Yankees Get Visit From Ivan (Nova) The Terrible In Toronto

It was the bottom of the eighth inning. The Yankees had just closed the deficit to one in the top of the frame, thanks to Mark Teixeira's solo home run.  The potential for a come-from-behind victory seemed very strong. But, then, Ivan Nova took the mound.

Everyone knows the story of Ivan Nova's tenure with the Yankees. It boils down to one word: Inconsistency. He is either Supernova or Ivan The Terrible. Last night he was the latter, putting the game out of reach for the Yankees, and helping to secure a 7-2 victory for the Blue Jays.

I guess it's possible that Nova's bad outing last night was the result of not being used to pitching out of the bullpen. Also, he hadn't pitched in something like a week. However, his mediocre career makes it hard to give him the benefit of the doubt. He was terrible and he needs not to be terrible. He needs to master relief pitching, because no matter what CC Sabathia had done in Detroit, no matter what he'll do going forward, he is staying in the rotation. The bullpen is Nova's jail and he won't even get out of it on good behavior.  The only way he'll get a taste of the outside is if he's granted a furlough if one of the starters gets hurt.

Nova's inconsistency does give us some potential good news. He pitched poorly last night so, it might mean he'll pitch well in his next outing.  I know, I'm not fooling anyone, but I can still hope.