Dodger closer Vicente Padilla

[owned]

This team and franchise is a mess.

[Msaint]

Save #1 today.

[GwynnInTheHall]

I agree, kuo is superior in pretty much every way to Padilla and should end up a solid closer once he's healthy and back.

[Judge Jude]

more on that:

http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2011_04_27_lanmlb_flomlb_1&mode=recap&c_id=la

[sgs]

I think I read Kuo was lit up in the minors on a rehab stint.

They need Jeff Kent to yell at these loosers. Again.

With MLB taking over the team. It won't end well.

[owned]

uh oh

[Hornsby]

uh oh

I was watching the Cubs broadcast, and they were speculating that Broxton was actually afraid to throw the ball. He'd hold it forever, and than throw up a prayer. He has less than no confidence now, and Mattingly will be doing him a huge favor by putting him in no pressure situations.

Tip 'o the cap to ELD...looks like your guy Colletti was actually right on this one.

[The Dane]

Average fastball velocity last night was 91.2 mph. Confidence? Yeah, I wouldn't be that confident if I'd lost 10 mph on my fastball either, I guess.

That's the average velocity, what did his fastest pitch hit? You'd think if he could still dig down and get it up there, he'd still have his head on right. If not, he's nearly toast, because it isn't often that a flame-throwing reliever that suddenly loses his fire amounts to much after. Starters make the transition all the time, but more often than not, MLB teams just cut bait and sign the next fireballer reliever.

[Kevin Seitzer]

That's the average velocity, what did his fastest pitch hit?

93 mph

[The Dane]

Something is really wrong.

Yeah, sure looks like it. It sucks for the Dodgers, but they do have options. A healthy Kuo (contradiction in terms, I know) is plenty good enough and Jansen isn't far off from being ready. And who knows, they have plenty of mediocre starters in the organizations that may take well to a change to the back end of the pen, Elbert, Padilla, Ely?

[Kevin Seitzer]

He topped out at 93 twice. He also threw an 87 mph pitch that was categorized as a changeup but very well could have been a fastball.

Something is really wrong.

I think that probably really was a changeup or splitter, though I agree it's borderline. Broxton doesn't throw too many of them, so it's hard to say for sure. He's thrown maybe 7 of them this year (vs. 151 fastballs and 65 sliders).

And I agree that something is wrong. I have been studying pitcher fastball speed changes this spring, and I've been surprised how indicative of health problems fastball speed drops of anything more than a couple mph are.

[The Dane]

From Rotowire:

Broxton has been shut down with elbow pain, the Dodgers' official site reports. Broxton got the hook Tuesday after he walked two in the ninth inning on eight pitches. His fastball was in the low-90s, which indicated there might be a problem with his elbow.

[overkill94]

As a former pitcher, elbow pain was exactly what I figured Broxton was going through last night. Once your elbow starts hurting, you have no idea where the ball's going to go and obviously the velocity can't be optimal as well. It's possible Broxton has just had a nagging case of tendonitis all year and some days it's worse than others. If that's the case, giving him 2-3 weeks to simply give the elbow a rest should at least get him healthy (who knows about effective though), but the fear could be that the ligament is torn or semi-torn in which case he'd need TJ surgery or extensive rehab.

[Judge Jude]

Padilla in the 9th, Dodgers up 4-1 on Mets

Pridie lazy fly out
Murphy bingle
Red-hot Reyes RBI triple for 4-2
Beltran lazy fly out, Reyes has to hold at 3rd
Wright up as tying run/last chance - and he whiffs.

Padilla a meh SV

[Judge Jude]

Kuo spits the bit again.
Billingsley starts the 8th in a 1-1 game, allows a go-ahead run with no out.

Kuo comes in and allows RBI double, RBI double again, now 4-1 and his night is done.

Great talent, but he's rusty and not close to sniffing a SV chance this month...