Remember When Eric Gagne Was Good?

Once upon a time, Eric Gagne was an awesome pitcher.

The goggle-brandishing righty, with his 98 mph heater and baffling 78 mph change-up was flawless back in 2003 when he won the National League Cy Young award with the Los Angeles Dodgers, converting all 55 save chances that season. These days, the only this he has going for him is the fact that he sorta looks like Seth Rogen…

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The Sad, Sad Tale of Eric Gagne

Eric Gagne's toilet-ridden career is not quite at Mike Hampton proportions, but it's still pretty unfortunate.

The Milwaukee Brewers reliever has been released in order to rehab his poor shoulder in Tempe, Arizona at a private training facility.

Gagne, a non-roster invitee to Spring Training, was hanging on to a minor league contract with dear life before his shoulder began to feel sore again. This time, he chose to tell his trainer rather than suck beyond sucking once the season started.

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Ow! My Pride!

With Milwaukee Brewers sad excuse for a closer Eric Gagne out indefinitely with rotator cuff tendinitis, we felt Ned Yost might need some help with deciding how to fill his shoes.

Here are a couple of exciting candidates who are more than willing and just as qualified for the role as Gagne. Choose wisely, Mr. Yost.

The Bratwurst: Don't let the green Austro-Bavarian lederhosen fool you, this overly-aggressive sausage of German descent is built like a brick house. Bratt Wurst's racing profile states "he is intimidating to the other participants with his muscular physique" which is perfect when your closer is also your set up man and has to pitch like, 3 innings.

Strength: has drunk-man strength and an obscenely high pain tolerance
Weakness: submerges himself in Miller Lite before every meal

The Polish Sausage: Think the Polish Sausage is the underdog? Think again! This dude may take it easy when the race begins, and he may be wearing sunglasses -- for Corey Hart, of course -- or maybe they're eye patches? Regardless, he can't be any worse than Eric Gagne.

Strength: Wears his sunglasses at night.
Weakness: Is Polish.


We hear Bernie Brewer may also be available during the top half of innings at home, as well.

[Brewers Nation]

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

Holy crap, it's already time for Interleague action!

Making its twelfth appearance, Interleague play has undergone a few minor tweaks here and there since its inception in 1997, including switching up which divisions play each other and when.

We have the Subway Series, the Beltway Series, the Lone Star Series, North Side vs. South Side, the Freeway Series, the Highway Series, the Bay Bridge Series, and of course, the Sunshine Series. To make things interesting this season, the best hitters patrol the senior circuit, while the lowest ERA belongs to the American League.

There are plenty more exciting contests during the first weekend, including the Oakland Athletics heading to the Ted to play the Atlanta Braves in a match up of baseball's top two pitching staffs. It should also be interesting to see if the Detroit Tigers can slow the Arizona Diamondbacks' roll. Highly doubtful, yet totally possible.

Meanwhile, things could get pretty ugly in Milwaukee when the Boston Red Sox take their 5-run average per game into Miller Park to face their former closer, Eric "Boooo" Gagne.

Then we have three thrilling games featuring the Kansas City Royals against the Florida Marlins, and all five kids crawling over the empty outfield seats chasing home run balls. Will there even be hot dog vendors? And if so, will they need bullhorns?

Ned Yost Springs into Action!

Eric Gagne has been sucking at his job dating back to last season, when he refused to save a game for the Boston Red Sox after being traded there by the Texas Rangers.

Somehow, he landed a free agent contract off the hot stove with the Milwaukee Brewers last winter, and has since managed to blow five games in 14 chances, including three of his last six. As expected this weekend, the struggling righty was yanked from the closer's spot after his comments in Saturday's edition of Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

"I don't deserve that ninth inning right now. It's very simple," he said. "It's embarrassing."

Is there some sort of mental issue here? Does this guy have more problems than just sucking at baseball?

Gagne, who at one time was actually the best reliever in baseball and now has a 1-2 record with a 6.89 ERA, has allowed 18 hits, walked 11, and surrendered 12 earned runs over just 15 innings this season.

Manager Ned Yost, who is also struggling to keep his job at this juncture, said it was a simple mechanics issue for Gagne, which is easily fixed. Yost went on to say the load will be stacked on the shoulders of the entire bullpen for now, with quite possibly as many as three pitchers handling the ninth, if need be.

Those three would likely be Salomon Torres, who has 29 career saves, David Riske with 20 and Guillermo Mota with 19.

On a lighter note, if you were ever wondering who the best shortstop in the history of the world is, look no further than The Grand National Championships, who are also fed up with this Eric Gagne business.

[Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel]

Eric Gagne Needs New Goggles

Can I have a high five? No, you may not.

Alert the media! Eric Gagne has blown another save!

Edwin Encarnacion stepped up to the plate Sunday in the 10th inning amongst boos from what little fans were left in the rain-drenched seats at the Great American Ballpark. In the top of the inning, the third baseman allowed the Milwaukee Brewers to pull ahead with another error, his sixth of the year. That is an alarming number since the Cincinnati Reds have eleven as a team.

