Dave Robertson Archives

A New Winning Streak Started Tonight

April 19, 2017

Last night’s loss to the White Sox was disappointing, especially after the Yankees mounted a challenge against old friend Dave Robertson in the ninth and especially after the seven previous wins in a row made it feel as if we’d never lose. But tonight was another notch in the win column, and, I hope, it will lead to another streak.

There were homers aplenty: Judge, Hicks, Castro, Headley. There was more good starting pitching: Tanaka. And there was more good relief work: Mitchell, Layne. I’m encouraged.

After tomorrow’s off day, it’s on to Pittsburgh. I have to say I’m not and never have been wild about inter-league series and certainly not this early in the season. But the schedule is what it is. The first series against the Red Sox is just around the corner, so there’s that to look forward to (or dread).

Hello and Happy Veteran's Day

November 11, 2014

Peggy, our good friend of the blog, sent me this pic of her new granddaughter Kayleigh in her best Derek Jeter fan mode. If that isn’t enough to brighten anyone’s day I don’t know what is. Just adorable.

Here she is pretty in pink too.

To catch up on news in Yankeeville, the Yankees re-signed Chris Young (hopefully his productivity at the end of last season after being acquired from the Mets wasn’t a fluke), made a qualifying one-year offer to Dave Robertson (he turned it down and now they’re negotiating a multi-year deal – or not), are trying to sign Chase Headley (supposedly he wants to play third everyday, not platoon, so we’ll see) and are talking to agents about various players. Oh, and Brian Cashman, who is our GM yet again (I’m not thrilled), is wearing a mustache and a goatee at the winter meetings.

And then there’s been all the gross A-Rod news – his spilling the sad truth of his PED/Biogenesis involvement to the Feds, his feud with good old cousin Yuri and his wife and other sordid details. I keep trying to picture this guy showing up at spring training (in between having to testify at Yuri’s trial) and wondering whether he’ll have a Mea Culpa press conference, do another TV interview with Peter Gammons or maybe the more local Michael Kay or Jack Curry, or just say “No comment. I’m here to play baseball.” I bet Jeter is so happy he won’t be around for any of that.

I really enjoyed the World Series this year and look forward to the baseball season, despite my skepticism about the Yankees’ roster. There are a lot of holes to fill and Hal may or may not, should or should not, open his wallet this time around.

Till next time.

Hello and Happy Veteran’s Day

November 11, 2014

Here she is pretty in pink too.

Till next time.

Esmil Rogers to the Rescue?

August 3, 2014

Why is it that victories for the Yankees inevitably come with an injury, usually to a pitcher? In tonight’s finale at Fenway, Phelps was struggling and I was pissed off that he was serving up fat ones to the Red Sox – until I heard he was injured. Rogers, our latest pickup off somebody’s scrap heap, saved the day with three scoreless innings and it’s possible he’ll take Phelps’ spot in the rotation. Kind of scary, but I’m used to the game of musical chairs the Yanks have been forced to play this season.

Scarier still was Clay Buchholz, who kept giving back the leads the Sox hitters handed him and was eventually lifted. Our offense looked determined to take advantage and we actually scored more than a few runs for a change – just enough to get the win. Gardner continues to be our Babe Ruth. What a season he’s having. Beltran and McCann looked good at the plate too.

Dave Robertson nearly blew the save on that almost homer by Pedroia, speaking of scary, but recovered just in time. Tense!

Can the Yankees continue to win series down the stretch? They’ll have to if they want to get into the postseason. Everybody’s bunched up in the standings right now and I have no idea which teams (Blue Jays? Orioles? Mariners? Angels? Us?) will emerge with playoff berths. The only guarantees in the AL at the moment are the A’s and Tigers, and I’m not looking forward to playing the latter starting tomorrow. Gulp.

Now That Hurt

June 1, 2014

Blown saves are never fun, but I’m glad I missed today’s. I was at a screening and checked the score before I had to turn off my phone. The Yanks were tied with the Twins and our new kid (Chase Whitley) was going toe to toe with our old kid (Phil Hughes). Imagine my surprise when I got out of the theater and saw the score. Ugh.

