Via Joel Sherman of the NY Post:
David Robertson has not thrown the ball well from late in spring training right through this early season. Now keep in mind that it is both early and that the Yankees like Robertson a lot. They not only love his stuff, but think that he is tough-minded and can handle big situations even in the AL East and The Bronx.
But he is young and he does have options, and the Yanks have alternatives they like. Both Boone Logan and Mark Melancon left positive impressions in spring training, and both have gotten off very well in small samples early this season at Triple A: Logan has allowed no runs in 4 1-3 innings with no walks and seven strikeouts while Melancon has permitted one run in six innings with one walk and seven strikeouts. In addition, after a horrible spring, Jonathan Albaladejo has righted at Triple-A with one run and seven strikeouts in five innings.
So if Robertson does not begin performing better the Yankees are going to at least consider those alternatives.
Robertson has not really had a blemish-free appearance since camp ended, however, I do not think that the Yankees are ready to ship him down to Scranton anytime soon. His worst appearance on the young season came in the ninth inning of yesterday’s game, when he gave up 4 earned runs and allowed 4 hits (the big blow came from Bobby Abreu’s grand slam). Prior to that, he had given up hits in each of his outings, yet he had not allowed an earned run. In addition, his velocity is strong, so, with regards to that, he is “throwing the ball well.” Thus, at this point, I doubt the Yankees are overly concerned with his 2.1 inning performance – a small sample – in 2010 (there’s not much to worry about).
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Original Story:
http://www.i-yankees.com/?p=19818
