MAKING A MOTION: Ivan Nova, who has shortened his delivery and cut down on his boasts, furthered his case to be the Yankees’ No. 5 starter yesterday with four shutout innings. (AP)
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — Ivan Nova can lap up Mariano Rivera’s tough love. He can shorten the path his arm travels during his delivery. In the end, however, whatever Nova becomes or doesn’t become will be up to the 26-year-old right-hander.
As a rookie for the Yankees in 2011, Nova went 16-4 with a 3.70 ERA. He started last year 3-0 and proclaimed himself the best pitcher in the world. When 2012 ended, Nova was 12-8 with a 5.02 ERA and left off the postseason roster.
Now, Nova, who has remaining minor league options, is competing with David Phelps for the fifth spot in Joe Girardi’s rotation — if Phil Hughes is healthy. If Hughes can’t start the season, Nova and Phelps cop spots.
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So far, Nova-Phelps is too close to call. Nova certainly didn’t hurt himself yesterday, when he blanked an anemic Rays lineup across four innings in a 3-1 Yankees exhibition victory.
“He did alright,” Girardi said. “The thing I liked the most is that he got out of the [second] inning when he had first-and-third and nobody out. Those are the things you have to do to be a successful pitcher. That’s when things can snowball, and he stopped it.’’
Judging by the numbers, Girardi and pitching coach Larry Rothschild will have a tough decision. In three starts, Nova has worked nine innings with a 1.00 ERA, allowed eight hits and one walk. Phelps has started four games, has a 0.64 ERA with 10 hits, six strikeouts and three walks.
“I am not thinking about that,’’ Nova said of the fifth spot. “I know I am pitching well.’’
Nova might be ignoring the No. 5 competition, but he paid attention to Rivera last year.
“He told me, ‘If you don’t do what you are supposed to do, you are going to get sent down,’ ” Nova recalled. “He said, ‘You aren’t doing what’s necessary to stay. Do more.’ He told me that and I couldn’t even look into his eyes. When you talk to Mo, you have to be serious. It’s not like when I talk to Robbie Cano.’’
Rivera tried to do what Steve Howe did for him in 1995.
“I just have to reinforce that we needed him,’’ Rivera said. “Steve Howe was good to me. He was always there making sure I did the right things. I will never forget that. That was 1995, and it’s 2013 and I am trying to do that for others. It’s about making the team better, and that’s what I do. I want to win.’’
According to Girardi, Nova didn’t waltz into camp this time thinking he was the greatest pitcher in the universe.
“I think he is hungry to win a job,” Girardi said. “When he came off [2011], when he threw really well, the expectations were it would go just as well again. When you run through the bumps, you have to figure it out.’’
After winning his first three starts and beating the Red Sox at Fenway Park on April 20, Nova uttered words that haunted him: “If you ask me who is the best pitcher in the world, I say, ‘Me.’ You have to believe it.’’
Nova was 9-2 with a 4.03 ERA on June 28. He finished 12-8 with a 5.02 ERA.
“I think he is commanding his fastball better and he has a better downhill plane because of the adjustment he has made,’’ Girardi said of Rothschild shortening Nova’s arm action.
Rivera can get in Nova’s ear. Rothschild can stay on him to remain short. In the end it’s up to Nova, whose stuff is better than Phelps’. But stuff has to turn into consistency, and this would be the ideal time for that to happen to Nova.