Moose loose: Yankees' Mussina removed from rotation

New York Yankees manager Joe Torre announced on Tuesday that right-handed pitcher Mike Mussina has been pulled from the starting rotation and will miss his next scheduled start.

The Yankees will call upon 2006 first-round draft pick Ian Kennedy, currently at Triple-A Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, to make the start Saturday against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Kennedy is 1-1 with a 2.08 ERA in six starts for the Yanks' farm club.

Mussina is only 8-10 this season with a 5.53 ERA in 23 starts. The crafty veteran was torched for nine hits and six runs in three innings in a 16-0 loss Monday in Detroit. He has allowed a staggering 25 hits and 19 earned runs over 9 2/3 innings in his last three outings as New York has lost those contests by a combined 42-14 score.

It is a bitter pill to swallow for the 38-year-old, who has won 247 games over a 17-year major-league career with Baltimore and New York. The native of Williamsport, PA had won at least 10 games for 16 consecutive years from 1992-2006, and amassed 2,648 strikeouts in 498 games, all starts.