We have all heard the term “Little Man Syndrome” used in connection with someone who might try to overcompensate for a lack of physical stature in some other fashion. I think that just
the opposite is true in the case of Jon Broxton, and in a minute I will explain why.
But first, let me be the first to say that it pains me very much to see Roxton blow games. I wish I would be eating my words, much like Andre Ethier stepped up and made me eat my words after I called him out for being a “soft hitter” (a nickname which he now admits was valid at the time). Andre Ethier was soft, and turned the tables to become a clutch hitter. I would like to differentiate between Roxton and Ethier, however: I never did say that Ethier would always be soft. I just said that he WAS soft. It could be different with J-ROX, because I suspect that he could always be “soft” as a (c)loser.
Before you label me a”hater” as many have, let me point out that I have had this same opinion of JB during the times he was “lights out” as well as when he was “lit up.” I have urged the Dodgers to trade him for three years, because I believe that he has “Big Man Syndrome” and simply cannot stand the pressure of tight games and big stages. It’s possible that he could adapt and become that clutch closer every team craves, but here’s why I suspect he won’t make it there. It’s Big Man Syndrome.” Jon is a gentle giant. He is a mountain of a man. He is a horse. He could break me in half with one hand behind his back. Well, that last one is probably not true, because I don’t think he possesses the mean streak that I do.
Because he is so big, so bad and so strong, Jon has been told all his life “Don’t hurt him.” ”Be careful – he’s a lot smaller than you.” ”Now Jon, you have to watch out how you behave around those smaller boys.” And as he get bigger and stronger, he was told that more and more, and when he started to be able to throw 80 MPH, 85 MPH, 90 MPH, 95 MPH and finally 100 MPH he was able to blow those boys away, without pitching inside, because after all, he was bigger and stronger than they were, and had to be careful. Jon is a genuinely nice guy. A guy who wouldn’t hurt a fly. Jon is a guy who could break you in half, but wouldn’t, because he was afraid of hurting someone. He has been told that all his life.
That’s probably an excellent quality in a human being, but it’s a horrible quality for a closer. A closer is supposed to cut out your heart and feed it to you. Jon Broxton can’t stand the sight of blood. Jon doesn’t want to hurt anyone. A closer has to have the guts of a cat burglar. Jon Broxton is too nice to have ever developed anything like that. A closer has to be a cold-blooded killer. Jon Broxton is as nice a guy you could ever meet. He’s the kind of guy you’d love your daughter to bring home.
In a nutshell, Jon Broxton is a very good human being, but he’s a bad closer. He cares about other people too much! Some people say he needs another pitch, and maybe that would be nice, but I think he needs a heart transplant. Find a cat bugler and transplant that heart into him. Maybe a serial killer’s heart would work too. Jon Broxton doesn’t need a new pitch – he needs to pitch inside on a regular basis, and he knows that he might hurt or even kill someone if he did that, and has has been trained since childhood that “you are bigger and stronger than those boys, don’t hurt them, Jon.”
Jon Broxton is a gentle giant, He’s probably a hell of a man, but he’s not a closer. I know his stats are very good, but I can smell his fear of hurting someone. Maybe you think I’m crazy… and that’s OK. But, I am right.
The Dodgers should have traded Cheryl and Roxton last year. Cheryl will walk with no compensation this year (hopefully) and Roxton’s market is smaller than it once was. Kenley Jansen evidently has the guts of a serial killer. Put him in there and let him learn. Jon Broxton needs to be gone by Opening Day.
Here’s a list of others who should also be gone by then:
- Schaffer
- Bowa
- Torre
- Mattingly
- Honeycutt
- Colletti
- Blake
- Furcal
- Manny
- Belliard
- … and maybe McCourt
Maybe Brox would be better at home. Would the ATL pony up for him?















I am sick of talking about the divorce proceedings, so you won’t find much about it here – you know where to look. However, I do want to address the Free Pass Baseball Fans are giving Arte Moreno while castigating Frank McCourt. The Angels lost two of their most important free agents – Figgins and Lackey – both of whom they wanted back. Vlad is likely to walk and the Angels payroll is reported to need to stay around $100,000,000 and yet Moreno is hailed as a genius and McCourt is a miserly idiot.
The Baseball Winter Meetings are being held in Indianapolis beginning on Monday, December 7th thru Thursday, December 10th. While MLB would not issue me a credential, I will be there and hopefully get lucky. The only thing that credentials really do is get you inside the interview room when there are news conferences. I can still walk all over the hotel where everything is going on without a problem and report on all that’s going on. Usually, agents or GMs just stop in the hallways and talk to people and I will be right there. I have one purpose at these meetings – I would like to get a feel of what is really happening with the Dodgers… and I will! 

If you have a home which is worth $400,000 or $400,000,000 and you are served divorce papers by your spouse, what do you do? It’s obvious that a great part of the parties’ net worth is that asset. Some people are idiots about this – some have even burned-down the house rather than split the proceeds. Are the McCourts that stupid? I doubt it. Both appear to be greedy, self-absorbed, high-achievement people whom I think want to maximize their investments. What should they do? The biggest asset I think is the Dodgers. They have to keep that asset shiny and new – to make money now and to make the asset continue to appreciate. That’s why I think they will “Paint the House, not Blow-Up the House! We might not have a $120 million payroll, but it won’t be $75 million either!
The Dodgers have improved over 2008. They won more games, but they still couldn’t get past the Phillies, and the Phillies will still be good next year. I suspect that Raul Ibanez had his career year and will slip back to reality next year and the Phillies will have some holes to fill, just like the Dodgers. Like the Dodgers, the Phillies have a former ace who needs to come back and I believe both will. It would not surprise me to see either one win a Cy Young Award in the future, even as easly as next year. I fully expect Hamels and Billingsley to both win 16-18 games next year. Both pitchers have too much talent.


