Ivan Nova finally makes his return to a major league mound
this afternoon after missing the last 14 months with Tommy John surgery. While
Nova will presumably be pumped up as will his teammates and fans I think we all
need to temper our expectations for Nova today and for the right hander going
forward. Now I’m not saying the Yankees fan base is impatient and I’m not
saying they will turn on you, temporarily at least, after one bad outing or
inning (okay, yes I am saying this but I mean it with the utmost respect and
love) but I am saying that the Bronx can be a tough crowd to pitch in front of
when you’re not doing well wearing the pinstripes.
Let’s remember that the last things to come back for a
pitcher after having his ulnar collateral ligament replaced in his elbow are
the velocity and control. Nova may struggle with control this afternoon like he
did in his last rehab start with the Scranton Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. Nova may
not be able to locate his breaking stuff and may not be able to blow away pitchers
with a low 90’s fastball, we all need to prepare ourselves for that. Nova is
not going to be the 16 game winner that he was a few seasons back in his first
start off the disabled list and he will more than likely be inconsistent from
inning to inning, from batter to batter and from start to start, it happens.
What will not help Nova, who if you follow him on Twitter or
have been following him throughout his career, is to boo him, to tag him in
hateful tweets and to generally be disrespect and a nuisance. Nova wears his
heart and his emotions on his sleeve and will undoubtedly be nervous this afternoon.
Show him some love while tempering your expectations for him and we will all be
just fine. If you can’t do it for me, do it for the team. The Yankees need Nova
back healthy and effective in the worst way if they want to make the postseason
in 2015 and that climb and process begins in just two hours here in the Bronx.
Frankly, I can’t wait.
Welcome back Nova!
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Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)