I have said the same thing over and over since last year. John Broxton does not have the mental make-up to be a closer. He doesnt have the confidence to do the job in pressure situations. I realize he had a lot of saves during the regular season but when it came to the big games he folded. I saw it many times in his demeanor. He tried to not make a mistake instead of having the attitude of nobody hits my stuff like the good closers. I dont think he will ever have that attitude and the Dodgers should look for a different closer for 2010. IMO

and who exactly do you plan on replacing broxton with??

would you have disposed of mariano rivera after he blew the 01 world series?? or the 04 alcs??

would you have tossed papelbon to the curb after he blew it for the sox this year??

and what of the nlds games broxton has saved?? putting us into the nlcs 2 years in a row?? that isnt a pressure situation for you??

your expectations are so unrealistic.. please realize the fact that we have one of the best closers in the league. broxton may not be a rivera or a papelbon, but he is closer than anyone else out there.

He has a problem dealing with high pressure situations I agree, but we really don't have anyone better.

Sherrill, maybe, but he's just as unproven as Broxton. We saw what Sherrill did in his first postseason, he imploded. I would love to have Lindblom in our pen next year to grab a few saves when/if Brox blows a few.

Not sure if the converted Lindblom back into a starter though.

www.memoriesofkevinmalone.com/2009/10/jonathan-broxton-should-be-released.html

If you don't remember him, I'm sure you've heard of another young flame-thrower who got lit up regularly for five years, and even once decided to quit, until he came into his own.

Does the name Koufax ring a bell?

"I have said the same thing over and over since last year. John Broxton does not have the mental make-up to be a closer. He doesnt have the confidence to do the job in pressure situations. I realize he had a lot of saves during the regular season but when it came to the big games he folded. I saw it many times in his demeanor. He tried to not make a mistake instead of having the attitude of nobody hits my stuff like the good closers. I dont think he will ever have that attitude and the Dodgers should look for a different closer for 2010. IMO"

Yep, he's a heart attack type closer, you know like Wilson (SF) and Fuentes (LAA).

Broxton is lights out in April and May.

Then the cholesterol starts accumulating in June, then mini strokes in July, August. A heart attack in September, but you live. Then October comes and its OVER!

I posted my comment on John Broxton because I truly feel he lacks the confidence and "killer instinct" to be effective in pressure situations. After this years NLDS blown save, John said he walked Matt Stairs on 4 pitches because he "wasnt going to let Stairs beat him". At the time all Stairs could have done was tie the game with a home run. Stairs was hitting .194 at the time. But this makes my point about Broxton. He should have went right after him instead of worrying about what might happen. He doesnt have the attitude of nobody hits my pitches. I think John would love to be back in the set up role and I believe he has said as much. I dont think he will ever change. I know we probably cant find another top notch closer available, but I think they should try. The other glaring problem John has is his inability to hold runners on. Anyone he allows on will promptly steal second. They should really work with him on holding runners on.

YOu know he pitched in 5 games in the playoffs, right? His only mistakes came in that fatefull NLCS game, but don't forget - if you want to talk about pressure situations - that he also saved Game 2, which was a 2-1 Dodger lead going into the 9th. So by all accounts, shouldn't he have blown that one, too, if he lacks the mental make-up? For 2 NLDS in a row, he shut down the "favorite" team to win (the Cubs last year, and the Cards this year). So Stairs got in his head a little and that's something he'll have to work through, but you can't discount what he's done. Maybe he has a little more growing up to do and could probably benefit from a good change-up, but you don't toss out a guy like that because one team has his number. And you can't discount his "regular season" saves becuase those are what help get the team to the playoffs in the first place.

I wouldnt mind getting Steve Howe back in a dodgers uniform.

Dodgers wouldn't have even made the play-offs if it weren't for Jonathon Broxton.

So who replaces Broxton? Please entertain us with your answer because I don't see a better option.

How about trading for Lidge, oh wait, scratch that.

Brox had to win the game(s) that counted, and we know Brox failed no matter what he done all season long. Brox blew game 4 when it was his game to save; it was game over for the Bums; this team could not recover, and we know the rest of the story in game 5. Brox was no where to be seen, what a kick below the belt.

Brox would do well to be schooled by Tony Robbins; might help; might not.

I was writing nearly the same thing, and we now know the rest of the story.