IVAN THE GREAT OR IVAN THE TERRIBLE?

I have always liked Ivan Nova.  Much like my writing colleague Rudy Laurens, I want him to do well.  In a piece this winter called NOVA SAYS: "I'M GOING TO BE THERE!"  Nova played Babe Ruth and the infamous 1932 “called shot” when he predicted “he would be there.”  There of course is in the rotation.  Now, he may have been a little over confident and perhaps even brazen with his prediction, but you know what, I like it.  He has heart and you don’t always see heart today.  As a matter of fact, most of our young players are missing heart. 

Tonight, for instance, I left the Babe Ruth field seeing a lot of players on my son’s All Star Team hanging their heads.  One in particular was a player who gave up, frankly two games ago.  And he lost his heart somewhere between last season and this season.  Without heart, a player just looks lifeless on the diamond, going through the motions inning after inning.  But seeing Nova out there, pushing and predicting, perhaps visualizing his possibilities, is just exciting to watch.  

His last start in New York against the Orioles was just stellar.  “Nova (3-2) gave up a two-run homer to Matt Wieters in the second inning then stifled the Orioles the rest of the way in a spot start for Hiroki Kuroda. He allowed three hits in his first career complete game, struck out 11 and walked one,” stated the New York Post following the walk off win Friday night.  You don’t get any better than that.  And you know what, with starts like that Ivan Nova could be “there” a lot longer.  With David Phelps on the disabled list and Phil Hughes being Hughes, Ivan Nova has earned at least one more start in the rotation, but if you asked me, Brian Cashman should consider keeping him a lot longer.  He was our number two starter last year and I am not saying he could be this year, but I am not saying he couldn’t be either.  With his complete game on Friday, Nova “became the first Yankee to throw a complete game with three hits or fewer and 11-plus strikeouts since Mike Mussina in 2002,” according to CBS Sports.

I’ll be honest, I really don’t care if you call him Ivan the Great or Ivan the Terrible, because either way you look at it, he could be terrible to hitters and great for the Yankees at the same time.  So, I am routing for Ivan Nova, just as I always have.  He is a young guy with gumption and I like that!

--Suzie Pinstripe, BYB Opinion Columnist
Twitter: @suzieprof





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