Mussina: I did it my way - clean

[Frobby]

TAMPA, Fla. - Mike Mussina might well finish his career as a player who gets votes for the Hall of Fame but ultimately falls short of induction.

The 39-year-old righthander is 250-144 with a 3.70 ERA with the Orioles and Yankees. Although Mussina has never won 20 games, he has had a productive and fairly consistent 17-year career in one of the toughest divisions in baseball. But he might wind up just short of making the Hall of Fame.

If the difference between getting in and not getting in is whatever marginal edge he might have gained by using steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs, Mussina is fine with being on the outside looking in, he said yesterday.

"I'm glad I've been able to play this long," Mussina said. "I've been lucky to be on some good teams, I've been to a World Series, I've won a lot of games ... If I get a chance to go [to the Hall of Fame] or I don't get a chance to go, I'm not disappointed with [my career]."

Mussina said steroids were never an option for him.

"I have never considered and never would consider playing the game that way," Mussina said. "... To define it, it's probably a moral thing. It's just not me. I never even considered it. I feel better about myself, because I competed against them [steroid users] and I succeeded."

http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/yankees/ny-spyanks155578406feb15,0,5528141.story

[Boy Howdy]

Well then, let's hear from Pedro Martinez too:

Pedro Martinez knows his place in the Steroids Era.

"I dominated that era and I did it clean," he said. "I can stand by my numbers and I can be proud of them."

No longer the No. 1 pitcher on his staff, Martinez reported to spring training Thursday with the New York Mets and soon was asked about baseball's doping scandal.

The three-time Cy Young Award winner said he hasn't paid much attention to the fallout from the Mitchell Report, and he didn't watch Roger Clemens testify before Congress on Wednesday. But Martinez said he'll probably get caught up on his computer now that he's in camp.

Martinez did have some pointed words, however, for the reporter who once called him a prima donna.

"I have a small frame and when I hurt all I could do was take a couple of Aleve or Advil, a cup of coffee and a little mango and an egg - and let it go!" he said.

Martinez's point: He wasn't going to try human growth hormone or any other performance-enhancing substance. In fact, he would welcome a more stringent drug-testing program in baseball.

"I wish that they would check every day. That's how bad I want the game to be clean," said Martinez, who had his best years with Montreal and Boston from 1997-2003. "I would rather go home (than) taint the game."

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2008-02-14-3150623538_x.htm

EDIT: USA Today left out Pedro's best quote. From the NY Post:

"We have to pee every day," Martinez said. "I'd have no problem if we were tested every day. Anything to make sure this game we have is clean."

[Frobby]

Actually several articles in the NY press about Mussina:

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080215/SPORTS/802150374/-1/rss02/gnews

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/2008/02/15/2008-02-15_mike_mussina_clean_but_not_angry.html

I like this quote:

I still look at myself as a kid lucky to play the game (and) I'm almost 40 years old."

[byrdz]

I like Mussina, smart guy, kinda reminds me of Guthrie a little. Maybe it's the Stanford grad, righty and similar build but it seemed that Guthrie had a Mussina type season last year. One can hope that he will have some similar years ahead of him. As for him getting into the HOF, I hope he does. He's got many Gold Gloves, he's pretty high up on the all time strike out list. Too bad he's never won a championship; I would have only wanted that for him not the rest of the team of course. Not being caught up in the steroids scandals should help.

[blueberryale77]

I like Mussina, smart guy, kinda reminds me of Guthrie a little. Maybe it's the Stanford grad, righty and similar build but it seemed that Guthrie had a Mussina type season last year. One can hope that he will have some similar years ahead of him. As for him getting into the HOF, I hope he does. He's got many Gold Gloves, he's pretty high up on the all time strike out list. Too bad he's never won a championship; I would have only wanted that for him not the rest of the team of course. Not being caught up in the steroids scandals should help.

Teammates sure seem to have different reactions to the two of them. Guthrie is nothing but positive and supportive of his teammates, Mussina puts added pressure on them through the media by telling them what they have to live up to and what they need to prove to him. His comments about Andy Pettitte this year and Carl Pavano last year were not the kind of thing Jeremy Guthrie, or any good teammate, would say to the press.

“Hopefully, he can find a way to fight through it and perform well. We’re expecting Andy to go out there and pitch 190 or 200 innings, and win 15 games or so. The question is, can he deal with all this and focus on pitching at the same time?”

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=Akd7v25S5xNGhkbzaaiNwxoRvLYF?slug=ap-yankees-pettitte&prov=ap&type=lgns

[Boy Howdy]

Teammates sure seem to have different reactions to the two of them. Guthrie is nothing but positive and supportive of his teammates, Mussina puts added pressure on them through the media by telling them what they have to live up to and what they need to prove to him. His comments about Andy Pettitte this year and Carl Pavano last year were not the kind of thing Jeremy Guthrie, or any good teammate, would say to the press.

To be fair to Mussina, I respect him for answering the questions honestly.

Part of his freedom to do that comes from being a guy with 250 career victories, as opposed to 7 for a guy like Guthrie.

