Pro Broxton rant

by Penguinator on Feb 17, 2011 10:06 AM PST

I know I do too many new posts around here, but I get something in my head and I need to discuss it. If you'll indulge me this one, I'll try to stop doing so many new posts from here on in.

I’d really like to get this out of my system and have some sort of intelligent conversation about Jonathan Broxton, but I absolutely don’t want to get into a back-and-forth bickerfest.

If you believe Broxton is a horrible reliever who the Dodgers should have cut, or if you are anywhere near that opinion, please do us both a favor and quit reading immediately. I have no desire to discuss this issue with you if that’s where you are coming from and you won’t like me, so let’s just agree to disagree and you go enjoy one of the countless sites or posts that bash Broxton in another area. I’ll stay away from those places and you stay away from me and we won't get in each other's way.

Going in, I’ll also freely admit that I’m as big a Broxton fan as you’ll find. Sadly, if my nephew signs an MLB contract and is facing Broxton some day, I’ll have a very difficult time figuring out who to pull for. So, yes, I tend to look at things with a Broxton slant.

That said, it seems very obvious to me that everyone misses the point when it comes to Broxton and all the bashing that has gone his way. I’m a big “personal responsibility guy” and I’m glad Broxton took personal responsibility and never blamed anyone for his problems. That all being said, his struggles last year weren’t his fault. Yes, I get the hypocrisy of the previous statements, but really, isn’t it obvious what happened to him last year?

People talk about the 48-pitch game against the Yankees as a possible explanation of Broxton’s problem, but as bad as that outing was, it only tells part of the story of Joe Torre’s mismanagment and how Torre in that week ruined Broxton’s season, as well as the Dodgers’ season.

On June 23, Broxton threw 24 pitches against the Angels in a non-save situation. The following night, he threw 8 more pitches, again in a non-save situation. On June 25, in a 2-1 Yankee win, Broxton warmed up, preparing to come in if the Dodgers had tied the game in the ninth. That was hardly a night off, although he had no official appearance on that day.

On June 26, Broxton threw 19 pitches over one and one-third innings, again in a non-save situation. Understand, he wasn’t worked hard on the 6-24 or 6-25, but the second game of the Yankees series was the fourth day Broxton had thrown, and going multiple innings for a reliever is a little more stressful than normal.

At that point, any manager with half a brain would avoid using his closer if at all possible. But, realize the situation Torre was in. He pretty well knew at that point, his career was coming to a close. It’s his last series ever against the Yankees. On June 27, in the middle of a pennant race, Joe Torre managed the rubber game of the Yankees series as if it was the seventh game of the World Series. To him, it meant that much and more, but his actions put the rest of the season in peril.

Broxton, whose use in the previous four days wasn’t super-bad heavy but heavy enough, really needed to rest on that Sunday. But, instead with the Dodgers holding a four-run lead and a bullpen that was well rested, Torre went to Broxton. And then when things started to go wrong, Torre left Broxton out there believing he was the best pitcher to help them win this game, and at that point, nothing else mattered, not the rest of the season, not Broxton’s well-being. Only winning game 3 of that series mattered and Torre managed that way.

So, Broxton threw his 48 pitches, giving him 99 in five days without any real rest over those 5 days. Did it have an effect on him?

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Part 2

Here is where common sense has to come into the equation. Before last season, Broxton’s career numbers were:
308 G, 317 IP, 241 H, 119 R, 103 ER, 126 W, 420 K, 1.16 WHIP, 2.92 ERA, 3.58 W/9, 11.92 K/9
Before the June 26 game, Broxton’s numbers last year were video game like
33 G, 32.2 IP, 26 H, 5 W, 48 K, 4 R, 3 ER, 0.83 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 1.38 W/9, 13.22 K/9
After and including the June 26 game, Broxton’s numbers last year were horrific
31 G, 29.2 IP, 38 H, 23 W, 25 K, 26 R, 25 ER, 2.05 WHIP, 7.58 ERA, 6.98 W/9, 7.67 K/9

  Now, Broxton’s numbers usually go down in the second half of a season. If one would want to argue that his weight and conditioning had something to do with that, it would be a legitimate argument. I tend to believe most every reliever will have better first half numbers than second half as the season is a grind for relievers, but even I’ll admit Broxton could stand to drop a few pounds, which would help him down the stretch.
  However, during the first half of last season, Broxton’s numbers were better than anything he’d ever done and there is reason to believe he was maturing into the dominant closer he’s capable of being.
  It would have also been reasonable to expect his numbers in the second half to regress closer to his career averages, but if he’d have had a career average second half to go with his first half, his numbers overall would have been excellent for the year.
  Explain to me how in the world a closer entering his prime, putting together the best year of his career would suddenly lose it altogether. The only answer is he wasn’t 100 percent healthy or even close. The 48-pitch game, which ended the 5-day overwork period took too much out of him, as it would have any reliever in baseball.
  You don’t work a guy like that unless you really are in the World Series, or at least in the post-season. You don’t do to Broxton what Torre did to him in the middle of a season playing interleague games. The bottom line is those games were too important to Torre and his selfishness ruined Broxton’s year, and in turn, ruined the Dodgers’ season.

If a person wanted to argue that Broxton isn’t "mentally tough enough to handle huge pressure" I could at least understand it based on the 2008 and 2009 LCS, although I think he’s also shown enough positive results in post-season play and in big pressure situations to prove that wrong. But, hey, like I said, I could understand the argument.

But the consternation over a pitcher who was a great pitcher before last year and was putting together an all-time great season before Torre sabatoged his season is ridiculous. There is every reason for even the most pessimistic fan to believe Broxton will be at least the pitcher he was prior to last season, and an optimistic fan could see what he did the first three months of 2010 and believe that if Mattingly doesn’t pull a Torre, Broxton has a chance to take the next step up and be elite in 2011.

If you made it through all that, I thank you for listening.

by Penguinator on Feb 17, 2011 10:07 AM PST reply actions

Did it have an effect on him?

Yes, and I (and many others here) thought so at the time. IIRC, there was quite an uproar in the game thread about how long he was being left out there.

@davidyoungtbla - The commenter formerly known as El Lay Dave.

by David Young on Feb 17, 2011 3:28 PM PST reply actions

well we also have to look at the fact that

he threw in the most 3,4,5 game stretches ever in his career. In the beginning of the season he couldnt get a save appearance to save his life and when he did he was overworked. Do i think weight and being in shape may have something to do in his decline that probably is a factor but the question I had sometimes in the season in a non save opportunity why was he throwing. I never thought he should have thrown in that Yankee game unless he was needed

by Camronj on Feb 17, 2011 8:27 PM PST reply actions

Broxton

I believe Torre used Broxton incorrectly last year and that’s why he exploded, Still think hes one of the best closers around, just think he needs to get some confidence back and I think Mattingly will take care of that.

by Alan of Dodgers on Mar 10, 2011 1:08 PM PST reply actions

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