Fink Thinks: Two New Faces To The Bronx
By: Zachary Finkelstein
NEW YORK - In throwing out Seattle's Adam Moore, an All-Star shortstop helped complete the Yankees' 10-0 win Sunday afternoon. The final play, made without issue, concluded a 2 hour, 33 min. affair that was halted for 57 minutes due to rain.
The All-Star shortstop also scored a run on the day after recording a sixth-inning double. It was his first two-bagger in the Major Leagues. As of now, he has 461 less than Derek Jeter, the man for whom he was substituting.
Playing in place of the Yankees' captain was Eduardo Nunez, a 23-year-old International League (Triple-A) All-Star who was summoned to the Bronx on Thursday after Lance Berkman was placed on the disabled list with a sprained right ankle.
Nunez's debut came in the seventh inning of the Yankees' 11-5 win over Detroit, just hours after his call-up. He fouled out to the catcher in his first at-bat in the big leagues.
On Saturday against Seattle, Nunez again stepped up to the plate – this time in a clutch situation. With the game tied at 4-4 in the bottom of the seventh, the newcomer poked a 1-1 pitch through the second-base hole to score Austin Kearns from third.
It was Nunez's first Major League hit and it gave the Yankees a lead that they would not relinquish.
After time was called, the Mariners tossed the baseball to the Yankees' newest clutch-performer. It was a souvenir that Nunez said would go to his mother.
With the Yankees set at shortstop, Nunez's long-term role in New York remains uncertain. But with infielders Berkman and Alex Rodriguez out with injury, the Bombers brought their rookie infielder north of the border to help battle the Blue Jays.
Traveling too was Ivan Nova, Nunez's roommate at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Triple-A), and the Yankees' starting pitcher on Monday.
The 6-foot-4 right-hander's Major League debut as a starter will see him face a ferocious lineup that has tallied 188 home runs on the year -- 20 more than any other team in baseball. With southpaw Andy Pettitte out since July with a groin strain and the recent mound woes of A.J. Burnett and Javier Vazquez, the Yankees want Nova to provide a boost to a rotation in need of some extra rest.
"This is a big opportunity for me," Nova told an assembly of reporters on Sunday. "I just have to go out and do my job."
Nova has excelled at his job all year, posting a record of 12-3 in Triple-A, with a 2.86 ERA in 23 starts. He first appeared in pinstripes back in May, tossing three scoreless innings over two relief appearances against Detroit and Minnesota.
Despite pitching well in relief, Nova is more comfortable as a starter, having done so in ninety-seven of his 104 minor league outings.
"I had never been a reliever before." Nova said. "[Starting] is what I've done my whole career."
Nova throws a change-up, a curveball, and recently added a slider to his repertoire. Nova works all his secondary pitches off a fastball that touches the mid-nineties.
"He's got good stuff," Girardi said. "He's got velocity, as well. I liked him in spring training. When he came up and pitched a couple innings in Detroit, he threw strikes. It seems like he's got pretty good command."
With Nova's start, the team with baseball's best record at 77-47 will once again rely upon their deep organizational depth to win. Nova took the roster spot of the ailing Rodriguez, who had driven in 97 RBI before being placed on the DL Saturday afternoon with a left calf strain.
However, sans their star slugger this season, the Yankees have compiled a perfect 12-0 record.
"I can't even tell you the type of games we've had (with Rodriguez out) -- if they've been low scoring games or high scoring games," said Girardi.
"Basically, people have stepped up in his absence."
The ability to overcome adversity often separates the haves and have-nots, and playoff clubs from those who watch October baseball from home.
And now without Rodriguez for at least two weeks, the Yankees will turn to super prospect Nova, who will try and help the Yankees improve to 13-0 without A-Rod, who just so happens to wear uniform No. 13.
