More Moose

Javier – an old lefty who used to throw a good fastball and a great curve – likes to turn the conversation to pitching. Mike Mussina’s outstanding season is one of his favorite topics these days.

“Moose is pitching the way I would,” Javier likes to say. “We’re both smart, but he’s got all the talent.”

The guys that gather around Juan Carlos’s coffee cart usually roll their eyes, but today they all smiled when he greeted them with:

“Moooooose.”

Javier peeled the lid off his cup and tossed out some questions.

“Moose has been great this year, right?”

Everyone nodded.

“He’s helped put us in the middle of the division race, right?”

They all nodded, again.

“And he gives the best quotes, right?”

Everyone smiled.

Javier pulled out the newspaper.

“A reporter asked him why he went with a changeup to strike out Brendan Harris on Wednesday,” Javier said. “This is what Moose told him: ‘Just because. Jose called for it, and I said, ‘Hey, good idea,’ and shoom.’”

The guys laughed.

Javier continued with another Mussina quote:

“We’ve got a team right now that believes in themselves and believes that we can play with anybody, any time.”

“Yeah,” everyone said.