Haranguin' Hank

I'm starting to find myself cringing every time Hank Steinbrenner opens his mouth. At this point, I'm sure you've all read about the comments he made to the New York Times on Sunday about moving Joba Chamberlain into the rotation immediately. Of course the media was all over him and Brian Cashman, and he's since backed off, saying that he's onboard with the plan to keep Chamberlain in the bullpen until later in the season. However it's his comment about Mike Mussina, which has been largely overlooked, that really made me shake my head:

"[Mussina] just needs to learn how to pitch like Jamie Moyer"

Now, I'm guessing that Steinbrenner picked Moyer to be Moose's new role model because he's an aging pitcher who has been somewhat succesful even though his fastball doesn't hit 90mph. The problem with this is that the reason that Moyer has been able to remain effective is that he's left-handed. Lefties have always been able to get by with less velocity than their righthanded colleagues. Now either Steinbrenner doesn't understand this fairly basic baseball fact, or he thinks Mussina should start throwing with his left hand. Either way, it's the kind of idiot suggestion you usually hear from the drunk sitting three rows in front of you, not the co-chairman of a Major League Baseball team.