Manager Joe Torre had a brief, informal conversation with reliever Jonathan Broxton before Monday night's game, but it wasn't to tell Broxton he was no longer the club's unquestioned closer. As Torre reiterated after Broxton blew a ninth-inning lead in an eventual 11-inning loss to Philadelphia on Sunday night, he had never really bestowed that title on the fireballing right-hander to begin with.
"I just saw him sitting at a table, so I pulled up a chair," Torre said. "I just told him there is a lot of pressure, I don't care if you're pitching in the eighth or the ninth. I told him that Mariano Rivera was my setup man (with the Yankees) in 1996 and then became my closer in '97 and wasn't comfortable with it, but eventually, he grew into it. It's a learning thing that you have to grow into. "Because of the fact this thing was thrust upon (Broxton), not in spring training but during the season (when Takashi Saito was injured), there is a consistency he hasn't been able to come up with based on the fact he is a young kid with a great deal of emotion."
Broxton has blown just two saves in 12 opportunities since Saito was sidelined, but, for the most part, he has been far from lights-out.
Torre said when Saito went onto the disabled list just after the All-Star break that Broxton would be the club's primary closer, but not the only closer. Since then, though, Torre has brought in someone other than Broxton to begin the ninth inning in a save situation only twice, and one of those was a game when Broxton had pitched on each of the previous three days.
Whether in response to Broxton's latest implosion or not, Torre reminded reporters that the closer role still isn't a one-man job. For example, he said that if an opposing club has two or three left-handed hitters due up in the ninth inning, lefty Hong-Chih Kuo will get the call.
PHILLIES 5, DODGERS 0: The Dodgers became the first major league club in more than three years to be shut out despite getting 13 hits, and they now have scored a total of two runs on 26 hits over their last two games.
They had at least one hit in every inning and at least one runner in scoring position in all but two innings. The Dodgers went 1-for-17 with runners in scoring position for the game.
Play FOX Fantasy Football Today >
