Hot Stove 2009: Bridge to Mariano « Zell's Pinstripe Blog

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Hot Stove 2009: Bridge to Mariano

November 17, 2009 by Rob Bradley

David Robertson WS

During the 2009 Postseason one thing became very clear. The bridge to Mariano Rivera as compared to the regular season was slightly more shaky than thought it would be going into the Postseason. With Hughes and Chamberlain’s status for 2010 practically set, as of now, the bridge to Mariano is even more shaky one would think. That leaves Robertson, Aceves, Coke, Marte, Melancon, Bruney and a cast of other characters.

With Marte’s re-emergence in the Postseason, it is likely he will be viewed as the left handed option in said bridge. Even so, the Yankees have Coke and a hard throwing prospect in Mike Dunn who strikes out batters in groups, but is untested at the Major League level. While Aceves has pitched well for the Yankees so far, it is likely they believe that he is more valuable in the middle relief role than at the end and I agree with that assessment.

With Hughes and Joba likely both given a chance to join the rotation in Spring Training, it would be best to assume they both won’t be in the bullpen at this moment. Once we can further assume that, we can further look towards the future. If and when Chien-Ming Wang returns, it is likely the Yankees will re-insert Joba or Phil into the bullpen.

With those two in the rotation and Marte likely the left handed setup, personally, I would give David ‘Houdini’ Robertson a shot at being the bridge to Mariano. Why? Well, if you weren’t watching the 2009 Postseason (Shame on you!), outside of Marte and Mariano, D-Rob was the most consistent reliever Girardi could call on. In 74 innings in the Majors, he has struck out 99 batters. However, his walk totals could be a little bit lower, but in the Postseason he appeared to corral that as he got out of jam after jam he was inserted in.

All things considered, with Joba and Phil earning their way back to the starting rotation, I am betting that we’ll see increased roles in the bridge to Mariano from Robertson and Marte. Realistically, if Phil and Joba are not to be in the bullpen, who else would you trust?