New dad Jonathan Broxton is in a state of bliss

Reporting from Phoenix — 

The saying in the Dodgers’ locker room used to be that if you wanted to get Jonathan Broxton to talk, you had to talk about hunting.

Well, now there’s another subject that perks up the gentle giant: his 8-month-old son Jonathan Brooks.

“Stood up at seven months, straight up,” Broxton said, using his hands to illustrate the point. “He’s a beast.”

In addition to being a new father, Broxton has a new two-year, $11-million contract.

“It’s been the time of my life,” he said. “I’m happy.”

The Dodgers’ All-Star closer said this increased domestic bliss has further mellowed his already-mellow temperament and perhaps helped him get over blowing a save in the critical fourth game against the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Championship Series.

“It was tough to swallow, but you can’t harp on it all off-season,” Broxton said.

Broxton said he didn’t spend any time this winter reflecting on what happened in that game or what he could have done different. He said he hasn’t thought about how he walked Matt Stairs on fourth pitches to start a Phillies rally that ended with Jimmy Rollins’ winning hit.

“I had to get it out of my mind,” Broxton said. “I never second-guessed myself.”

Waiting on weigh-in

Ronnie Belliard’s contract still isn’t guaranteed.

One of three candidates to be the starting second baseman, Belliard can guarantee his one-year, $825,000 contract by weighing in at 209 or less this spring. He had a physical exam Thursday but said he wouldn’t be weighed until Friday.

Belliard said he isn’t worried about making weight -- he estimated Thursday he was 210 or 211 -- and he wasn’t bothered that the Dodgers put the unusual stipulation in his contract.

“That was their decision,” said Belliard, who will compete with Blake DeWitt and Jamey Carroll for a starting role.

But Manny Ramirez made it clear he disapproved of the clause, leaning over from in front of an adjacent locker to interject with a phrase unsuitable for print.

Belliard, 36, said he wasn’t bothered by how he couldn’t find a more lucrative deal on the free-agent market this winter despite playing well enough to take Orlando Hudson’s job as the Dodgers’ second baseman last season.

“I don’t talk about money,” he said. “I’ve had a good, successful career.”

Spring rotation set

Vicente Padilla will start the Dodgers’ Cactus League opener against the Chicago White Sox on March 5 at Camelback Ranch.

Eric Stults will start the second game of the exhibition season, Clayton Kershaw will start the third, Chad Billingsley the fourth and Hiroki Kuroda the fifth.

Manager Joe Torre refrained from naming a starter for opening day.

Giles the jokester

Veteran outfielder Brian Giles, who is in camp on a minor league deal, was asked what kind of role he envisioned on the team.

“Probably Manny’s job, play left field,” he replied.

Minutes later, Ramirez came over to bearhug Giles, who played with him in Cleveland.

Told Giles was aiming for his job, Ramirez replied, “Good, good. I like it.”

If Giles, 39, makes the team, it will probably be as a left-handed bat off the bench. He was sidelined for most of last season with a knee injury that he admits could force him to retire. “If I’m physically not able to do it, I’ll walk away,” he said.

Torre on HGH tests

Torre said he thought baseball would move to adopt a blood test to screen for human growth hormone.

“I guess there are some questions . . . about how reliable that is,” he said. “That’s what you have to figure out first. But I just have a feeling that everybody, players and ownership, are united in the fact that we need to get the trust back from the people.”

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