Eric Gagne will save 40 games this year

[logan82]

orca1963 wrote:

This made me think of something I saw him do at the Cincy game earlier this year...it looked like he was reading something written in his hat between batters...anybody know anything about that?

Maybe he switched hats with Bill Castro.

[Gopher74]

Did you miss the one out saves Yost gave to Cordero last year? Yost believes that any time it becomes a save situation the closer must pitch. Riske should have been fine

 

And if he hadn't, everyone would have been all over Yost for not getting Riske out of there and not being able to tell when a pitcher doesn't have "it".

 

I'd rather he "burn up" Gange and get the win then save him and blow the game.

 

[Gopher74]

Having said that, I don't believe that results are the only thing that counts, and right now he's:

 

a) throwing too many pitches

b) hasn't locked into the strike zone

c) hasn't shown a consistent fastball

d) appears to be struggling, his body language is just awful

e) is always hunting for a pitch he can count on

 

So I remain a little skeptical. If he can't solve some of these problems by the All-Star break we could be in for a rough ride at times.

1-I guess maybe a little bit..but it's not like it's been that over the top save for the Chicago game.

20-15-12-23-13-19

That's not the most efficient, but it's also really not that bad.

 

2-He's thrown 69 strikes out of 92 pitches. That's a pretty dang good rate of strikes. Again, that's without the Chicago game, but even in that game he threw 16 Sr in 31 pitches. Bad, but not totally awful.

 

3-Others have touched on this one, so I'll just say that I don't really agree.

 

4-Yea, he's a slob, but he's always been one. I think he's just eccentric. And if he was poor, and not a pro ball player, he'd be weird. But, he is what he is.

 

5-I certainly don't agree with this one. I think his change is absolutely a pitch he can count on. His curve as well for that matter. In fact, I think all three are good pitches. He's really been exceptional since that first Chicago outing.

 

[danzig6767]

I think one reason many fans are more nervous about Gagne compared to Cordero is perception. When Cordero was on, he'd look flat out dominating with that mix of a 96-98mph fastball and a devastating slider. Gagne without his high 90's fastball looks more like he's trying to fool the hitter than blow the hitter away like Cordero could.

 

For me, all i care about is the end result. So long as he can continue getting the save and job done, that's all i care about.

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

Unfortunately, with Harang on the mound, runs are going to be at a premium tomorrow and if we're gonna win, it's gonna have to be Gagne slamming the door again.

[Gopher74]

Unfortunately, with Harang on the mound, runs are going to be at a premium tomorrow and if we're gonna win, it's gonna have to be Gagne slamming the door again.

Hmm..I doubt it. I think he gets the day off tomorrow either way. I can't see him pitching 4 days in a row(which is what he'd be at, correct?).

 

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

Well who do you want closing the game? Turnbow? Cordero saved 5 games in a row last year. 4 in a row can definitely be done.

[BrewCrewForever]

I'd like to see Gagne get another save opportunity tomorrow. Not sure what Ned's thoughts are on using him taht many days in a row. If they chose to rest Eric I would assume Riske or Torres would get that opportunity?

[Gopher74]

Well who do you want closing the game? Turnbow? Cordero saved 5 games in a row last year. 4 in a row can definitely be done.

It's got absolutely nothing to do with what I want to see, it's about what's likely to happen. And what Coco did last year doesn't really have any bearing on what they're going to do with Gange this year as Gange's got a lot more injury concerns than Coco had. Not to mention one of those 5 in a row was a one pitch save.

 

But why would you go to Turnbow? I think it's pretty obvious he wouldn't be the guy who gets that job. How about Riske, Torres, Mota?

I'd even thought the Brewers had said that he wouldn't work 4 days in a row, and at most he'd work 3. I'm not positive on that though.

 

[treego]

If Gagne gets 40 saves this year, it will certainly require about 20 blown saves or so, it seems.

 

It's gonna' be tough for the Brewers to be above .500 without a decent closer. I don't see Gagne as a decent closer. He is blowing up in too many 9th innings with the long-ball. He's trying to convert from a power-pitcher to a finesse-pitcher; it's a difficult and painful transition, especially in the closer roll. Ugghh.

[Bring Back the Stein]

Some managers wouldn't put a 29-year-old Mariano Rivera, let alone a gasser and steroid reformer in his decline, into the position of that many consecutive appearances, so I must humbly say that I think it's a false choice. Was it not clear after the first home run, or at least the home run to....Bako...that he didn't have his best stuff? I'm not even debating his abilities out loud here, I'm doubting whether he will be wisely used and put in a position to succeed.

