http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20101018/BLOG05/101019801
Are the Mariners testing these waters to see if Robles can be a left-handed relief specialist, which they haven't really had in their bullpen since Arthur Rhodes was on the team in 2008?
Not at all, says Pedro Grifol, the Mariners' minor league coordinator.
"He threw a lot of innings this year. We wanted to limit his innings (in Venezuela) and still wanted him to pitch," Grifol said. "So he's getting his innings out of the bullpen. We have every intention of keeping him as a starter."
So forget the notion of Robles being a left-on-left specialist.
"He is way too talented to be a left-on-left," Grifol said.
So thank God for that, at least.
Robles is a 4 inning monster. After that, he loses his control. I'm no expert on short vs. tall pitchers but apparently shorter power pitchers have trouble getting enough leg drive in later innings. Roy Oswalt runs stairs to keep his legs strong enough to maintain that leg drive later in games. After suffering some this year Lincecum started doing lower body work too.
Personally, I'd make Robles run his stumpy lil butt off all offseason, get legs like Roger Clemens, and have him come to camp and compete for a starting role.
Because anybody who can put together 10K/3.5BB/7 hits per 9 numbers this year in AA and AAA through 4 innings (and has done it at every level of the minors, no flukes here) deserves his shot to start. If he can't start, then he'll probably close a la Eric Gagne. I don't see him ever being a LOOGY. He's better against righties, actually.
And I don't move Wilhelmsen to the pen unless absolutely necessary either.
Cortes, Lueke, Fields and Varvaro all have a shot at bostering the pen this year. If we KEEP Lueke, I think we've got a good shot at bolstering our pen significantly over what we had last year. Pryor, Bischoff, Burgoon, Snow, Cleto, Vasquez and co are all aimed at it as well in the coming years. We've GOT pen arms.
Robles,Wilhelmsen and (when we sign him) Paxton are all shots at a TOR starter. Let those guys stay in the rotation as long as possible.
~G