Also, one day, David Robertson will blow a save:
"He also has a column on David Robertson, who notched his first save, though he did it in the most un-Mariano way possible."
Robertson walks too many batters. He has also allowed one earned run since last July 24, 2011 while pitching in the AL East.
After Mariano's blown save on Opening Day, I distinctly remember a lot of calls for Robertson to replace Mariano as the closer.
"Just my take: Things are going to get interesting for Robertson.
By working out of a bases loaded jam last night, Robertson preserved his 100 percent strand rate this season. He's basically picked up where he left off last year when he stranded an abnormally high 90 percent of baserunners*. It's pretty impressive.
It's also pretty unsustainable."
You are right.
Just like Ron Washington was right when he said that Josh Hamilton can't hit four HRs every night.
"Whether or not Joe Girardi says it directly, Robertson is in effect stepping in for Rivera as the closer. If Robertson gives up a few runs and blows a few games in that role -- the numbers indicate there's a reasonable chance he will -- the natural inclination will be to chalk it up to Robertson not being able to handle the pressure of closing out games. Who knows? Maybe, the mental aspect actually does come into play."
Natural inclination for hack sportswriters.
This is not a serious debate.
When Mariano went down, every fan knew that Robertson was going to be the closer.
The first comment I saw on ESPN was Doug Glanville campaigning for Soriano. This sentiment was echoed shortly thereafter by Lupica. Then, many others followed suit, to the point where Soriano became the default pick, even though every Yankee fan knew the closer was going to be Robertson.
What is going on?
They are inserting an unnecessary and intentionally contrarian Pundit Layer of analysis, trying to convince you that they know more than you do.
Sure, Robertson had a 1.08 ERA last year. Sure, Robertson has a 0.00 ERA last year. Of course Robertson has allowed one HR in the past 80 innings or so. We also know that Soriano has been a bust since joining the Yankees.
But everybody knows that. Anybody can gain that knowledge just by watching the games or looking up the stats.
We're pundits. We add value by pointing out that Soriano had 45 saves for Tampa a few years ago which proves ... well, it proves that new closers can get the job done because every successful closer was new at the job before they got good at the job ... whoops ... I meant to say Soriano is more mentally prepared than Robertson.
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