Nate Robertson:

Subject: Re: Nate Robertson: Thu Feb 28, 2008 9:53 am

oops KristIn!!! sorry
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There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. ~Al Gallagher, 1971

Subject: Re: Nate Robertson: Thu Feb 28, 2008 12:29 pm

Congrats to the Robertson's!!! Put a Tigers onesie on that little dude!!!!

Subject: Re: Nate Robertson: Thu Feb 28, 2008 12:34 pm

and a baseball bat in his little hands! Big Smile

_________________
There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. ~Al Gallagher, 1971

Subject: Re: Nate Robertson: Thu Feb 28, 2008 12:34 pm

oops..my bad...a PITCHING GLOVE!
_________________
There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. ~Al Gallagher, 1971

Subject: Re: Nate Robertson: Thu Feb 28, 2008 12:48 pm

Subject: Re: Nate Robertson: Tue Mar 04, 2008 5:24 pm

03/04/2008 7:40 PM ET
Parenthood helps Robertson prep
Not doing as much in offseason might help Tigers left-hander
By Jason Beck / MLB.com

KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Tuesday was a good day for Nate Robertson.

Sure, the three scoreless innings were nice, but those six hours of sleep? Priceless. As he pointed out, usually you need one to get the other.

To say that fatherhood has already put a new outlook into Robertson's life would be an understatement. Since wife Kristin gave birth to their first son, Wyatt Dale Robertson, last Thursday, Nate Robertson's life has become a cycle of workouts by day and fatherly duties by night.

The fatherly worries, of course, are there all the time, though mother and son are doing fine. Minutes before his first outing of the spring last Friday, Robertson joked, he was sending a text message to see how his wife was doing.

He's known as a fiery competitor on the mound, but even he notices a difference in himself.

"I'm kind of an intense guy," he said, "and sometimes I think my intensity goes to a level that it doesn't need to. So making this takes a little edge off."

Even before the fatherly perspective, however, came the veteran perspective. He has long since known that he doesn't have to try to make the team every spring anymore. After signing a three-year contract this winter, he knows he doesn't have to worry about long-term security, either.

That's part of why he can look at Tuesday's trio of scoreless innings against the Astros at Osceola County Stadium and kind of shrug. He felt good about what he was doing, but he wasn't going to think for a minute that he was ready for the season to start. The vast majority of his pitches were fastballs, and he limited himself to just one slider, the main pitch in his arsenal, to get an inning-ending strikeout.

"The big thing is my command on the inside [of the strike zone]," he said. "I think it's a little too early to get excited about anything and praise anything. Especially early on in camp, most hitters come in and they're not really overanxious to attack the inside pitch. I'm throwing in there quite a bit and guys are just not comfortable with it. They're looking to get their swings in out over the pitch."

Or as he put it later, "Nobody takes home a trophy for winning the Grapefruit League."

Even before he became a dad, though, he was looking at his career in a different light. Instead of trying to work hard since last fall, he has tried to work smart.

He still isn't sure what happened early last season that caused him to break down. He spent a month on the disabled list with a tired arm after neglecting to retire any of the eight batters he faced in a June meltdown at Texas. He had been dominant for just under two months before that. He had his strong points afterwards, but he always seemed to be catching up from lost time.

"In April, it just felt like I could just go out there and get it done," Robertson said. "In May, I was a totally different pitcher. Something happened in May. I just try to look at it as a bad month."

Robertson doesn't grasp exactly what happened, but he's doing what he can to avoid it. When the season ended, pitching Chuck Hernandez strongly suggested not to do much pitching over the winter, and he checked with Robertson later to make sure he wasn't. The less energy Robertson expended in the winter, the idea went, the more he should have for the dog days of the season.

That was a sea change for Robertson. The previous winter, he worked out like crazy while training in the Detroit area, throwing indoors and lifting despite pitching an extra month with the postseason. Now, he had to cut it back.

In some ways, planning for the birth of his son helped. His life had become so enveloped in his family that he couldn't spend the same amount of time training, though he was still a regular at the gym.

