By: Tyler Ward
If there was a Worst-Pitching-Month-For-A-Closer Award, the Dodgers' Jonathan Broxton would win it by a landslide this month. Manager Joe Torre said on Friday that Broxton has officially been demoted as the closer. The Dodgers will now go to a "Closer by Committee" role, using such pitchers as Octavio Dotel, Hong-Chih Kuo, and rookie Kenley Jansen to replace the aforementioned Broxton (Kuo will be the primary closer).
Torre told the media before their game against the Atlanta Braves, "I just told Brox we're going to take him out of that role right now. He just needs to go out and have a couple of good outings to get that feeling back. This game gives you enough pressure, and he adds to it. Physically, he is fine. But for right now, we won't use him in save situations."
Broxton was later asked how he felt about Torre's decision. "The way I've been pitching the last four weeks? Until I can get back, Joe wants to get me out in non-pressure situations," Broxton said. "Just got to get some work in. Can't be doing it in the ninth, especially the way I've been struggling lately."
Since the All-Star break, Broxton has appeared in eight games for the Dodgers, with five of them being save opportunities. He failed to hold the lead in three of those games and has compiled a 10.13 ERA.
For the three blown saves, his stat line looks something like this:
- @ St. Louis (L, 5-4): 1.1 IP, 4 hits, 2 walks, 2 earned runs
- @ San Francisco (L, 2-1): .1 IP, 2 hits, 1 earned run
- @ Philadelphia (L, 10-9): 0.0 IP, 1 hit, 2 walks, 3 earned runs
Torre said that he told Broxton that the Dodgers were planning to go by the Closer-by-Committee role earlier this week. He mentioned that Broxton would have to try exceedingly hard to get his role back. "We definitely want him to get [the role] back. He was the All-Star closer, and he is the reason the National League will have home-field advantage for the World Series. But this game can beat you up a little bit. You just have to be able to fight back. He is capable of that, and he will do that."
