Moose Hunting Season by Jared Carrabis
Manny Takes Mussina Deep, Twice

Sometimes the deals you don’t make are the best deals you make. I’m going to take you back to a time long before Theo Espstein wore the General Manager crown in Boston. We’re going back to the era in which Dan Duquette made the moves for the old towne team. Back in 2001, Major League Baseball had an off season that saw premier pitching and offense hit the free agent market. With both the Red Sox and the Yankees looking to contend (big surprise) they both had eyes on the ace of the Baltimore Orioles staff, Mike Mussina.


Dan Duquette’s off season target he had first on his acquisition list was none other than the right-hander, Mike Mussina. Although he had a losing record of 11-15, he did however lead the majors in innings pitched (237.2) and posted an ERA of 3.79 with over 200 strikeouts (210). The Yankees would be the higher aggressor of the two clubs and go on to sign Mussina to a 6-year, $88.5 million contract on November 30, 2000.


Oh well, I guess that means that the Red Sox would just have to “settle” for Manny Ramirez. On December 12, 2000, the Boston Red Sox would announce that Manny Ramirez agreed to an 8-year $160 million contract after being the Cleveland Indians outfielder for the past eight seasons. Seven years later, the stage was set in the Bronx for the two to square off wearing the uniforms that they both now nationally known for playing for the teams those jerseys represented.


In the top of the second inning, Mike Mussina would stare into the catchers mit with Manny Ramirez looming over home plate. Ramirez waited patiently as the first three pitches would miss the strike zone. Taking all the way on 3-0 he took a called strike, now he was set. The next pitch would leave Mussina’s hand and not touch the ground again until it was on the outside walls of Yankee Stadium. With a point to the sky rounding first base, it was 1-0 Red Sox.


Mussina wouldn’t get the chance to catch his breath before he looked up again only to see Manny Ramirez digging in at home plate the very next inning. Having scored one run already in the inning thanks to an RBI single by Dustin Pedroia to score Jacoby Ellsbury who had a wild trip around the bases (hit by pitch, stole second, advanced on throwing error). Ramirez (one of the best two strike hitters the game has ever seen) hammered a 2-2 pitch from Mussina way, way back into deep left field. Jason Varitek would go on to knock in a run of his own in the inning to bring the run total in the top of the third to four, giving Boston a 5-0 lead.


Mussina would last just three innings, so Manny Ramirez had to feast on the pitching of another pinstriped enemy, Jonathan Albaladejo. With one out, Ramirez ripped a single to left to start the inning off. Kevin Youkilis would follow with a single of his own to put two on with one out. JD Drew (2 for 4, 2 RBI) cranked a double to right to bring both Ramirez and Youkilis home to increase the Red Sox lead to 7-0.


Tonight, Josh Beckett was…well, he was Josh Beckett. The hard throwing Texan has established himself as a certified Yankee killer over the past six seasons or so and he would continue the trend on Thursday night. Ask and you shall receive, Boston finally got a starter to give the team seven-plus solid innings by holding the Bronx Bombers at bay over eight innings pitched. Beckett would run into some trouble in the bottom of the fifth when the Yankees managed to grab three runs off of him, but that would be all. He regained form and baffled the New York offense the rest of the way racking up six strikeouts over his eight innings pitched giving up just six hits and walking one.


I take you now to the top of the seventh. I’ve heard this question time and time again and the question is: “Why don’t the teams shake hands at the end of the game like in Little League?” The answer? Because of tough guys like Kyle Farnsworth. Kyle Farnsworth took his atrocious 4.91 ERA (as a reliever) to the mound with him to face the red hot Manny Ramirez. In his world, if you can’t beat ‘em, try to ruin the rest of their potential Hall of Fame career by throwing a fast ball dangerously close to their face. Right? Wrong. (wait ‘til July buddy.) The first pitch Manny Ramirez saw was a fastball in the high 90’s (of course he missed him) behind his head. Warnings were issued to both sides as the camera panned to Josh Beckett in the dugout who proceeded to nod his head in a senes of saying “Alright, if that’s how you want to play, then that’s how we’ll play.”


If Beckett were to retaliate we would have been ejected and subject to a sure suspension, so he kept a level head and went on to shut down the Yankees for the remainder of his outing instead. However, don’t think that that the Boston ace will be forgetting that purpose pitch anytime soon, like I said…wait until the next series in July.


With a four run lead in the bottom of the ninth, Jonathan Papelbon who was in need of some work was called upon to close the door on the Yankees with a comfortable four-run lead. The comfortable lead would soon become not so comfortable as Papelbon would surrender his first (and second) run in Yankee Stadium for his career. A double (Posada) and a wild pitch would put a man at third and a ground out off the bat of Robinson Cano would bring in run number one. The second run would cross home via the home run courtesy of Melky Cabrera. Papelbon wouldn’t let things get too out of hand as he buckled down to record the final out by way of the K.


Boston would take this wild one by a score of 7-5. The Red Sox will welcome familiar faces David Murphy and Kason Gabbard of the Texas Rangers to Fenway Park for a four-game set. Game one will see the likes of Luis Mendoza (0-1, 1.80 ERA) opposing the red hot Daisuke Matsuzaka (3-0, 2.70 ERA).


Final Score: Red Sox 7, Yankees 5

Published on April 17, 2008

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