During the 2007 ALDS, Mike Mussina found himself banished to the bullpen. Manager Joe Torre went with Chien-Ming Wang in Game 4 at Yankee Stadium, hoping to expedite the series back to Cleveland with Andy Pettitte in Game 5. While Moose would see action in that game, unlike Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS, it was too late to save the Yankees bacon.
Under new skipper Joe Girardi in 2008, Mussina was given a new lease on life. In a year when New York trotted out the likes of Darrell Rasner, Sidney Ponson and Dan Giese, watching Mussina pitch was refreshing, like a fountain of youth.