[brains and braun]

I'd hardly call him a finesse pitcher. He's no longer a power guy, of course, but he can still run it up there in the early nineties and has the split/change and curve to rely on as well. Think that he'll be okay in the long run. Not great, but decent.

[jazzytrav]

Gagne will get 40 saves this year by sheer will.

 

Well who do you want closing the game? Turnbow? Cordero saved 5 games in a row last year. 4 in a row can definitely be done

I said this in the chat as well, TWR. Just because Coco saved 5 games in a row doesn't mean it was the right decision to pitch him 5 games in a row. Obviously there's a chance for any reliever to save 5 in a row, and there was a chance that Gagne could have saved today's game. That doesn't mean it's a good idea when the probability is most likely lower after each consecutive day.

[dlk9s]

Just because Coco saved 5 games in a row doesn't mean it was the right decision to pitch him 5 games in a row.

Correct. This is called results-oriented thinking.

 

[bbrauch2000]

I was on the golf course and was shocked to see they were bringing Gagne in when I checked my cell phone. I am by all means a Gagne apologist but I'm hanging this one on Yost. There was no reason to bring in our closer for a 4th straight game, especially not having a day off this week

[Tbadder]

When we signed these guys it was touted that many of them (Torres, Riske, Gagne) could close. Why not give one of the other two the chance?

[BrewCrewForever]

I'm still not giving up on Gagne. He had a bat outing, I know he has blown 3 saves in 9 chances but he will put together a string of 10 or more at some point, at least I hope. The pitch to Bako didn't even look bad to me, it was below the knees Bako just got lucky and golfed it into right field.

[mikerollins]

I don't blame Yost for bringing in his closer with a 3-1 lead. Yes it was the 4th day in a row, but closers pitch 4, 5, even 6 days in a row ALL THE TIME. Cordero pitched 4 days in a row 3times last year. Turnbow pitched 4 days in a row 2 times the year before. It was the right choice to bring him in to get the bottom 3 guys in the order.

 

I don't blame Gagne. After the HR to Fukodome on opening day he retired 15 of his next 16 hitters (aside from the picnic area HR). He hung a changeup against Encarnacion after falling behind in the count and then Bako golfed a low inside pitch out. Big deal.

 

The one thing I wish Ned would have done was leave Gagne in to finish the inning. The previous 2 times he blew leads, he buckled down and get them to the 10th inning. I think he would have done the same thing yesterday and gotten them to the 11th.

 

But back to the original point, this doesn't mean I don't trust Gagne to close games and it certainly isn't Ned's fault for bringing him in. It's jus something that happens over the course of a long season.

[davego]

Maybe this is just my uneducated bias, but I was under the impression that Gagne would have some limits on his innings an appearances, thus building a pen that had a couple of other options in the closing department, as needed.

 

Again, maybe this is just my thinking and not what 'the plan' actually is.

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

I don't blame Yost for bringing in his closer with a 3-1 lead. Yes it was the 4th day in a row, but closers pitch 4, 5, even 6 days in a row ALL THE TIME.

Really? That seems preposterous.

[TooLiveBrew]

I don't blame Yost for bringing in his closer with a 3-1 lead. Yes it was the 4th day in a row, but closers pitch 4, 5, even 6 days in a row ALL THE TIME.

 

Can you back this up without citing Ned Yost's closer usage? Honest question. You yelled this, and then proceeded to produce two examples showing that Yost misused his closers consistently.

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

I bet Rollie Fingers was called in to save games after pitching the 3 previous days. FIRE HARVEY KUENN!

[mikerollins]

I stand corrected. I went through game logs of Rivera, Smoltz, Putz and stopped there because I just dont have time, but NONE of them have ever pitched 4 consecutive days. Rivera and Smoltz pitched 3 straight days virtually every month, but never a 4th. Maybe there is some validity to the crowd that is saying Gagne shouldn't have been used yesterday.

I didn't have a problem with it. And still don't. But definitely can see your side of it now. Thanks for bringing that to my attention!!

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

http://images.yuku.com/image/jpeg/2833552990ca83613d4865c0ddced695f149318.jpg

 

 

[TooLiveBrew]

I didn't have a problem with it. And still don't. But definitely can see your side of it now. Thanks for bringing that to my attention!!

 

Glad you looked into that (thanks!), as I didn't have time to do so (otherwise I would've). It's roughly what I'd figured, though -- using any reliever 4 days in a row tends to work out poorly, and most managers are fully aware of this.