Yes, even Mo blew saves, but for Robertson to have a complete meltdown – to the point where our offense had no chance to come back – was painful. This was the Twins we were facing, and we lost the series. Very disappointing. Hughes and Nunez must have felt a special satisfaction doing well in the Bronx and good for them, seriously, but the mostly anemic lineup of ours without Beltran and Teixeira is proving tricky.

Maybe Beltran will actually contribute, but I have less hope for Tex, whose wrist is bound to be a chronic issue. The good news is Whitley and the continued effectiveness of Betances and Warren.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again……I miss home runs!

True Yankee

September 12, 2013

Photo: Rob Carr/Getty Images North America

We can always count on Orioles closer Jim Johnson to help the cause, and he proved that again tonight in the ninth by gagging up a throwing error and a wild pitch. Wow. What a wild game and a tense-but-fun win.

It started off with yet another injury, naturally. I could not believe when Gardner touched his side in obvious pain after a checked swing in the very first inning and now has an oblique strain. That type of injury can take forever to heal and, without being all doom and gloomy, I doubt we’ll see him again any time soon.

Luckily, his substitute, the Grandy Man, came through with another homer and so did Mark Reynolds, and Soriano’s two catches (especially the one that must have given Robertson the same heart attack it gave me) were spectacular.

What a horrible eighth inning for D-Rob. Just miserable. Girardi had such a short leash with Hughes and Huff (I know, I know; it was his master plan to have them each go three innings), so he must have seen that Robertson didn’t have his good stuff but left him in anyway. I guess there was no one else.

Brendan Ryan was the unlikely hero scoring the go-ahead run, and Mo’s arm, which has to be hanging on by a thread at this point, should be enshrined in the Hall of Fall all by itself. Weird that the official scorer didn’t give him the save but rather the win, calling Robertson’s outing too “brief and ineffective.”

I don’t know how long the Yanks can keep this up, but they’re making these last games interesting, that’s for sure.

My Stomach Hurts

September 5, 2013

I’m serious. It’s still in knots an hour after that game. Talk about highs and lows. Sheesh. That one was a killer, although it was extremely entertaining, as most Yankees-Red Sox games are.

The first surprise (and not in a good way) was Nova. Once again, the old adage of what seems like a nice match-up on paper doesn’t always turn out that way. He’s been our best pitcher lately, but not tonight. Gone without getting to the sixth.

Another surprise: Joe’s use of Mo. Again. Why not use Robertson for two innings since he clearly had his stuff tonight (unlike last night when I trashed him)? Mo’s been in each of the last few games and I was sure he’d be unavailable. Even so, he was so close to a save, but a combo of a not-so-great pitch and Romine’s error (not a good night for him at all) and Jeter’s non-catch of Romine’s throw did him in.

And then there was Joba. Really, Joe? Why do you keep going to him in big situations? Yes, he got robbed by Joe West on that checked swing call, but he can’t be trusted. His ball doesn’t move. He doesn’t fool hitters.

Bravo to the offense. They came allllllll the way back in a gutsy, exciting way, only to peter out at the end. Such a shame.

Now if only my stomach would stop hurting. Ouwwww.

No More Swishaliciousness

November 1, 2012

As per John Heyman:

The Yankees are ready to move on from the Nick Swisher era.

While they were still planning to make the $13.3-million qualifying offer to the free-agent outfielder on Friday, they appear hopeful he won’t take it. The offer is likely to be made only to protect the draft choice.

The Yankees seem to believe it’s very unlikely Swisher will take the one-year offer; in fact, they seem to be counting on it. While a repeat of the Jayson Werth seven-year, $126 million contract is out, Swisher should still be able to get at least a three-year deal, and perhaps even a longer one.

The Yankees generally are pleased with the overall production Swisher gave them in his four years in New York, but they see the era as being over after another rough postseason for Swisher. In his career, Swisher has just eight RBI in 154 postseason at-bats, with a .169 batting average and .589 OPS.

Swisher was a fan favorite for almost his whole stay in New York, but he expressed great disappointment at the fans’ booing of several Yankees in their ALCS sweep at the hands of the Tigers.

It’s not as if we weren’t expecting this. Swisher will definitely decline the Yankees’ offer and seek greener pastures. I’ll miss his sense of fun and I’ll never forget the time he took the pitcher’s mound at the Trop or how well he played first base in Tex’s absence, and he was pure entertainment out there in right field. But so it goes.

