NEW YORK—Mike Mussina struggled so mightily last season that Joe Torre finally came to an agonizing realization. As the New York Yankees scratched and clawed to stay in the playoff race, the veteran starter had become a liability.

The zip was gone from his overpowering fastball, the one that so often nipped the corners of the plate. Mussina’s pinpoint command was wavering, his steadfast confidence shot, his win total the lowest it’d been in seven years.

“One of the toughest things I’ve had to do,” said Torre, now the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, “was go tell him ...

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