WHY ROBERTSON DESERVES MORE CREDIT

Of course everyone in the Yankee Universe has heard of David Robertson. He's the middle reliever who has had good success in 2009 and 2010, while getting off to a brilliant start in 2011. He's also the same guy who got out of a bases loaded, no-out jam in game two of the 2009 ALDS against the Twins. I’ll never forget that. But, he seems to be the forgotten guy around the rest of major league baseball.

After having a sub-par 2008 season, Robertson burst onto the scene in the 2009 campaign. Robertson came on in the middle of the season and posted a very solid 3.30 ERA. And in the postseason, he came on in the middle of the 11th inning, allowed one hit to load the bases, and he then retired the next three Twins to get out of that jam. The Yankees ended up winning the game on a Mark Teixeira homerun, and the Yankees ended up getting the three game sweep against the Twins. In my opinion, if Robertson doesn’t get out of that inning like he did, Yanks may not win that game and momentum sways the Twins way.

In 2010, he had another solid season, posting a 3.82 ERA. And thus far this season, he's off to a stellar start, posting a 1.69 ERA with 14 strikeouts in 10.2 innings of work. So, you know Robertson deserves plenty of credit and at least some publicity, but for some reason he doesn't. With all the hype of Joba, Soriano and Mo, Robertson flies under the radar and deserves more credit.

Everyone talks about Joba Chamberlain because of the "Joba Rules" and how he was handled being in and out of the rotation and bullpen, until he was placed in the 'pen for good at the start of the 2010 season. You hear about Rafael Soriano because he is the high priced free agent, and former closer of the 2010 AL East Champion Tampa Bay Rays. Soriano is the highest paid setup man in baseball, earning a cool $10 million this season. And of course, there's Mariano Rivera. The greatest closer in the history of baseball. He deserves all the credit he's earned over the years. You could write a book about his success the past 16 years.

It's a shame Robertson doesn't get the credit he deserves around the rest of Major League Baseball. He's been a key piece over the last two plus seasons for the Yankees. And hey, you never know, Robertson could eventually be the closer for the Yankees when Rivera retires in a few seasons. He has a very good fastball and a wipeout curveball while consistently striking out batters at a rapid rate. Where ever Robertson is, middle relief, set-up guy or closer in a few years, bottom line is you have to salute David Robertson for being a great reliever and maybe this is the year he starts to get some welcomed recognition around the Major Leagues…I sure hope so.

--Jesse Schindler, BYB Staff Writer




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