THE BRIDGE TO DAVID ROBERTSON

Ever since Mariano Rivera popularized the role in 1996, teams have sought to find one or more relief pitchers on their respective staffs to be setup men. These guys bridge the late innings from the starter to the closer. For the last 4 seasons, that person was David Robertson, who has recorded between 30 and 35 Holds per season over that time. Now the Yankees have penciled in Robertson as the closer for the team, and the question is now around who will fill the gap. In my mind, I think there are two pitchers who could form a very powerful tandem, in the way that Jeff Nelson and Mike Stanton did for Mariano Rivera years ago. Those two pitchers are Dellin Betances and Matt Thornton.

Matt Thornton is a career setup and bridge pitcher, mostly with the White Sox. Since 2006, he has set up Bobby Jenks, Sergio Santos, and Addison Reed to the tune of about 20 Holds per season. He kept his ERA in the 2’s and 3’s for the most part, coming in mostly for the 8th inning, and earned an All-Star appearance in 2010. He appeared in one postseason with the White Sox, and has yet to yield a postseason earned run. At age 37, he is in a position to serve as a veteran mentor to some of the younger Yankees pitchers. Despite his recent Spring Training outings, his history says that he should balance out a nice 8th inning one-two punch.

Meanwhile, Dellin Betances has been on fire since converting to the bullpen. A once-rising future starter, Betances seems to have found a home and settled in to his role as a relief pitcher. Last year, he spent most of his time in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre as a relief pitcher, and saw both his ERA and WHIP take a nosedive. His strikeout to walk ratio doubled, and his performance in Spring Training this year has turned some heads. In 8 innings of work scattered across five games, he has given up two hits, two walks, and struck out seven. Granted, he’ll be turning 26 on the 23rd of March, and he has yet to face a high-pressure major league situation, so we’ll still have to see if he can hack it in the 7th and 8th. Nevertheless, the outlook is bright right now.

With the departure of Mariano Rivera, the change of role for David Robertson, and the almost complete overhaul of the Yankees bullpen, the 2014 season should prove to be an interesting and formative year for the Yankees pitching staff. While anything can happen, these two pitchers seem to be the most likely candidates to form the bridge to the closer. Given their pedigree and recent performances, it should be very interesting.

--Ike Dimitriadis, BYB Writer
Twitter: @KingAgamemnon
My blog is: Shots from Murderer's Row



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WHY ARE WE PLAYING CATCH UP?

Is it me or do you feel like the Yankees are 1 step behind everyone else since the Cliff Lee offer went down the crapper? The Yanks big fish was caught by Philly and suddenly with other names like Kerry Wood and Bobby Jenks being available, the Yanks can't seem to snag them quick enough. Kerry Wood, as you know, was great for the Yanks down the stretch last year and he reportedly only wanted, 2 years, $12 million, not bad at all, but apparently too much for the Yankees. Now Wood's most likely on his way back to the Cubs. You can't blame him, Chicago native, strong ties to the Cubs, it makes sense, but what gives?

Next comes news that crazyman Bobby Jenks, while he didn't have a great 2010 for the Chicago White Sox just signed a 2 year deal with the Red Sox after the Yankees were in "hot and heavy" talks with the husky righthander. WTF? Apparently Jenks wanted closer money (much like it was reported about Wood) and the Yankees didn't bite. Why? Why wouldn't they just go for it? What are they saving their cash for? They were just about to blow $161 million on Lee? What's $8 million on a Jenks? Am I the only one not seeing this?

The Yankees reached out to Brian Fuentes at the winter meetings, and that's lingering. Look guys, if you don't want to spend "closer" money, then don't bother talking to Fuentes. That's what he wants for sure. I'm alittle baffled by all of this but I want some action and I want it now.

Now, Pedro Feliciano is someone the Yanks are about to get and yes, we need a lefty so I like that idea, but man oh man, we need alittle extra here. You guys are killing me.

Whatever the case, it appears that certain targets, except for Russell Martin who was officially announced yesterday, have just disappearing before our eyes. Come on Cash, spend alittle bread, the fans are getting restless.

Please comment and let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.