DBAHO Posted February 6, 2004 Share Posted February 6, 2004 From the Toronto Sun, This Moose a little late By BOB ELLIOTT Cito Gaston was in his SkyDome office on July 27, 1993. Baltimore Orioles manager Johnny Oates called from the visiting clubhouse to put someone else on the line. Go ahead line two ... "It was Mike (Moose) Mussina, about two weeks after the all-star game, calling to apologize," Gaston, the former Blue Jays manager, said yesterday. In case you missed it, Gaston, as the American League manager, took seven Blue Jays to the '93 all-star game at Camden Yards in Baltimore. As reliever Duane Ward began the ninth, Mussina began warming up in the AL bullpen, which led fans to believe Gaston had plans for Mussina and Ward to share the ninth. Say Ward facing two hitters and Mussina getting the final out. So, as the AL wrapped up a 9-3 win in an AL park -- with Ward retiring National League hitters 1-2-3 and with Mussina throwing in the bullpen -- fans booed Gaston, upset to start with since Cal Ripken and Mussina were the only O's selected. Then, there were death threats. The "Cito Sucks" T-shirts. And now here was Mussina, phoning to apologize. "I told him 'you're a little late, after all that you've put my family through,' " Gaston recalled yesterday. "I told him his apology was not accepted." At the pre-all-star workout, Detroit Tigers manager Sparky Anderson said Jays right-hander Pat Hentgen and Mussina were told they'd only pitch if the game went into extras. Commissioner Bud Selig could have used some of Gaston's long-term planning in 2002 when NL manager Bob Brenly and AL manager Joe Torre got all the players into the all-star game and it ended in a tie. The game was called a sham for ending in a tie. Gaston was in town for the annual Siemens Conn Smythe Sports Celebrities Dinner, along with AL Cy Young award winner Roy Halladay, 1977 opening-day, hero Doug Ault and Tom Henke, a recent inductee into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. We forgot to ask whether Henke -- 311 career saves -- was inducted as a ball player or a fisherman. As for Gaston, fired with four games remaining in 1997, he came close to renewing acquaintances with old pal Mussina -- who now anchors the New York Yankees pitching staff -- when Gaston was a finalist for the Chicago White Sox managerial job this off-season. The White Sox narrowed the choice for manager Jerry Manuel's successor to either Ozzie Guillen, the former Sox shortstop, or Gaston. Sox general manager Kenny Williams interviewed Gaston at the Tampa airport and then Gaston flew to Chicago to be interviewed by Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf and Williams. "They wanted to know my managing style." Gaston said. "Our 1989 team had some guys -- Mookie Wilson, Junior Felix, Tony Fernandez, Kelly Gruber -- who could run or hit and run. Other teams sat back and waited for the home run. I told them it depended on the type of team." Gaston then took a holiday to Barbados and was interviewed again by phone. Then, on Nov. 3, Guillen was hired. "They hired Ozzie on a Monday and I thought until the Saturday the job was mine," Gaston said. "They like to stay in house ... with their ex-players. I have no problem with that. "They're like the Yankees, bringing back former players like Don Mattingly to coach or former players like Mickey Rivers, Goose Gossage and Clete Boyer in previous springs." The Sox brass also wanted to know how Gaston would handle DH Frank Thomas, the same Thomas who wouldn't return the phone calls from Guillen at the winter meetings. Said Gaston: "I told them that Frank owed me a favour. Frank should have gone to the 1992 all-star game but since it was in an NL park Tom Kelly didn't take him. I took Frank in 1993 and went with one less pitcher." The one less pitcher should have been Mussina. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queen Prawn Posted February 6, 2004 Share Posted February 6, 2004 I am a little confused, what did Mussina have to appologize about? I think I missed something somewhere... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Hudler Posted February 6, 2004 Share Posted February 6, 2004 I am a little confused, what did Mussina have to appologize about? I think I missed something somewhere... I believe Mussina either made comments about not getting to play in the game in Baltimore or he didn't say anything to the media letting them know that he knew ahead of time he would not pitch. The media basically crucified Gaston for not playing Mussina and Mussina didn't come to Gaston's defense. I can't recall if Mussina was vocal about it or not, but even sitting silent would have allowed the media to continue to roast Cito. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queen Prawn Posted February 6, 2004 Share Posted February 6, 2004 I believe Mussina either made comments about not getting to play in the game in Baltimore or he didn't say anything to the media letting them know that he knew ahead of time he would not pitch. The media basically crucified Gaston for not playing Mussina and Mussina didn't come to Gaston's defense. I can't recall if Mussina was vocal about it or not, but even sitting silent would have allowed the media to continue to roast Cito. Okay, I figured it was something like that. I wonder why they left it out. The way the article was written, it was clear what he did that he had to appologize. Thanks Rex! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loaiza21 Posted February 6, 2004 Share Posted February 6, 2004 A big ol linked story that twas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RibbieRubarb Posted February 6, 2004 Share Posted February 6, 2004 Sounds like Cito doesn't hold grudges... He'd be great in the clubhouse! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Hudler Posted February 6, 2004 Share Posted February 6, 2004 Sounds like Cito doesn't hold grudges... He'd be great in the clubhouse! Some grudges are more understandably harder to let go than others. Especially one where you received death threats! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queen Prawn Posted February 6, 2004 Share Posted February 6, 2004 Some grudges are more understandably harder to let go than others. Especially one where you received death threats! If he issued the death threats that's one thing. How is he supposed to control what some idiotic fan(s) does/do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RibbieRubarb Posted February 6, 2004 Share Posted February 6, 2004 I don't recall where Mussina threatened him... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Hudler Posted February 6, 2004 Share Posted February 6, 2004 If he issued the death threats that's one thing. How is he supposed to control what some idiotic fan(s) does/do? No, Mussina didn't threaten him. But Mussina could have spoken up and said "Hey, this wasn't a surprise. I was told the day before the game I wasn't going to pitch unless we went extra innings. I don't have any problems with Cito because he told me up front what they were going to do. Sure I would have liked to have pitched here at home, but that's the way it goes sometimes. They needed guys to be able to pitch in case the game went to extra innings. It's not that big of a deal" A statement like that would have very much lightened the load, so to speak and taking much of the heat off Gaston. That didn't happen. I wish I could remember all of the details. But the blow up after that All-Star Game is what changed how manager's managed it and led to the tie a few years ago. Which I still see as no big damned deal, but hey, that's me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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