 20-0 over his stellar career (the only team he has a losing record against is the Yankees). But he was tagged for 3 runs, and that was enough for the loss due to a brigade's effort from the Twins' bullpen after Johan Santana cramped out in the fourth in his first national spotlight performance. 2004 was Santana's revenge as the two were matched in all three of Mussina's starts against Minnesota. The gatorade obviously worked: Santana dominated in August, with Moose exiting in the fourth with four earned runs and already on the hook for the loss. The Yankees won a meaningless late September game, but no decision for Mussina. The teams met again in the first round of the playoffs, and he was solid over seven innings but lost to Santana's complete-game shutout. Last year he faced them once, getting the loss while giving up 8 hits and two walks, and six earned runs. Mussina, storied Twin killer, now 20-4, has never beaten the Twins since the streak ended.

© 2006 Michael Nordskog