Dead Moose

So who am I referring to in the title of this post? Bullwinkle? Bob Moose? (Actually he's already dead. And did you know he threw the last no-hitter in the history of Shea Stadium, and I was there?) Moosie Dreier? (And how the hell do you name a kid "Moosie?") Moose Skowron? The Mariner Moose?

No, it's Mike Mussina, and he was ritually slaughtered last night by one Manny Ramirez, who took him deep twice in Yankee Stadium last night in the Red Sox 7-5 clubbing of the Yankees last night. It was the second and third bomb that ManRam has belted off the Moose in two games this season. (Boy, if the Yankees are counting on him this season they are in real trouble.)

Manny continues to scorch the Yankees. In the last two+ years, he is hitting .478 against New York (55-for-115), with 14 HRs, 27 RBI. And in his last time up, against Yankee whipping boy Kyle (Where Do You Want It?) Farnsworth, the first pitch went sailing behind Manny, close to his head. For the first time ever, Farnsworth got an ovation from those Yankee fans that hadn't already abandoned the place. And in true "The Dog Ate My Homework" fashion, he explained what happened after the game (with thanks to The Joy of Sox):

It just slipped. I was trying to be aggressive and go in on him, but the ball slipped on me. The ball slipped. Sometimes it's dry.

Next time, try to be a little more obvious, Mop-Up Man. (And note to Melky Cabrera: dancing in the dugout after you've hit a home run with two outs in the ninth and your team still losing doesn't make you, a marginal player, look like the sharpest knife in the drawer. And I bet you were waiting for that stupid curtain call that didn't come, too.)

The other big story of the night was Josh Beckett. He gave the Sox eight terrific innings. He had one bad inning, the fifth, when he allowed three runs. But after that, the Commander set down the final 10 hitters, and turned it over to Jonathan Papelbon. That is the difference between these two teams. Beckett's an ace the Sox can count on, after a miserable night like Wednesday. The Yankees simply don't have that.

And he was smart not to retaliate after Farnsworth's shaningans. But Beckett was seen shaking head after the incident in the dugout. So, believe it that the Commander stored that little incident in the back of his mind for later in the season. 13 more games between these two teams.

It won't be the last time we've heard about it.