Edwin felt like he had to make up for his on-field shenanigans, so he lined a solo shot to right, his second of the game, to spark the Reds' rally to a 4-3 win. Paul Bako followed suit with another homer off the Brewers closer, who was pitching for the fourth day in a row. (Mistake #1) Eventually, Ken Griffey Jr. topped off the night with a game-winning single off right-handed reliever Salomon Torres.

Gagne has watched his ERA inflate to 8.22 pretty quickly this season, screwing up three of nine save opportunities.

"I felt very good," he said.

Yeah, but you sucked. So what's the problem? Getting behind in the count is no excuse. You're a closer, do your job.

Update: Make that 4 blown saves and an 8.31 ERA. However, the Brewers still managed an extra-inning comeback thanks to The Gabes.

[Brewers Blog] | [The Grand National Championships] | [The Reds Rocket]

Brewers Rebuilding Bullpen, Salomon Torres Unhappy

Since losing Francisco Cordero to the Cincinnati Reds and Scott Linebrink to the Chicago White Sox by way of free agency, the Milwaukee Brewers have added a couple more bricks in the rebuilding of their bullpen.

The club has dealt pitching prospects Marino Salas and Kevin Roberts for former Pittsburgh Pirates closer Salomon Torres, the big leagues' most-used reliever in 2006. Last season, however, Torres suffered recurring pitching elbow problems and was limited to 56 appearances with a 2-4 record and 5.47 ERA, essentially losing his closer job.

The righty went 1-3 with a 3.24 ERA and four saves in 34 career games against his old division-rival Brew Crew. Torres is apparently unhappy with the trade though, and is actually considering retirement rather than playing in Milwaukee. According to Rotoworld, Torres is worried about leaving his family in Pitt, even though he asked to be traded last season.

This move comes just three days after Milwaukee signed right-handed reliever David Riske to a three-year deal worth at least $13 million. Riske, who may replace Cordero if setup man Derrick Turnbow doesn't win back the job, went 1-4 with a 2.45 ERA in 65 games with the Kansas City Royals last season.

The latest addition to the Milwaukee 'pen is one of last season's biggest disappointments, veteran reliever Eric Gagne. The two sides have reportedly agreed in principle to a one-year contract, which could be worth up to $10 million. The exact terms are undisclosed at this time.

After two injury-ridden seasons, Gagne had a 2.16 ERA and 16 saves for the Texas Rangers before being traded to the Boston Red Sox at the deadline.

Though he claimed to be in perfect health, Gagne's ERA ballooned to 6.75 over the next two months, among boos and confusion created by his loss of command and rising number of blown saves. That noise you just heard was the collective exhale out of Beantown.

[USA Today]

Eric Gagne Needs New Goggles

Not so very long ago (2004) in a land not so far away (Los Angeles) there lived a superstar closer named Eric Gagne.

In the 47 opportunities he was given to shut down opponents that year, Gagne saved 45 games. He owned an impressive 2.19 ERA and struck out 114 batters in just 82.1 innings pitched.

After a slew of injuries, he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2005, recovered the next year and appeared in two games before hurting his back. During his time off, he was abducted by the same aliens who kidnapped Michael Jackson. They took away his command and precision, and placed him back in Dodger Stadium, laughing maniacally.

Gabbard Is Stiff As Gagne Struggles

Texas Rangers starter Kason Gabbard had an early exit Sunday in his start against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

After Delmon Young led off the inning with a deep fly ball, Gabbard paused while manager Ron Washington headed to the mound with his cavalry.

Seconds later, the 25-year-old handed the ball away and walked to the dugout to have his stiff pitching forearm tended to.

Acquired in the July 31st Eric Gagne trade with the Boston Red Sox, the rookie left-hander gave up a leadoff single to Jonny Gomes before retiring his last four batters with two strikeouts.

In the 98 degree heat, Gabbard threw 12 of his 18 pitches for strikes. He has a 3.83 ERA on the season and is 1-1 for the Rangers after going 4-0 in seven starts for the Sox.

Don't breathe your sigh of relief yet, Sox fans. Whatever the lesser of two evils, Gagne is struggling in Beantown after surrendering the game-tying homer to Miguel Tejada in the eighth inning of Boston's 6-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles Sunday.

Goggles has now given up seven runs in his first 2 weeks with the Red Sox, after having allowed only eight total in the first four months of the season with the Rangers.

[SI.com]

Eric Gagne Injured in Rangers Win

Texas Rangers closer Eric Gagne got one out in the ninth before leaving with a strained right hip. He landed awkwardly after releasing a pitch to Oakland Athletics' second baseman Mark Ellis before eventually limping off the field.

The 2003 NL Cy Young Award winner, who signed a one-year deal with the Rangers this offseason, pitched in only 14 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2005 before having season-ending surgery on his right elbow. Then, he appeared in just two games last year before having back surgery to end that season.

Rangers manager Ron Washington said Gagne is day-to-day and his status will be reevaluated Monday.

Update: Eric Gagne has indeed landed on the 15-day DL after being diagnosed with a hip injury.

Gagne Set To Make Triumphant Return

Eric Gagne was a little surprised with how good he felt after pitching two straight days in AA-Frisco - his first back-to-back appearance in almost two seasons.

After being limited to 15.1 innings over the past two years due to operations on his elbow and back, the former NL Cy Young winner began the season on the disabled list to give him some more time to get ready to become the Texas Rangers' closer.