Yardbarker: Eric Gagne

Wrapping up the 2008 Milwaukee Brewers Pitching

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:55:37 -0500

Okay, after looking back at the offense it was painfully obvious that there needs to be several upgrades in the offseason. The pitching staff is a different story, however. We will see a great deal of turnover with the pitchers but most of that will be because of free agent losses and not the trades likely coming for a few of the bats.

Phillies Career Stats Against Brewers

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 05:57:02 -0500

Cole Hamels starts game 1 of the Phillie/Brewers NLDS series on Wednesday and owns a 2-1 record, 4.41 era, and a 1.10 whip against them. Brad Lidge will be shutting down Milwaukee in the 9th with lifetime stats of 5-3 record, 2.43 era, 1.10 whip, and 17 saves. The offense is headed up by Jayson Werth (.340 average, 1.043 OPS) and Chase Utley (.336, .906 OPS). Click on the URL for every player on the Phillies 25 man playoff roster's career line against the Brew Crew, plus an uncanny look alike between Eric Gagne and Seth Rogen.

Recent MLB News

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 14:08:19 -0500

A Cubs No-No Cubs Ace Carlos Zambrano returned from time off due to a tired arm on Sunday and threw the first no-hitter of his career (and the first by a Cubs pitcher in something like 36 years) against the Astros in Milwaukee due to the Hurricane Ike scare. His performance may have been just what the doctor ordered as the Cubs were on a bit of a slump as of late. The next day, Ted Lily went into 7th inning with a no-hitter of his own before it was eventually broken up. Seeing that they still hold the best record in baseball, they were able to sustain their lead comfortably before Big Z's energy boost lifted the team, and perhaps all of their fans spirits once again. Could this be the year of the Cubs?! Something's Brewing in Milwaukee While still in the playoff picture, the Milwaukee Brewers have fired manager Ned Yost. For the final two weeks of the season, the brewers will turn to 3B coach Dale Sveum as their interim manager with Bench coach Ted Simmons reassigned to an "advisory role". Sveum rapidly hired Hall of Famer and former Brewer, Robbin Yount to take the place of Simmons as his bench coach (a smart move). Garth Iorg will be the team's new 3B coach for the rest of this season. No manager, barring a strike year, has ever been fired this late in the year while in a playoff hunt! Was this unprecedented move a good decision or a bad one or was the wrong man let go (like maybe GM Bob Melvin, after all he was the one who signed Gagne)? Tied at the Bay After game one of their remaining regular season meeting, the Boston Red Sox have finally caught up with the first place Tampa Bay Rays (that still sounds weird to me, but I almost like it) and are now tied with them for first place in the AL East with two more head-to-head games to play in Tampa. Josh Beckett (12-9) goes against Andy Sonnanstine (13-7) tonight while Matt Garza (11-9) goes on only three day's rest to pitch against knuckleballer Tim Wakefield (9-10) on Wednesday night. Who will be left standing on top of the AL East at the end of September?

Wagner Out For All Of '09, Mets Need A Closer

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 22:30:01 -0500

With closer Bill Wagner out for all of 2009, the Mets will need to a sign a legitimate closer. We have all seen what has happened to the Mets without a closer, despite posting a 17-5 record with him down. While it doesn't look like the Mets will make any big moves this off season, they will need to resign Carlos Delgado, as well as find a pitching. That will probably start with a closer, depsite having two impending free agent starters. The two closers that make the most sense are Brian Fuentes and Eric Gagne.

Gagne has struggled this season after signing a ten million dollar deal, but he would probably be willing to sign a one year deal again. That would give the Mets a stopper for Wagner as well as the possibility of having two solid late inning relievers in 2010. The Mets have purusued Fuentes already, and may target him first before going after Gagne. Nonetheless, the Mets will sign a closer this offseason.

Looking Ahead at the 2009 Free Agent Market!

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 20:17:46 -0500

Now with some glaring holes going into next year. The Mets will have a new ballpark but they also will have to replace some parts.

Obviously the bullpen is a mess starting with Billy Wagner.

The second base position can be resolved with a veteran and that means that Castillo will be traded for a bag of balls.

The starting rotation is also very interesting thing to look at with Oliver Perez (who is only 27)who is going to be a free agent and has Scott Boris as a agent.

The Mets will have Pedro Martinez coming off the books. As well as Moises Alou, who has been a disappointment because he never plays.

