In a move that may be long overdue, Jonathan Broxton has been placed on the 15-day DL with a sore right elbow. He will be shut down for at least 2-3 weeks, and probably won't appear for over a month. Kenley Jansen has been recalled to take his spot.
Broxton has certainly gone through his fair share of troubles since last year's All-Star Game. I don't know if I've ever seen a guy literally go from untouchable to completely touchable overnight. But the numbers don't lie. In the second half last year, he had a 7.13 ERA, 2.13 WHIP, and five blown saves.
Rest and relaxation didn't do anything for him, as this year he has a 5.68 ERA and 1.89 WHIP. He does have seven saves in eight chances, but he can thank multiple run leads for most of that. Only twice this year in 14 appearances has he not allowed a baserunner. That's just plain ugly.
Dodger fans have long suspected that something must be physically wrong with him in addition to mentally. Well, that has been confirmed to some degree, as Broxton admitted to having a stiff elbow after he pitches. He claims it doesn't hurt when he pitches, so who knows. Nonetheless, the Dodgers absolutely did the right thing in shutting him down for the time being.
The new closer will be Vicente Padilla, who has one save and four holds this season. He, too, was hurt earlier in the year, but since his return, has only given up one run in six innings. Pitching on consecutive days might not happen, so hopefully guys like Hong-Chih Kuo and Jansen can pick up the slack.
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