As for Soriano, he, too, is seeking – and will get – more money than the Yankees are willing to pay him and he should. He’s a good closer and good closers are in demand. My problem with not keeping him is what we’ll do instead. Say Mo comes back, as we all hope he does. Will he be able to pitch effectively for an entire season? Very possibly. But if not, do we think Robertson can step into the job this time? Or will Joba stay healthy and consistent enough to be the Joba of 2007? Or will some new candidate emerge?

Interesting times.

A Hairier Janer Than Necessary

September 20, 2012

I was thrilled that my wish from last night’s post – that the Yankees would win again but by scoring lots of runs – came true. (Thanks to Ichiro, Swisher, Jeter, Nix and the whole bunch of them.) But when the Blue Jays made a game of it by scoring 7 runs to our 10, it got downright ridiculous. Girardi actually had Soriano warming, after the poor guy saved both games yesterday, but that’s the problem with having a starter who couldn’t go deep and middle relievers who couldn’t relieve. (Correction: apparently, Soriano was only “playing catch” and there was not a plan to use him.)

Let me elaborate.

Hughes got the win but scared me the way he often does. His third inning was weird and his pitch count got out of hand. Not what you want to see as the postseason approaches.

Lowe wasn’t good, but I would have left him in longer. Cory Wade isn’t major league material anymore, period. And Joba is just plain inconsistent.

Fortunately, Robertson put the Jays out of their misery and ended what could have been a nightmare of an evening. Clap clap clap for him.

Sloppy, Sloppy, Sloppy

September 11, 2012

Oh, Yankees. Did you not care about winning tonight’s opener in Boston? Because you sure looked like you didn’t (except Jeter, as usual). You only managed six hits, never mind three runs. You kept letting a struggling Jon Lester off the hook. You were inept with men on base. Your defense (yes, you, Cano and Swisher) was less than stellar. And your relief pitching (except Joba) was horrendous; I get that Robertson had thrown a lot of pitches by the time he coughed up the game but so what?

Kuroda wasn’t bad. If the team had been hitting, which they never do when he’s on the mound, he might have gotten a win. But with the O’s beating the Rays, tonight’s loss was especially maddening.

The Yankees need to play baseball as if they mean it. And yes, this one pissed me off.

Oh, Puleeeze

August 27, 2012

That was ridiculous. Just ridiculous.

How do you hit all those homers, have good outings by Phelps and Robertson, knock the Blue Jays’ pitchers around with comebackers, tie the game in the ninth…and lose in extra innings?

Soriano blew the save, that’s how, but Lowe and Chavez made defensive mistakes and the offense failed when it counted.

It was painful. But not as painful as Tex suffering a calf strain that could keep him out of the stretch run. I couldn’t believe when he felt something at the plate but ran the bases anyway. How dumb do you have to be? Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Just so I don’t leave this post on a sour note, congratulations to D-Rob on his new baby. Very cute!

Yeah, A-Rod’s Finished All Right

June 12, 2012

He certainly silenced the doubters with his record-breaking slam to tie the game tonight.

It was a line drive into the seats and it turned an otherwise boring game into a thrilling one. Swisher’s bomb was the icing on the cake. Those poor Braves and their tomahawk chop. They must have had their hearts broken, Minor especially.

The only negative for me was CC. Four runs isn’t a terrible number to give up. But the fact that he had yet another rocky first inning – and the Braves were hitting shots, by the way, not little dribblers – is troubling. When do we worry about him for real? I love him for being able to settle down and improve over the course of a game. I just wonder what the early shakiness is all about. It’s one thing to throw batting practice in the first inning of a game in June. It’s another to do it in a playoff game when we’d be facing an elite pitcher.

Good news about Gardner not having ligament damage. Now let the medical geniuses figure out how to get him feeling better.

More good news that Robertson will join the team in D.C.

Even better news about Mo: no meniscus involvement. His surgery today revealed that he only needed to have his ACL repaired. I assume he’s resting comfortably right now, high as a kite on morphine and dreaming of pitching again.

