Nova Admires Andy's Moxie

From Mark Feinsand:

Ivan Nova knows his adrenaline will be pumping when he takes the mound for his first postseason start, so he's trying to draw from the experience of a former teammate to figure out how to harness those feelings.

Nova has been watching tapes of Andy Pettitte's playoff starts, hoping to emulate the cool his former teammate showed during his 42 postseason starts.

"I want to have success in the postseason; who's had more success than him?" Nova said. "Doesn't it make sense to see what he did? That's the time you have to relax and stay calm. That guy seemed so relaxed on the mound in so many big games. That's what I'm looking to do."

Joe Girardi was happy to hear that Nova had started his mental preparation for the postseason.

"Players that are able to control their emotions in the playoffs usually have the most success; Andy was real good at that," Girardi said. "Ivan is trying to learn as much as he can and take it all in. I love that."

I agree with Girardi. The fact that Nova is mostly likely going to be a key to the Yankees postseason will only put more pressure on the 24-year-old, so it's good that he understands the situation and is trying to prepare. That said, there's a huge difference between saying you're going to try to relax, and actually doing it.