http://www.metro.us/us/article/2010/08/11/04/1352-82/index.xml
PUBLISHED AUG. 9, 2010
In one corner of the massive Yankee clubhouse are two lockers for Derek Jeter. Directly opposite is the space belonging to Alex Rodriguez.
All the way on the other side of the room is a locker reserved for Dustin Moseley, who deservedly drew a bulk of attention after filling in for A.J. Burnett and pitching 6 1/3 solid innings during Sunday night’s 7-2 win over the Red Sox.
Jeter’s locker commanded a crowd because he drove in three runs and passed Babe Ruth on the all-time hit list but Moseley’s locker drew a crowd attached to his story after he turned in his best performance as a Yankee, allowing just two runs and six hits in an 87-pitch performance that was a mix of fastballs, changeups, curveballs with an occasional slider.
"You want to smile, but I try to stay calm with everything, good or bad," Moseley said. "I just stay the same guy. But it meant a lot for the fans to do that and welcome me early on as they have. It'll be a memory, for sure, for a long time.
“You felt the energy as soon as you went out there," he said. "Even in the bullpen you could feel the energy that was going throughout the crowd. You definitely felt it. I tried my best to keep my composure and just make my pitches."
It will be a memory because Moseley kept his cool and made his pitches after finding out Saturday night that Burnett came up with back spasms. He retired 11 of the first 12 and then worked out of a bases-loaded situation with two outs in the fourth by using one of his 18 changeups to retire rookie Ryan Kalish.
The only run off Moseley was a changeup that Bill Hall hit into the left field seats that briefly made it a one-run game and a infield single that Joba Chamberlain allowed in the seventh after Moseley exited to a standing ovation with a six-run lead.
"He challenges guys and he knows how to pitch," Jeter said. "He hits his spots. There weren't too many times he was in trouble -- there were a couple of times, but he got out. You couldn't ask for too much more from him."
To reach a point where Jeter is praising his performance, Moseley played eight seasons of minor league baseball combined with 64 major league appearances with the Angels over parts of the previous four years.
The Angels granted him free agency last December and two months later he was a Yankee, at least in the minor league sense. It was somewhere between being a free agent and a Yankee that Moseley began testing his injured right hip on a high school track in Texarkana, Texas.
He repeated this by running laps and increasing the speed each time.
"I don't know if I broke up the scar tissue or what, but I just got better and better and went on from there," he said. "Really, it was an amazing recovery."
Then he began throwing again in the middle of winter and under the advice of Billy Connors, a cutter emerged in his pitch arsenal and then a couple of double-digit strikeout games in the minors.
The call to join the Yankees came on July 3 and the call to the rotation came a few weeks later after Sergio Mitre failed in one start. Last night on national TV broadcast to Texarkana and the rest of the country, the attention came in the form of a well-pitched outing by someone who was nowhere on the radar of any Yankee fan.
The big names dominate the scene in the Bronx but the Yankees are like any good team and they do not get to 69 wins in 110 games without contributions from players who have persevered like Moseley has.
“Everyone who knows me knows what I've been through, and how hard I've worked to get here," he said.
In one corner of the massive Yankee clubhouse are two lockers for Derek Jeter. Directly opposite is the space belonging to Alex Rodriguez.
All the way on the other side of the room is a locker reserved for Dustin Moseley, who deservedly drew a bulk of attention after filling in for A.J. Burnett and pitching 6 1/3 solid innings during Sunday night’s 7-2 win over the Red Sox.
Jeter’s locker commanded a crowd because he drove in three runs and passed Babe Ruth on the all-time hit list but Moseley’s locker drew a crowd attached to his story after he turned in his best performance as a Yankee, allowing just two runs and six hits in an 87-pitch performance that was a mix of fastballs, changeups, curveballs with an occasional slider.
"You want to smile, but I try to stay calm with everything, good or bad," Moseley said. "I just stay the same guy. But it meant a lot for the fans to do that and welcome me early on as they have. It'll be a memory, for sure, for a long time.
“You felt the energy as soon as you went out there," he said. "Even in the bullpen you could feel the energy that was going throughout the crowd. You definitely felt it. I tried my best to keep my composure and just make my pitches."
It will be a memory because Moseley kept his cool and made his pitches after finding out Saturday night that Burnett came up with back spasms. He retired 11 of the first 12 and then worked out of a bases-loaded situation with two outs in the fourth by using one of his 18 changeups to retire rookie Ryan Kalish.
The only run off Moseley was a changeup that Bill Hall hit into the left field seats that briefly made it a one-run game and a infield single that Joba Chamberlain allowed in the seventh after Moseley exited to a standing ovation with a six-run lead.
"He challenges guys and he knows how to pitch," Jeter said. "He hits his spots. There weren't too many times he was in trouble -- there were a couple of times, but he got out. You couldn't ask for too much more from him."
To reach a point where Jeter is praising his performance, Moseley played eight seasons of minor league baseball combined with 64 major league appearances with the Angels over parts of the previous four years.
The Angels granted him free agency last December and two months later he was a Yankee, at least in the minor league sense. It was somewhere between being a free agent and a Yankee that Moseley began testing his injured right hip on a high school track in Texarkana, Texas.
He repeated this by running laps and increasing the speed each time.
"I don't know if I broke up the scar tissue or what, but I just got better and better and went on from there," he said. "Really, it was an amazing recovery."
Then he began throwing again in the middle of winter and under the advice of Billy Connors, a cutter emerged in his pitch arsenal and then a couple of double-digit strikeout games in the minors.
The call to join the Yankees came on July 3 and the call to the rotation came a few weeks later after Sergio Mitre failed in one start. Last night on national TV broadcast to Texarkana and the rest of the country, the attention came in the form of a well-pitched outing by someone who was nowhere on the radar of any Yankee fan.
The big names dominate the scene in the Bronx but the Yankees are like any good team and they do not get to 69 wins in 110 games without contributions from players who have persevered like Moseley has.
“Everyone who knows me knows what I've been through, and how hard I've worked to get here," he said.
