Mike Mussina finally got over that 199-win hump yesterday, unspectacularly winning his 200th game as the Yanks downed the ChiSox 5-4. Mussina looked a bit shaky at times, but he got the win thanks to Flash Gordon, Mo Rivera and the newest temporary New York sports hero, Bubba Crosby. Crosby came over to the Yankees in the Robin Ventura trade with the Dodgers, with absolutely no fanfare: he'd played in 9 games with LA in 2003 and gone 1 for 12. However, in a couple games over the past week with the Bronx Bombers, he's launched a pair of homeruns (including the decisive 3-run blast yesterday), driven in 5 runs and covered the outfield like a madman. He crashed into the wall making a huge play to save Mussina's day yesterday and made a couple other nifty catches in centerfield, covering a lot of ground. My brother Michael observed that he's a useful guy for these Yankees to have around: a career minor-leaguer getting a shot who has absolutely nothing to lose. Bernie Williams isn't going to go crashing into many walls at this point in his career, and frankly, we Yankee fans don't want him too. However, watching Bubba and his high socks running around centerfield with abandon was refreshing and fun. The fans at the stadium thought so too--they showered him with a standing ovation. I hope Bubba can play well enough to hang around this year and earn his keep as a key bench player. Maybe he's a reminder to the more jaded superstars of just how much fun baseball is, and how lucky they are to be playing it for a living, especially for a winner in New York City.
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