Moose is loose; Moose will be tight

My intuition is often pretty accurate when it comes to baseball psychology, and I am predicting right now that Mike Mussina will not be able to sustain his effectiveness the whole season. As a matter of fact, I expect him to hit a wall pretty soon, when he finally feels the pressure of having to hold his opponents to under 2 runs, while the offense struggles to replace Matsui and Sheffield. And since the team is counting on him to be the ace, I think the Yanks are in trouble.

Mike Mussina has great stuff. His career numbers prove that. However, the fact that he has never won 20 games, with all the good teams he has played for, strikes me (pun intended) as suspicious. I know he doesn't handle change very well; he's probably still readjusting after the Japan trip several years ago. He doesn't handle pressure particularly well; look at his post-season stats. I just don't think he will be able to handle the responsibility of carrying the Yankees while Johnson founders and the offense sputters.

You heard it here first.