Yanks Could Benefit From Super'Nova'

Sometimes a team gets lucky. Sometimes a minor league call up brings a quick glimpse of brightness and promise. Sometimes that promise immediately helps a team by giving them the boost they need. Similar to a supernova.

That’s just what the Yankees could use from starting pitcher Ivan Nova. The young right handed has been called up from Triple-A Scranton and will start Monday’s game in Toronto.

As I mentioned in a past article, the Yankees starting rotation has some major concerns. With a dead arm on Javier Vazquez, Phil Hughes’s innings limit, A.J Burnett’s inconsistency, and Andy Pettitte’s injury, the rotation needs some help.

A roster spot opened up when the Yankees decided to take a careful approach with the calf injury to third baseman Alex Rodriguez. Nova will take the place of A-Rod on the roster.

The 23 year old starter was 12-3 this season for Scranton with a 2.86 ERA. He made a brief appearance for the Yankees earlier in the season, pitching three scoreless innings in relief.

There has not been an announcement as far as what Nova’s role will be past Monday’s start. I’d like to think that if Nova pitches well, he would continue to pitch from the rotation and allow Joe Girardi to skip Vazquez once. However, Nova has pitched 145 innings this season in the minors. That’s just 3.2 innings shy of his career high of 148.2 in 2008 for the Tampa Yankees.

I think it would be smart for the Yankees to skip Vazquez and rework the rotation so him and Burnett do not pitch on back-to-back days, hopefully helping the bullpen from overwork. The two starters have been very inconsistent.

Girardi did say that he does not see the team using a six man rotation.

Whether Nova is here briefly or for an extended period of time, the Yankees could certainly use a spark, or a super’Nova’.