SEATTLE – A 6 1/2-game lead over the Red Sox certainly has its rewards.
Not wanting to take any chances with Mike Mussina’s cranky right groin, the Yankees placed the veteran right-hander on the 15-day disabled list yesterday. The move is retroactive to Monday, the day after he left a game in Boston.
Initially, it was believed Mussina would skip one start and return to the rotation next week. However, late yesterday afternoon the Yankees placed Mussina on the shelf and recalled right-hander reliever Brian Bruney from Columbus (Triple-A).
This is Mussina’s second bout with the groin problem. He left a game on June 30 against the Mets with the same problem. However, he was able to start July 5.
“He had it before and it never went away,” said GM Brian Cashman. “In my mind, there’s no such thing as a tweak. You either have a pull or you don’t. It’s in his best interests to get it out of the way, and the only way to do that is to shut him down. When Joe [Torre] told him, he didn’t fight it.”The move leaves open the door for Jeff Karstens to remain in the rotation beyond his second start, which comes Sunday in Anaheim. Because of whom he pitches for, Karstens’ chances of becoming a fixture in the Yankees’ rotation are about as slim as his narrow hips. History teaches us a lesson that unless you are Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera or Chien-Ming Wang, a young pitcher in the Yankees’ system is auditioning for every other big league team rather than the uniform he has on.
Yet, when the Yankees play their 21st game in 20 days on Sunday against the Angels, the 23-year-old Karstens will make his second big-league start.
Had Mussina not been put on the DL, Sunday could have been it for Karstens. Now, he will get a chance to be the fifth starter until Mussina comes back or Carl Pavano returns from the DL.
Before Tuesday night’s 6-5 loss to the Mariners in which Karstens went 5 2/3 innings in his major-league debut and left as the potential winner, Torre committed to Karstens Sunday. Karstens did nothing Tuesday to change the manager’s mind.
“He was very composed and threw strikes,” Torre said of the neophyte who allowed three runs and six hits. “I am glad that we got this one under his belt.”