[Frobby]

Teammates sure seem to have different reactions to the two of them. Guthrie is nothing but positive and supportive of his teammates, Mussina puts added pressure on them through the media by telling them what they have to live up to and what they need to prove to him. His comments about Andy Pettitte this year and Carl Pavano last year were not the kind of thing Jeremy Guthrie, or any good teammate, would say to the press.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=Akd7v25S5xNGhkbzaaiNwxoRvLYF?slug=ap-yankees-pettitte&prov=ap&type=lgns

I don't see anything wrong in what Mussina said here.

[Sports Guy]

Teammates sure seem to have different reactions to the two of them. Guthrie is nothing but positive and supportive of his teammates, Mussina puts added pressure on them through the media by telling them what they have to live up to and what they need to prove to him. His comments about Andy Pettitte this year and Carl Pavano last year were not the kind of thing Jeremy Guthrie, or any good teammate, would say to the press.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=Akd7v25S5xNGhkbzaaiNwxoRvLYF?slug=ap-yankees-pettitte&prov=ap&type=lgns

Wow...The head of moral police is at it again...Of course, i disagree with everything you say here...Mussina said nothing wrong.

He deserves to be in the HOF but i wouldn't doubt it if he is held back from it...The question is, if people believe he didn't do anything, is his status elevated because he performed this well in this era?

[blueberryale77]

Wow...The head of moral police is at it again...Of course, i disagree with everything you say here...Mussina said nothing wrong.

He deserves to be in the HOF but i wouldn't doubt it if he is held back from it...The question is, if people believe he didn't do anything, is his status elevated because he performed this well in this era?

How is it being the moral police to like Jeremy Guthrie better than Mike Mussina as a person based on the way they conduct themselves publicly? Mussina has every right to make the kind of comments he does (I've been told a number of things by people who work in the media in New York beyond what gets printed), but I don't have to like or respect his attitude just because he's a good pitcher.

[Frobby]

How is it being the moral police to like Jeremy Guthrie better than Mike Mussina as a person based on the way they conduct themselves publicly? Mussina has every right to make the kind of comments he does (I've been told a number of things by people who work in the media in New York beyond what gets printed), but I don't have to like or respect his attitude just because he's a good pitcher.

I just don't see anything wrong with this particular comment at all.

“Hopefully, he can find a way to fight through it and perform well. We’re expecting Andy to go out there and pitch 190 or 200 innings, and win 15 games or so. The question is, can he deal with all this and focus on pitching at the same time?”

To me there is nothing unsupportive in that comment.

Hopefully, he can find a way to fight through it and perform well.

Completely supportive.

We’re expecting Andy to go out there and pitch 190 or 200 innings, and win 15 games or so.

Supportive in my opinion and shows respect for what Pettitte has been able to do over the years.

The question is, can he deal with all this and focus on pitching at the same time?

A natural question if you ask me, nothing unsupportive there.

[Hallas]

Teammates sure seem to have different reactions to the two of them. Guthrie is nothing but positive and supportive of his teammates, Mussina puts added pressure on them through the media by telling them what they have to live up to and what they need to prove to him. His comments about Andy Pettitte this year and Carl Pavano last year were not the kind of thing Jeremy Guthrie, or any good teammate, would say to the press.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=Akd7v25S5xNGhkbzaaiNwxoRvLYF?slug=ap-yankees-pettitte&prov=ap&type=lgns

A good teammate SHOULD put added pressure on his teammates. And Mussina did so in a totally classy way.

[TyCobb]

Wow...The head of moral police is at it again...Of course, i disagree with everything you say here...Mussina said nothing wrong.

He deserves to be in the HOF but i wouldn't doubt it if he is held back from it...The question is, if people believe he didn't do anything, is his status elevated because he performed this well in this era?

I think him never winning 20 games hurts him. I first thought no way he gets in, but he did have a great career in a hitting era.

[Camden_yardbird]

I hope the HOF voters consider this when evaluating Mussina's career. His was pitching against juiced hitters, who were making his stats worse, and he was pitching against juiced pitchers who may have been taking wins from him.

Mussina, if he truly was clean, is the poster child for the player to get hurt most from the steroid era. Close to the HOF, but maybe no quite there.

[Mad Mark]

I wonder if some of it is just pure frustration. Look at the teams Mussina has pitched for:

A "once proud franchise" that's been rotting from the bottom for 30+ years.

A team that considers anything less than winning the World Series every year "failure", and where everything is turned up to 11 all the time.

If Mussina had been drafted by an upper-echelon National League team, I believe he'd have his 20-win season(s), have his Cy Young award(s), and have his ticket punched for the HOF.

[byrdz]

I wonder if some of it is just pure frustration. Look at the teams Mussina has pitched for:

A "once proud franchise" that's been rotting from the bottom for 30+ years.

A team that considers anything less than winning the World Series every year "failure", and where everything is turned up to 11 all the time.

If Mussina had been drafted by an upper-echelon National League team, I believe he'd have his 20-win season(s), have his Cy Young award(s), and have his ticket punched for the HOF.

Sorry, that reminded me of Spinal Tap.

<img src = "http://www.mentalfloss.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/10/SpinalTap_Edith_503.jpg?v=0">