I have seen the future of rock'n'roll and its name is Ivan Nova.

He flung yesterday for the Scranton-Wilkes Barre Yankees of Syracuse. Went eight. Four hits. One run. A cheapo. It scored on two measily flares, one that dropped into right just inches from Shelley Duncan's courageous, outstretched, full-body dive. (NOTE TO SHELLEY: DON'T QUIT TWITTERING! DON'T LET THEM - US - GET TO YOU!)

Nova is 22. He's tall, rangy, freakishly big-boned, shoulders the size of a truck bumper. He hit 93 on the CF radar so often that we figured the machine busted. He throws strikes, gets grounders, except when they are dunked into right.

When San Diego took him last December in the Rule 5 draft, the Yankiverse gulped. Scouts saw potential, but the guy hadn't exactly dominated Low A ball. The Padres tried him in the bullpen. No dice. They returned him. Now you can see what the Padres saw. (NOTE TO YANKIVERSE: STOP THINKING SMALL MARKET ORGANIZATIONS ARE STUPID.)

This year, Nova has shot up through the minors with the brilliance of a, well, you know. When the Yanks talk about spot starts, they mention the veteran, Sergio Mitre. And of course, that makes sense. In a pennant race, go with experience, guile, knowledge.

But a few more starts like yesterday... and you can forget Meat Tray, Joba, Hughes, Kei Igawa... any of them. This kid is nearly ready.

And the thing to remember about a Nova is that the flash is really intense... but not necessariy forever.