WHY ROBERTSON WILL DOMINATE

David Robertson is entering his third full season as a New York Yankee, and after the Kerry Wood signing with the Chicago Cubs and before the signing of Rafael Soriano, it looked as though Robertson would earn the setup role behind future Hall of Fame closer Mariano Rivera. But with the signing of Rafael Soriano, Robertson will more than likely slide down to the seventh inning role. Nice bridge.

Over the last two seasons, Robertson he has pitched in 109 games and has a solid 3.60 ERA. He was also a hero in game two of the 2009 ALDS against the Minnesota Twins by escaping a bases loaded, no outs situation without allowing a run to score. Who can forget that? But what stands out for the young right hander is that in 105 innings pitched over the last two regular seasons, he's racked up 134 strikeouts. That's 11.48 K's per nine innings pitched. That mark is obviously near the top in the Major leagues and it's definitely something that will make him a mainstay in the Yankee bullpen in years to come.Although Robertson has been great overall as a Yankee, he has had a rough time getting off to good starts from 2008-2010. In the months of April and May, Robertson has a 5.78 ERA, while having a WHIP of 1.83. But once the calender flips to June and beyond, the young right hander has an ERA of 3.61, while dropping his WHIP to 1.37. He'll need to get off to a good start this season to have a great season from April through September. I know he can.

Although Robertson is "battling" Joba Chamberlain for the seventh inning role, he pretty much has it signed, sealed and delivered due to the issues that Joba Chamberlain has dealt with. Look for Robertson to have a dominant season now that he's in his third full year, and his fourth year overall. The dude can pitch, and if he gets off to a hot start and stays that way, we'll have the best damn pen in the pros.


--Jesse Schindler BYB Guest Writer
The Pinstriped Personality Blog


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