News
Broxton to miss All-Star Game
Dodgers closer out for weekend with toe injury
By Cash Kruth / MLB.com
07/12/09 12:17 AM ET
MILWAUKEE -- Dodgers closer Jonathan Broxton will miss the All-Star Game with discomfort in his right big toe, he said Saturday. He will also not pitch in the team's final game before the All-Star break.Manager Joe Torre said he and third-base coach Larry Bowa noticed Broxton limping off the field after the Dodgers beat the Brewers, 12-8, in extra innings on Friday.
"We interrogated him [Friday] night and finally got it out of him," Torre said. "It's been bothering him since Sunday, so he's not going to be available for us."
Torre said he called National League All-Star manager Charlie Manuel and alerted him of Broxton's condition. The area causing Broxton discomfort is on the side of his right big toe -- the foot the right-handed pitcher uses to push off the rubber.
"It's disappointing, but we have our year, too," Broxton said of missing the All-Star Game. "It's just a game, and I wish I could play in it, but it's a situation where I need some days off."
Broxton, who received a cortisone shot Saturday, said he will still attend the All-Star festivities.
To shore up their bullpen for the last two games before the break, the Dodgers recalled Scott Elbert from Triple-A Albuquerque. Los Angeles optioned Blake Dewitt to Albuquerque to make room for Elbert.
Torre said before Saturday's game Guillermo Mota will fill in at closer for the final two games against Milwaukee. Mota indeed came in with one out in the bottom of the eighth on Saturday with the Dodgers trailing by a run and gave up a two-run double to J.J. Hardy in the 6-3 loss.
Broxton's past two outings have been out of the ordinary for the 25-year-old closer, who is tied for sixth in the National League with 20 saves.
Last Sunday -- the day the toe started bothering him -- Broxton entered the game with a 6-2 lead against the Padres, but let an inherited runner score and allowed three other runs in an eventual 7-6, 13-inning win by the Dodgers.
Friday against the Brewers, Broxton gave up two runs in the bottom of the 10th, but the Dodgers hung on for the win.
"His mentality is, 'I'm not going to be a wimp, I'm going to go out there and gut it out,'" Torre said. "But we had a talk today about that too. You have to be able to help your team. Even more importantly than that, you have to make sure you don't hurt something else adjusting to something a little bit differently."
Cash Kruth is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