Instead of throwing more than a half-dozen bullpen sessions before he arrived at Spring Training, he had thrown just one. Once he arrived, he bought into the advice from rotation mate Kenny Rogers to not overwork himself in his spring outings. Cut back the effort level to 90 percent, put away the slider for a while and keep matters simple for the first few outings.

For Robertson, that means honing his offspeed pitch while trying to command the inside fastball.

"If you can establish inside command, everything to me goes off of that," Robertson said.

It's something that had been brought to him before, but he never felt comfortable enough in his situation to try it.

"It crept into my mind the last couple years," Robertson said. "But I think this year, especially after the Tigers were great to me and my family with the three-year deal, that brings a lot of peace of mind. With my competitive mind-set in the past, I wanted to go out there and win Spring Training games."

Time will tell if those changes make a difference. Robertson has been one of the Tigers' best workhorses the last few years until that DL stint, but his results haven't always been what he'd like. His career splits include a 3.87 ERA before the All-Star break, but a 5.30 ERA after, including an .826 OPS allowed. He has had more than his share of low-scoring losses, but opponents have also hit .332 in his defeats, according to research on baseball-reference.com.

Robertson would still like to win every time. He's not that laid-back. But these days, he has other things on his mind, too. And this spring, he has no complaints.

"After watching my wife [give birth], I have no right to complain about anything, even fatigue," he said. "I have no place to say anything."

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Subject: Re: Nate Robertson: Tue Mar 04, 2008 5:30 pm

I think , no matter how well Rogers does this year, he has given our pitchers a great wealth of knowledge and advice!!! I think it will really pay off for Bondo and Nate!

I hope Kenny has a fantastic season this year, but I would love to see him join the coaching staff when he retires. The man is a treasure to the Tigers, in more ways than just his pitching.

Nate is different this year, I'm so glad he is a father, it has put so much in perspective in his life! Go Nate, lets get 20 wins this year!

Subject: Re: Nate Robertson: Tue Mar 04, 2008 9:13 pm

Subject: Re: Nate Robertson: Tue Mar 04, 2008 9:23 pm

Nate was Outstanding today!! I hope he can keep up the momentum through the regular season!
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Subject: Re: Nate Robertson: Wed Mar 05, 2008 12:52 am

He was awesome yesterday! We're lucky to have him!
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There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. ~Al Gallagher, 1971

Subject: Re: Nate Robertson: Wed Mar 05, 2008 12:55 am

Go Nate! I haven't seen it LP, did you? I just read the articles about the game today.

Mr. Rollercoaster fell apart. affraid

I hope Leyland is right and there is no reason to be concerned!
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"I'm on a mission. Mark my words: I'll be back, and I'll be able to do what I've been doing." Joel Zumaya

Subject: Re: Nate Robertson: Wed Mar 05, 2008 12:56 am

Yup--saw it on MLB.tv for an hour until I had to start work.
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There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. ~Al Gallagher, 1971

Subject: Re: Nate Robertson: Wed Mar 05, 2008 1:23 am

Maybe i'll check it out today on MLB.tv too. But just the Nate innings.
I wan't to keep my hair, so i'll stop before Toddy will take the mound. Laughing

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"I'm on a mission. Mark my words: I'll be back, and I'll be able to do what I've been doing." Joel Zumaya

Subject: Re: Nate Robertson: Wed Mar 05, 2008 1:32 am

he is rather worrisome, isn't he?
_________________
There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. ~Al Gallagher, 1971

Subject: Re: Nate Robertson: Wed Mar 05, 2008 8:54 am

Go Nate!!!!!!

Subject: Re: Nate Robertson: Wed Mar 05, 2008 8:55 am

keep it comin'!
_________________
There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. ~Al Gallagher, 1971

Subject: Re: Nate Robertson: Wed Mar 05, 2008 9:01 am

Yeah! I just cannot wait till March 31st!

Subject: Re: Nate Robertson: Wed Mar 05, 2008 9:08 am

we'll show those #$@*$(% Rays!
_________________
There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. ~Al Gallagher, 1971

Subject: Re: Nate Robertson: Wed Mar 05, 2008 12:17 pm

Just think when we can keep our starters in the whole game, and Pitchers in more than 3 or 4 innings, Rays gonna be crying big time (as will all the other teams!!!)

