Nine Up, Nine Down: Spring Training Notes

“Kevin Brown and Mike Mussina spent the whole time b—tching about it … and by the time the Yankees team got back from the trip they were all using it as a crutch. … The research that we’ve done on the Japan trip from the teams that have previously gone is one or two bad apples can spoil the lot.”

Couldn’t agree more. I remember that trip and how Mussina made a stink about it — not only with his mouth, but on the field too, as he had a 4.59 ERA in 164.2 IP for the Yankees that year, going 12-9.
Anyways, Moose’s response? “Yeah, we used it as an excuse for winning the division.”
The Yankees certainly did win the division — no thanks to Mussina, who stank it up the first two starts of the year — but they also were the victims of the worst choke in sports history.
Moral of the story? There isn’t one, but Epstein’s contention is that the trip to Japan has not bothered his players at all, which he’s pleased about. We’ll see, still plenty of time for a Red Sox player to sound off.

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