David Robertson's pitches per batter

"This year Robertson was averaging 4.51 pitches per batter."

• 5/11/12, "Karsay knows feeling of replacing Mariano on Yankees," Joel Sherman, NY Post

"One notable distinction between Joe Girardi and his predecessor, Joe Torre, is how much more Girardi emphasizes not overtaxing his relievers. His near iron-clad rule has been to avoid using any of his setup men more than two straight days.

Which is why I was surprised last week — before Mariano Rivera was injured — when an AL official told me David Robertson is worked too much. This was about Robertson’s lack of economy,

• not his number of appearances.

Consider this staggering statistic: Rivera pitched just 5 1/3 fewer innings than Robertson last year, yet threw 298 fewer pitches than his setup man. That speaks to Rivera’s brevity, but also Robertson’s large number of strikeouts, walks and deep counts. This year Robertson was averaging 4.51 pitches per batter — fourth most among relievers with at least 13 innings.

Robertson is a hard worker and — like Rivera — has great flexibility. Maybe he, too, will be a genetic freak able to withstand throwing so many high-leverage pitches."...

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