Hal Names D-Rob The Closer, Scores Another Point With Me

(From fireman to chief of the house.)

On any other day, this would have been bigger news.  When Masahiro Tanaka signs a 7-year deal worth over $22 mil a year, it gets swallowed up in the wake.  While commenting on the Tanaka signing and the team's plans for the remainder of the offseason, Hal made the first public declaration that David Robertson will indeed be the Yankee closer this season.  Via Joel Sherman:

“I have a lot of confidence in Robertson and so does Joe. Robertson is going to be our closer, and I believe he will do a good job."

Now whether Hal has the final say to make that call or if he discussed it beforehand with Cash and/or Joe, I don't know.  What I do know is that it's the right decision and I support it 100%.  I've been saying for a long time now that D-Rob is the man for the job and the team should commit to him and props to Hal for finally manning up and doing it.  I swear it's like the guy reads this site and is trying to change my opinion of him.  Now somebody hit the music!

Do You Want This Man As Your Closer Next Year?

(Courtesy of Ashley Papelbon's Twitter)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

That's a difficult question to answer for many Yankee fans for a variety of reasons.  Jonathan Papelbon isn't and has never been very well-liked in Yankeeland.  That will happen when you're wearing a Boston Red Sox uniform and have a brashness and arrogance about you that borders on obnoxious sometimes.  One thing he has been over the course of his career is a very good closer, and like his left-handed starter teammates in Philly he may be available via trade for the right price.  Part of that price may include outfielder Domonic Brown as part of a package deal, which raises more questions about just what the hell the Phillies are doing this offseason.  But with the Yankees looking for veteran bullpen help and with their progress slowed on other fronts, they may want to consider putting a call in to Ruben Amaro about their former nemesis.

If Not D-Rob For Closer Next Year, Then Who?

(Courtesy of the AP)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

With the GM meetings now in the rearview, there's an even busier Yankee offseason to-do list in place.  They need multiple starting pitchers, they still need to re-sign Robinson Cano, they're looking to upgrade at right field, catcher, shortstop, third base, and possibly DH, and they may be in the market for a new closer.  Despite being the apparent in-house favorite after Mo's retirement, Cash stated pretty definitively last week that the Yankees had not designated David Robertson as next year's closer and that they were looking for a more "proven" option on the free agent market.

Putting aside the comments questioning D-Rob's capability of closing and the motivation for making them, there is some sound logic to this plan.  The Yankees are missing 60+ elite-level relief innings from their bullpen with Mo out of the picture and those innings aren't easily absorbed by just signing a rehabbing David Aardsma-type off the FA scrap heap or calling up Mark Montgomery and calling it a day.  The Yankees do need another arm at the back end of their bullpen, and if nothing else, going after a proven closer covers them for the 8th and 9th innings again.  So if it's not going to be D-Rob trotting out to start the bottom of the 9th next season, who else could it be?

Do The Yankees Even Want D-Rob To Close Next Year?

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

In case you hadn't heard, Mariano Rivera is retiring after the end of this season.  When he does, he'll leave the Yankees with a decision to make that they haven't had to consider for the last 17 years- who takes over for him and assumes the closer role in 2014?  The smart money all season has been on David Robertson, Mo's long time setup man, one of the best late-game relievers in baseball, and magna cum laude graduate of the Mariano Rivera School of Relief Pitching.  But last night something happened that brought that potential passing of the torch into question.

With 2 outs and a runner on second in the 8th, Joe came out to remove D-Rob and go to Mo.  Not only that, he came out in the middle of an at-bat after D-Rob had already thrown a pitch to yank him.  While it might not seem like much, it's another instance of Robertson not being shown a lot of faith as the heir apparent and it raises the question of whether the Yankees really do view him as Mo's successor.

Don't Sweat D-Rob As The Closer

(Courtesy of the AP)

Almost as if it was scripted, an opportunity presented itself for David Robertson to prove his mettle as the next Yankee closer last night.  With Mo experiencing his yearly bout of command problems and unavailable due to workload and some bad BABIP luck bringing the tying run to the plate in the form of Mike Trout, Joe summoned D-Rob to work out of the jam and save the team's 3rd win in 4 games.

At face value, D-Rob's work last night was in agreement with the growing cry from the MSM (looking at you, Michael Kay) that D-Rob "doesn't have what it takes" to be Mo's successor.  He walked Trout to bring the winning run to the plate, gave up an RBI double that put the tying run on third with 1 out, and loaded the bases before wriggling off the hook.  As the crowd chanted "we want Mo!" Robertson made them sweat a bit before managing to escape trouble and avoid a 4th straight blown save.

Dave Robertson > Rafael Soriano

(Hey look!  It's the new closer!  Courtesy of Reuters)

The biggest non-Mo talking point since Mo went down with his ACL injury has been who should take his place as closer this season.  It was talked about immediately after the injury was confirmed, it was talked about after D-Rob handled the 9th inning in order in a non-save situation on Friday night, and it was talked about again after he did his normal tightrope walk routine to close out the win last night.  Obviously the only 2 real candidates are Dave Robertson and Rafael Soriano, but I still feel like I have to ask this.  Why is anybody even talking about this in the first plate?  Why is there even cause for a "Robertson or Soriano" discussion?  Did I get transplanted into an alternate reality where Rafael Soriano is a better pitcher than Dave Robertson?  That's the only thing that I can think of that would explain this situation.

It's real simple, people.  Dave Robertson should be the closer.  And the reason he should be the closer is that he's simply a better pitcher and a more effective reliever than Rafael Soriano.  For all the talk about how erratic D-Rob can be and how many walks he issues and how you don't want runners on base in the 9th inning, the fact remains that Robertson has showed a consistent ability over the last 2+ years to get big outs when he needs to get them in a variety of different high-leverage relief situations.  And if you want to talk about walks, let's talk about how before last night Robertson had issued just 3 walks in 12.0 IP this season, good for a 2.25 BB/9 value that was only slightly higher than Mo's 2.16.  Robertson has shown serious improvement in his command and ability to throw strikes and paint corners, and has done it without sacrificing any of the nastiness of his stuff that allows him to rack up his dominant strikeout totals.  If that doesn't work for you, try these nuggets of knowledge on for size.