LA Dodgers: Will the Real Jonathan Broxton Please Stand Up?

The Los Angeles Dodgers certainly have their share of concerns entering the 2011 season, the ownership divorce notwithstanding. However, one of their biggest issues may be figuring out which version of closer Jonathan Broxton will appear.

The closer role in baseball is much like the field goal kicker in football: miss-kick a potentially game-tying or game-winning field goal, and you’re the goat. Come into a game in the bottom of the ninth with a two-run lead and promptly give up three runs, you’re the goat as well. It’s a lonely job for both and the mental pressures can be horrific.

Just ask Scott Norwood and Donnie Moore.

In the case of Broxton, his 2010 season was like the classic Charles Dickens book, A Tale of Two Cities. Just change the last word to Seasons.

Through June 26th of last season, Broxton was virtually unhittable, with a 0.83 ERA, 16 saves, and 48 strikeouts with just five walks.

However, on June 27th, in a game against the New York Yankees, Broxton imploded, giving up four runs on four hits in an eventual loss. Broxton threw 48 pitches in that game, a day after he had thrown 19, and his season went from other worldly, to a world under.

Broxton ironically represented the Dodgers during the All-Star game. However, he had already lost his All-Star mojo by that point. On August 13th, he blew his fifth save of the season to Atlanta by giving up four runs on just one hit (it wasn't a grand slam). Broxton was demoted after the game, and he finished the season with a 4.04 ERA and a 1.476 WHIP, by far the of his career since his rookie year in 2005.

Broxton's second half performance was just plain awful. His first half 7.86 strikeout-to-walk ratio shrank to a minuscule a 0.86 ratio in the second half. To make matters worse, opposing hitters were hitting at a .326 clip off of him, compared to his outstanding .234 in the first half. 

And the proverbial cherry on top? The difference in OPS against is absolutely staggering: Hitters had a .585 OPS against Broxton in the first half, and a .909 in the second half.

Many writers and pundits have argued that previous manager Joe Torre misused Broxton by allowing him to throw 48 pitches on June 27th game against the Yankees. Whatever the case, Broxton’s approach to the game changed drastically, and entering the 2011 season, many are still wary of which Broxton will be making an appearance.

He's now entering the final year of his contract and will be eligible for unrestricted free agency after the season. Obviously, Broxton will have much to prove. Famed sabermetrician, Bill James, predicts that he will have a bounce-back season, with a projected 2.70 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 3.60 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

He'll need to deliver, especially on a team that already has a shaky bullpen. A lot may depend on how rookie manager Don Mattingly utilizes his bullpen, and specifically Broxton.

On a team that will no doubt continue to have distractions throughout the year, the one thing the Dodgers don’t need is a two-headed Jonathan Broxton.

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