DETROIT — A year ago he proclaimed himself the best pitcher in the world and tumbled so far he was left off the postseason roster.
Apparently Ivan Nova didn’t learn how to inhale humble pie because after a putrid outing yesterday against the muscular Tigers at Comerica Park the right-hander saw the first outing of the season a lot differently than anybody inside the sold-out stadium or watching on television.
“I didn’t feel I pitched that bad,’’ Nova stunningly said after the reeling Yankees were spanked 8-3 in front of 45,051.
There is a nugget of honesty in Nova’s words because he wasn’t bad. He stunk.
Handed a 3-2 lead by Kevin Youkilis’ two-run homer in the fifth off right-hander Doug Fister, Nova gave up a leadoff single to Omar Infante, the No. 9 hitter, and walked Austin Jackson on five pitches.
After feeding Torii Hunter a double play ground ball, Nova hit Miguel Cabrera with his 96th and final pitch. With runners at the corners and two outs, manager Joe Girardi called for Boone Logan and his second pitch to Prince Fielder splashed just over the right-field wall for a three-run homer and a 5-3 lead.
In addition to the brutal fifth, Nova gave up a solo runs in the first and second innings.
“I always worry about starters the first time through at the beginning of the season,’’ Girardi said. “They can get a little excited and a little hyped up. I don’t judge them too quickly on their first starts.’’
Girardi will defend his players to the final degree, but it’s time someone shakes Nova out of the self-delusional funk he lives in.
Since starting last season 3-0 with a 3.79 ERA and declaring himself the best pitcher in the world, Nova went 9-8. His final three months were so bad (3-6; 6.38 ERA) Girardi left him off the postseason roster.
A mechanical adjustment that shortened Nova’s arm action a bit appeared to give him more consistency early in spring training, but that vanished as quickly as Fielder’s two homers yesterday.
Now, the Yankees have to be at the point when Nova has to be a candidate to be dumped from the rotation to make room for Phil Hughes who will come off the disabled list today and start against the Tigers instead of David Phelps. Hughes was scratched yesterday from a scheduled start for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre tonight.
The skinny lead Nova handed Logan vanished on the first of Fielder’s two blasts.
“The first pitch was a slider and I tried to go down and away with a heater and it was way out of the zone,’’ Logan said of the fateful pitch. “He was sitting on it.’’
After scoring three runs in the fifth off Fister, the Yankees sent a dozen hitters to face lefty Drew Smyly and none reached base.
Fielder added a second homer deep into the seats in right-field that provided two runs in the seventh and the Yankees were stamped with their third loss in four games to start a season that doesn’t figure to get better until Mark Teixeira, Curtis Granderson and Derek Jeter return.
Making the loss sting more was losing Eduardo Nunez to a bruised right biceps in the fourth when he was drilled by an 88 mph fastball from Fister.
With Alex Rodriguez, Teixeira, Granderson and Jeter out, the pitching was expected to give the Yankees a chance. That plan isn’t working. CC Sabathia got hit Opening Day. Hiroki Kuroda got hit by a liner on the right middle finger. And Nova needed to come up a few floors to be bad yesterday.
Of course, Sabathia was accountable and Kuroda was the victim of bad luck. Nova? He had the best view of anybody yesterday and didn’t think it was that bad. That might be worse than the actual results.