Gagne said he doesn't deserve to pitch the 9th, removed from role (reply #40), says he's ready to be the closer again (reply #81)

[TooLiveBrew]

earn it in Boston. we'll see if you are a great closer there and only there.

 

So if he goes out & is 3/3 in save situations in Boston, then stinks the rest of the year, is he still a "great closer"?

[logan82]

TooLiveBrew wrote:

So if he goes out & is 3/3 in save situations in Boston, then stinks the rest of the year, is he still a "great closer"?

Bet he will be according to ESPN.

[craigharmann]

Heh, that's a pretty quick reversal.

Maybe Canadian time is faster than American time? Could it be that in Gagne's mind, he said the stuff about not closing about 2 weeks ago, and now it's fixed. Just a thought.

 

[clancyphile]

He didn't do so bad today. He wasn't a baby seal out there. Maybe a couple more outings like this, and then he can be worked back up to the ninth.

[adambr2]

I genuinely think Boras probably called Gagne today, told him he better shut up and figure it out if he wants one last multi-million dollar contract, and Gagne listened.

 

He went from flat out admitting he wasn't good enough to be the closer and shouldn't be the closer, to having one normal day off, to being ready to be the closer again. Yeah.

[JimH5]

I'm ready for Gagne to close, too.

 

For the Newark Bears.

[danzig6767]

I genuinely think Boras probably called Gagne today, told him he better shut up and figure it out if he wants one last multi-million dollar contract, and Gagne listened.

 

He went from flat out admitting he wasn't good enough to be the closer and shouldn't be the closer, to having one normal day off, to being ready to be the closer again. Yeah.

I don't buy this Boras stuff

Only one thing will get Gagne another contract of any sizable value and it won't be what words coming out of his mouth, it will be getting hitters out. I know many like to think of Boras as the boggyman that can talk teams into anything, but the tape and stats won't lie. If Gagne keeps an ugly ERA, WHIP, and bad performances, his closing days will be over regardless of who his agent is.

 

[BrewCrewForever]

I don't think he is ready quite yet. I think he will take over at some point before the end of May or early June but he needs a few more outtings in middle relief. He wasn't bad yesterday but wasn't great either. 1 ER at the end of the world, but I was impressed he was able to go 2 innings.

[kiwi brewer]

TooLiveBrew wrote:

So if he goes out & is 3/3 in save situations in Boston, then stinks the rest of the year, is he still a "great closer"?

Bet he will be according to ESPN.

no to the first bit of this. that doesn't make him a great closer, but provides a top notch environment to see if he can handle closer pressure, as opposed to Minute Made or even Miller.

and yes, ESPN will start talking about an October MIL vs BOS series with Gagne saving games 2,3, 6 and 7. neat.

[JJHardy7]

no to the first bit of this. that doesn't make him a great closer, but provides a top notch environment to see if he can handle closer pressure, as opposed to Minute Made or even Miller.

 

This could be the case if it is a mental thing -- or Gagne just flat out can't pitch well anymore. I don't think every time a closer struggles or says he needs a mental break that's the case. It is possible that Gagne just doesn't have it anymore whether that's at Minute Made, Miller, or Fenway.

[bbrauch2000]

Does anyone know why he hasnt been using his curve at all recently? That was always a great set up pitch for him and even with 4-5 mph off his fastball from where it was, it would sure speed up that fastball. Does he just not have this pitch where he can use it consistently?

[tristarscoop]

Did anyone else see the bit yesterday where Ned basically said Gagne was tipping his pitches?

 

Yost said the Brewers noticed a flaw in Gagne's recent outings, particularly on Saturday, but the manager would not go into detail.

 

Had Gagne been tipping pitches?

 

"I'm not telling you guys what it was," Yost said. "It was very obvious. That's why I think he was totally upset."

 

http://milwaukee.brewers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080512&content_id=2688174&vkey=news_mil&fext=.jsp&c_id=mil

[dlk9s]

http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/607/motivator6522970hy6.jpg

 

 

[mikerollins]

To win the NL Central and make any noise in the playoffs, this team needs an effective Eric Gagne. The faster we get him back on track, the better.

 

I say if you have a 2 or 3 run lead in the Dodgers series you hand him the ball and hope a save gets his confidence back.

 

I would keep him in Milwaukee for the trip to Boston for a "mental/physical" break and off day on Monday, then he can rejoin the team on Tuesday as the closer again.

 

He has hit some bad luck, bad location with some pitches, and lack of confidence issues. 2 of the 3 can easily be corrected and the 3rd evens out over the course of the year. I still think he'll save close to 40 games.

[pitchleague]

leaving Gagne at home while the team travels to Boston is terrible for the team. The media would chastise the team for making such a decision, citing something along the lines of being "scared" of returning to Fenway where he just stunk things up last fall.

 

The fans would be worse. Granted, if Gagne isn't there the garbage from the fans wouldn't be as bad (or would it?) as if he were in the ballpark.

 

I think Gagne needs to be there and they need to give him the ball. And then we all need to hope and pray that he does the job.

[BrewCrewForever]

I would love to see Gagne get a save in Boston. That would really tick off those chowder heads.

[craigharmann]

leaving Gagne at home while the team travels to Boston is terrible for the team.

But leaving Gagne at home while the team travels to Boston would be fantastic for site traffic here on BF.net. Could be fun to watch.

[logan82]

I originally thought he was pulling his hand out of his glove then going into his windup, but he fixed that before yesterday.

[Balls2TheWalls]

He really just isn't hitting with his nasty pitches. He usually pitches his fastball on the outside corner and gets players to reach for it. Unfortunately, there isn't a single pitch he is throwing regularly for strikes without making it a very hittable pitch. His changeup has looked absolutely awful. If he can get his changeup back to the point where he can throw it for strikes consistantly, we will see a totally different Gagne.

[sweepscc]

He doesn't have a nasty pitch anymore. His change up is elite but only when hitters are gearing up for a 98 mph fastball. He doesn't have that anymore. That went down the drain along with the juice. That's twice I believe Melvin has got burned on juicers. First Capellan and now Gagne.

[TooLiveBrew]

Gagne's changeup is still incredibly effective when he can locate it. Mixing it in with his 91-41 FB makes a wicked combo. Not sure why there's all this animosity like Gagne is the only player -- or only Brewr -- since Bonds to juice. His name just happened to be in the Mitchell Report, and it's turning into a weak 'bashing' point imo. The guy's struggles have nothing to do with steroids/HGH right now, and everything to do with locating. If he'd have been having location problems like this, he'd have struggled while during his prime too. Has little to nothing to do with velocity.

[logan82]

I thought his problem so far this year has been an inability to locate his fastball.

[bklynbrewcrew]

Once Gagne gets his confidence back and starts locating pitches better he will be fine. Most have his outing have gone bad due to walks and bloop hits. I really believe he can get back to being an effective closer.

[sweepscc]

Chicken or egg. He's now throwing a crushable 93 mph instead of 98 so he's lost confidence in throwing it for a strike, imo.

[RU Rah Rah]

I'm still not convinced. He was a different pitcher, velocity-wise, in his closing heyday. And what's probably tough on him psychologically is that he knows that, too. I think he might still be able to muddle along decently with what he's got, but I don't think he's going to be consistently above-average.