WHY IVAN NOVA IS JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED

(Photo: AP)

What a difference 24 hours can make in Yankeeland. The young, super talented righty for our Yankees, Ivan Nova, can teach the veteran AJ Burnett a thing or two about composure. Nova gets it. Nova keeps it together. It's no secret Ivan Nova is going to be a superstar in this game and thank God he is a Yankee!

I swear, the more I see Ivan Nova go out there and shut down opposing hitters and gain more and more confidence, the more he reminds me of a certain Yankee pitcher who recently retired... Andy Pettitte. When I think of Pettitte words like composure, heart, intelligence, confidence, and most important, winning come to my mind. I see many similarities between the 1995-1996 Andy Pettitte to the 2010-2011 Ivan Nova. I know that Nova can't hold a candle to the legacy of Pettitte yet, but he is on his way. I believe we are watching a true stud grow and mature right before our eyes. For sure he is the future ace of this Yankee staff and that title may come sooner than we think.

(Photo: Getty)

Tonight, Nova was sensational for 6 innings. He baffled Angel hitters and had total control of the strike zone. Granted he clearly ran out of steam in the 7th but the bullpen combo of Rafael Soriano and Luis Ayala shut down the Angels brief rally they had going. Even though Nova could not get an out in the 7th he still seemed composed. Unlike Burnett who just seems to completely collapse, Nova didn't sulk on the mound. He handed the ball to Girardi and lives to fight another day. I guess if I had to knit-pick Nova did not have any strikeouts, but he got the outs when he needed them nonetheless. The final line for Nova was 6 innings pitched, allowed 5 hits, 3 earned runs and 3 walks.(Photo: Getty)

The Grandyman is, simply put, on fire! Two more dingers to get him within one of Jose Bautista. Also, his 31st home run tonight is a new career best and he is leading in runs scored in the American League and it's not even close. Can anyone say AL MVP?(Photo: Getty)

Robinson Cano finished the evening one hit short of the cycle, and that one hit he needed was just a single. I was kind of praying the Yankees batted around in the 8th just so he could get a shot. Oh well, something tells me that won't be the last time in his career he'll be going for the cycle. Also Cano is closing in on .300. His 3 hits tonight give him a .299 average.



Rafael Soriano is doing damn good. Don't look now Yankee fans but Soriano is beginning to look great. He entered the 7th inning with no out and bases loaded and in just 4 pitches, he shuts down any chance the Angels had of coming back. Even though he only threw 4 pitches, I thought it was a good move for Girardi not to bring him out in the 8th. You might as well rest that arm.



Nick Swisher quietly had a nice game. He went 2-4 with an RBI and played a nice right field. Keep it Swish, we love ya pal!



Final Score tonight: Yankees 9 Angels 3 and the Yankees record right now is: 70-45

--Mikey Blue, BYB Senior Writer

Email: DonnieBaseball2323@gmail.com

Twitter: @MikeyBlu23

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