Yeah, A-Rod's Finished All Right

June 12, 2012

He certainly silenced the doubters with his record-breaking slam to tie the game tonight.

Good news about Gardner not having ligament damage. Now let the medical geniuses figure out how to get him feeling better.

More good news that Robertson will join the team in D.C.

Where Are The Yankees’ Pitchers? Right Here.

May 14, 2012

Tonight felt like a bad dream. Yes, the Yankees beat the Orioles, but what in the world is happening to our pitchers? Are they made of glass?

First Nova, who’d been having a rocky outing even before he took a comebacker off his leg and then rolled his ankle, ended up with contusions and sprains. God knows how long he’ll be out.

Then Rapada, who didn’t last long in relief, had to be helped down the dugout stairs and left because of a viral infection. Swell.

And then, when Soriano came in to close instead of Robertson and I wondered why, I read on Twitter that D-Rob has been feeling soreness in his side/ribs and is going for an MRI.

This is crazy! We’ve already lost Joba and Mo (check out the song parody about him in the previous post if you haven’t already), not to mention Pineda, Campos, Feliciano and probably others I’m not thinking of right now. We went from having too much pitching to not having enough, and it’s scary.

On a positive note, we had offense from Tex tonight. Woohoo. I was worried about him playing in the rain down in Baltimore, given his bronchial problems, but he showed signs of life at the plate. So did A-Rod. I wasn’t wild about Jeter hitting into two double plays, which, combined with the two in yesterday’s game, means four GIDPs in two days. But you can’t have everything.

Where Are The Yankees' Pitchers? Right Here.

May 14, 2012

Tonight felt like a bad dream. Yes, the Yankees beat the Orioles, but what in the world is happening to our pitchers? Are they made of glass?

First Nova, who’d been having a rocky outing even before he took a comebacker off his leg and then rolled his ankle, ended up with contusions and sprains. God knows how long he’ll be out.

Then Rapada, who didn’t last long in relief, had to be helped down the dugout stairs and left because of a viral infection. Swell.

And then, when Soriano came in to close instead of Robertson and I wondered why, I read on Twitter that D-Rob has been feeling soreness in his side/ribs and is going for an MRI.

Houdini Gets The Save

May 8, 2012

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t yell at the TV in the top of the ninth: “I don’t want Robertson! I want Mo!” But I sat back and hoped D-Rob would earn his new job – and he did. Still, if he’s planning to load the bases every time he pitches, it’s going to be a very long season.

Soriano scares me even more. That wild pitch could have been tragic, allowing the Rays to inch closer. But he was victimized by some questionable ball/strike calls, if you ask me. (Does anybody else find Jim Joyce’s loud voice incredibly annoying?)

Big night for Ibanez with the two homers, and I never thought I’d be saying that.

And – wait for it – Nunez didn’t make an error in left field. Joy!

Nova pitched as if he had visions of Pettitte swiping his spot in the rotation. Well, maybe not, but he was really good, whatever his motivation.

Not to place too much emphasis on one win, but I think tonight was an important one. Notching Game 1 of any series is significant, but doing it against Shields and the red-hot Rays was especially nice.

Life Is Better

May 4, 2012

Sounds like we’ll be seeing Enter Sandman again after all. Not this season, but next. With the news that Mo does, in fact, intend to come back once he’s healthy, we can regroup after the shock of yesterday and focus on the immediate future without him.

Toward that end, the Yankees had a nice game in KC tonight. Early on, I thought CC might get hit hard but he settled right down and dominated after giving up the two runs.

Great to see Tex hitting the ball. Finally.

And Jeter continues to amaze. We all hoped he’d play at a high level, but go on a tear like he’s been doing? Including another homer tonight? Sick.

I was glad the Yankees called up Dewayne Wise. The kid can play the outfield and takes care of my defensive concerns, plus he got a hit tonight. I hope he hangs around awhile.

Chris Stewart is really a surprise. He seems to contribute every time he gets the opportunity to catch. Good for him.

And D-Rob. It was when he came in for the ninth that I felt the absence of Mo very keenly, even though it was a non-save situation, but I said to myself, “Get used to it. This is the new reality. It’ll be okay.” Robertson was more than okay. The way he handled the Royals in the ninth was very Mo-like.