Subject: Re: Nate Robertson: Wed Mar 05, 2008 12:49 pm

Rays need Barry Bonds needs Rays...they deserve each other!
_________________
There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. ~Al Gallagher, 1971

Subject: Re: Nate Robertson: Mon Apr 07, 2008 1:48 pm

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LO! (:

"You can give your all. That's all you can do. Play as hard as you can and represent the team in the best manner that you can. If you win, you win. If you don't, well, you can sleep well, because you left it all out there."

- Brandon♥Inge -

Subject: Re: Nate Robertson: Sun Jul 20, 2008 1:09 pm

07/20/2008 2:43 PM ET
Robertson frustrated by short outing
Starter lasts just 2 1/3 innings in extra-inning loss to O's
By Jason Beck / MLB.com

BALTIMORE -- Nate Robertson got a no-decision for nine innings of one-run ball two starts ago at Seattle. On Saturday, he had a 6-0 lead by the time he took the mound for the first inning, but didn't last through the third.

"I guess it's the unexpected outcome of a baseball game," Robertson said Sunday morning. "That's the only thing I can say. If you haven't seen it yet, just wait. That's baseball. That's just the way it is, that's the game. It's dramatic. That's not good enough. It's not a way to escape an explanation, [but] that's all I've got."

Like his catcher, Brandon Inge, said after the 10-inning loss, Robertson felt like he made some good pitches that found holes. But he also echoed manager Jim Leyland's opinion that he has to shut the door.

"When your team goes out and gets a six-run lead, there's still a lot of baseball left," Robertson said. "But your team got you a six-run lead, that's the biggest thing. That's the frustrating thing when you're the starting pitcher. Skip said it well: 'Regardless of what the outcomes of some of those ground balls were, you have to shut it down; that's your job.' And that's my job with a lead like that, to protect it. I'm the starting pitcher. I'm supposed to get deep in the game, give them a good, quality outing.

"A hit's a hit. Whether it's a lined shot or a ground ball, it's a hit. You have to work through those things, and I didn't work through it."

Leyland said Sunday morning that he felt like Melvin Mora's two-run homer in the bottom of the first to put the Orioles on the scoreboard may have been the biggest hit of the night. It goes back to the emphasis of the shutdown inning after a pitcher gets a big lead. A double-play ground ball in that situation would have ended the inning with Detroit's lead still standing at 6-0. Instead, Mora's homer cut the lead to 6-2.

It was one of just two extra-base hits off of Robertson, who gave up a total of eight hits in his 2 1/3 innings.

"There's no excuse," Robertson said. "It's where the ball ends up sometimes."

Robertson's frustration was evident as Leyland came out to the mound to take him out of the game in the third inning.

"It's frustrating, yeah, when you're getting taken out of a ballgame in the third inning," Robertson said. "But what's in your defense? I mean, I got two guys on and all of a sudden, it's 7-5. My manager is a guy that's the best manager I ever played for. I admire the way he manages the game. His job is to put this team in a position to win a ballgame, so he makes moves accordingly.

"It's really kind of a sickening feeling. Even going into that inning, it's 7-2, and it's your game to win. So yeah, it's one of those frustrating moments in baseball."

So where does Robertson go from here? For starters, he goes far away from that game.

"You have to just kind of put this one in the rearview mirror and not let it get into your mind and go into your next start," Robertson said.

That said, he admitted, "We've had a few of those this year. And that's why we're a game under .500."

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Subject: Re: Nate Robertson: Sun Jul 20, 2008 1:12 pm

natewins20
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Subject: Re: Nate Robertson: Sun Jul 20, 2008 1:19 pm

Subject: Re: Nate Robertson: Sun Jul 20, 2008 1:20 pm

Subject: Re: Nate Robertson: Thu Jul 31, 2008 1:27 pm

Why is he STILL a current Tiger?????

Subject: Re: Nate Robertson: Thu Jul 31, 2008 2:04 pm

he should've been in this trade!
_________________
There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. ~Al Gallagher, 1971

Subject: Re: Nate Robertson: Thu Jul 31, 2008 9:19 pm

Everyone pissed at Nate

Subject: Re: Nate Robertson: Thu Jul 31, 2008 9:28 pm