Is Gagne Back? (Relief Situation)

[Beast Light]

Is it just me or has Gagne looked pretty good in his last couple of outings? If he can come around, it will be just the same as if we traded for a relief pitcher. The same could be said for Riske. He has looked good as of late as well. The bullpen could really be shaping up before our eyes.

 

If Yost ends up settling on either Bush or McClung, the bullpen will get even stronger, regardless of who Ned goes with.

[Bucky Rules]

He's only had one bad outing since his return. I'm feeling better about him all the time.

[MickeyDavis]

Yeah he seems to be doing alright. Mota though was getting hit hard. I'll feel a lot better if/when he gets DFA.

[brettac1]

Even in that brutal game, I believe he threw 22 out of 27 pitches for strikes. He has looked better, though it is hard to look worse than he did earlier in the season.

[craigharmann]

I need to see consistency. He's been doing OK, but I wouldn't throw him into the 8th inning anytime soon just yet.

[LordBeerMeStrength]

He has looked good except for that one 4 run inning. He's been throwing a curveball lately which i don't remember him throwing early in the year.

[Bucky Rules]

Even in that brutal game, I believe he threw 22 out of 27 pitches for strikes. He has looked better, though it is hard to look worse than he did earlier in the season.

 

Brett -- if you're willing to mitigate that brutal game by citing the strikes thrown (which is OK by me), then he's been awesome -- not just better. We could compare him to... well... him (from a few years ago), and he'd come out of it looking good.

 

He's keeping the ball down in the zone. I know that's cliche, but it is really true for him. I don't want to get too excited, because I defended him for too long in the 1st half. Let's just say that I'm happy he's pitching well, and I hope it can continue.

[crewcrazy]

I think a little confidence goes a long way -- Gagne's confidence was pretty much shot from Opening Day when he gave up the game-tying HR to Fukudome, and it was downhill from there until he landed on the DL and got to clear his head. He's been hitting his spots since he's gotten back and he's not afraid to throw his curveball. I thought his biggest test would be seeing how he responded after the first rough outing off the DL, and it looks like he hasn't been scared away from doing what makes him successful.

 

A healthy Gagne with his head screwed on right might be just as good as trading for another reliever.

[brettac1]

I guess my point was that he wasn't beating himself like he was earlier in the season by walking a bunch of guys.

 

He was wild in the zone that night against the Reds, which I think is excusable from being rusty and stuff. I'm in the same boat, re: defending him. I guess I defend the move more than Gagne himself - I still think it was a risk worth taking and not that bad of a deal. Just didn't work out like everyone would have wanted. If he becomes the set-up guy, then I think it still does come out as a good move.

 

But yeah, if you weren't running him out of town because of four bad innings, then you can't hail him as being back because of four good ones. Doesn't work that way, for sure.

[bork]

He has looked good except for that one 4 run inning.

And that was one of the few times he has ever been asked to pitch in multiple innings.

[dadofandrew]

I don't think he has been 100% all year until he rested. No one is very good at 70-80%.

[BrewCrewForever]

Since he has come back from the DL and quit over throwing realizing he can't throw 98 mph anymore he has been very good. I have been very outspoken about my love for Gagne and I think he is back. Even though he can get it up there anymore he can still be very nasty with that change and breaking ball. Just keep the fastball down and on the corners and he is awesome.

[RickieDROPSbombs]

Ned said it was a different situation for Gange since he isnt use to pitching, and then coming back into the dugout and then going back out again. But he is throwing strikes and thats the best thing in my eyes since when he was doing bad at the start he was walking guys and getting in bad counts.

[Ayt]

He has looked good except for that one 4 run inning. He's been throwing a curveball lately which i don't remember him throwing early in the year.

One major difference I've noticed over the course of the year is that earlier this year Kendall was asking him to elevate the fastball quite a bit and it really didn't seem like it was something that worked all that well. He'd either miss badly high for a ball or would pitch it too low and have it ripped somewhere. I don't recall every pitch of his recently, but I don't think he's been doing that at all recently. When he's ahead in the count now, he's going with the low change or a fastball low and on the corners.

With the way his change moves, he should be able to live consistently low and on the corners as long as he can accurately throw his fastball for strikes.

 

[mcnaulty21]

Since he has come back from the DL and quit over throwing realizing he can't throw 98 mph anymore he has been very good. I have been very outspoken about my love for Gagne and I think he is back. Even though he can get it up there anymore he can still be very nasty with that change and breaking ball. Just keep the fastball down and on the corners and he is awesome.

I'm still amazed how much flack he gets in my place of work. He's been more than solid since his return, and I'm finally seeing people come around to him Post-ASB.

 

[TooLiveBrew]

I guess I defend the move more than Gagne himself - I still think it was a risk worth taking and not that bad of a deal.

 

This is probably the most eloquent way I could describe how I feel about Gagne, other than to say I felt his results didn't match his execution earlier on. It's nice to see Eric finding some success, and I agree that he's been fun to watch lately.

[twobrewers]

Since he has come back from the DL and quit over throwing realizing he can't throw 98 mph anymore he has been very good.

He has been throwing a lot slower lately.

 

He almost looks like a "junk" pitcher now - but it seems to be working. Those 92 MPH fastballs were not fooling anyone.

[Tbadder]

I think that Gagne is doing the "McClung Thang". He's dialing back the fastball, spotting it better, and finding some success. It's hard on power pitchers, the poor dears, they usually can depend on stuff and don't have to use their brains. If and when they overcome this hurdle, success follows.

[JJHardy7]

He is looking better, but I think it's worth mentioning that the Brewers have a few pitchers (CC, Sheets, Gagne, etc) pitching for contracts next year. If Gagne pitches like the first half again, he's going to have to take a big-time pay cut. Gagne pitching well down the stretch could very well get himself a multi-year deal from a club.

[Bucky Rules]

At the risk of putting words into people's mouths, it seems that almost everyone so far is pretty much on the same page with Gagne. We think he's different than earlier in the season. And we think he can be a very important part of the bullpen going forward. That's a far cry from where things were a month ago. Hopefully we aren't all getting suckered in for the big let down. I've got a feeling we aren't.

[smbrewersfan15]

Well Gagne has pitched good of late and I hope he continues to do that. I am supremely superstitious when it comes to watching Brewers games especially when BA is spouting his stuff. But my wife has disliked Eric for most of the year. She turns to me last night and says 'I'm starting to like Gagne again.' I looked at her straight faced and said, 'No, you still dislike him!' I want him to continue to pitch good as he has since the break. I will do everything I can in my distorted mind to make sure that continues.

[Beast Light]

If Gagne finishes the season strong, will the Brewers be able to get any picks for him if he leaves? Could he qualify as a Class B FA?

[Fatter than Joey]

We'd have to offer him Arbys first.

[Beast Light]

We'd have to offer him Arbys first.

Understood, but is the general consensus that his numbers over the past year and a half could be good enough to warrant a "Class B" label? If so, is this the type of scenario where the Brewers could easily offer arby and watch him leave?

[Fatter than Joey]

We'd have to offer him $8M at a minimum I think.