Here are the 2009 Free Agents from those positions mentioned:

Second basemen
Willie Bloomquist (31)
Geoff Blum (36) - club option for '09
Jamey Carroll (35) - $2.5MM club option for '09 with a $0.15MM buyout
Craig Counsell (38)
Ray Durham (37)
Damion Easley (39)
David Eckstein (34)
Mark Ellis (32)
Mark Grudzielanek (39)
Jerry Hairston Jr. (33)
Orlando Hudson (31)
Tadahito Iguchi (34)
Jeff Kent (41)
Felipe Lopez (29)
Mark Loretta (37)
Nick Punto (31)

Starting pitchers
Kris Benson (33)
A.J. Burnett (32) - can opt out after '08 season
Paul Byrd (38)
Roger Clemens (46)
Matt Clement (33)
Bartolo Colon (36)
Ryan Dempster (32)
Shawn Estes (36)
Josh Fogg (32)
Freddy Garcia (33)
Jon Garland (29)
Tom Glavine (43)
Mike Hampton (36)
Mark Hendrickson (35)
Livan Hernandez (34)
Orlando Hernandez (43)
Jason Jennings (30)
Randy Johnson (45)
John Lackey (30) - $9MM club option for '09 with a $0.5MM buyout
Jon Lieber (39)
Kyle Lohse (30)
Braden Looper (34)
Rodrigo Lopez (33) - club option for '09
Derek Lowe (36)
Greg Maddux (43)
Pedro Martinez (37)
Jamie Moyer (46)
Mark Mulder (31) - $11MM club option for '09 with a $1.5MM buyout
Mike Mussina (40)
Carl Pavano (33) - $13MM club option for '09 with a $1.95MM buyout
Brad Penny (31) - $8.75MM club option for '09 with a $2MM buyout
Odalis Perez (32)
Oliver Perez (27)
Andy Pettitte (37)
Sidney Ponson (32)
Mark Prior (27)
Kenny Rogers (44)
C.C. Sabathia (28)
Curt Schilling (42)
Ben Sheets (30)
John Smoltz (42)
Tim Wakefield (42) - perpetual $4MM club option
Kip Wells (32)
Randy Wolf (32)

Closers
Brian Fuentes (33)
Eric Gagne (33)
Eddie Guardado (38)
Trevor Hoffman (41)
Jason Isringhausen (36)
Todd Jones (41)
Brandon Lyon (29)
Francisco Rodriguez (27)
Salomon Torres (37) - $3.75MM club option for '09 with a $0.3MM buyout
Kerry Wood (32)

Middle relievers
Jeremy Affeldt (30)
Luis Ayala (31)
Joe Beimel (32)
Joe Borowski (38)
Doug Brocail (42) - club option for '09
Shawn Chacon (31)
Juan Cruz (30)
Alan Embree (39) - $3MM club option for '09
Scott Eyre (37)
Kyle Farnsworth (33)
Casey Fossum (31)
Keith Foulke (35)
Tom Gordon (41) - $4.5MM club option for '09 with a $1MM buyout
LaTroy Hawkins (36)
Mark Hendrickson (35)
Matt Herges (39) - club option for '09
Bob Howry (35)
Jon Lieber (39)
Jason Johnson (35)
Damaso Marte (34) - $6MM club option for '09 with a $0.25MM buyout
Trever Miller (36) - $2MM club option for '09 with a $0.4MM buyout
Guillermo Mota (35)
Will Ohman (31)
Darren Oliver (38)
Chan Ho Park (36)
Horacio Ramirez (29)
Al Reyes (38)
Dennys Reyes (32)
Arthur Rhodes (39)
Juan Rincon (30)
Rudy Seanez (40)
Brian Shouse (40)
Russ Springer (40)
Mike Timlin (43)
Ron Villone (39)
David Weathers (39)
Kip Wells (32)
Matt Wise (33)
Jamey Wright (34)

Delgado's Dramatic Blast

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 21:10:21 -0500

Carlos Delgado's eighth-inning home run off Eric Gagne was only the second homer in the majors this season on an 0-2 pitch, in the eighth inning or later, and which turned a deficit into a lead. Jason Giambi hit a game-ending home run on an 0-2 pitch from B.J. Ryan on June 5 to turn a 8-7 Blue Jays' lead into a 9-8 Yankees' win.
Delgado's home run was the 462nd of his career, tying him with Jose Canseco for the fourth-most in major league history among players born outside the fifty states, behind Sammy Sosa (609), Rafael Palmeiro (569) and Manny Ramirez (519) .

Delgado leads the National League in home runs (20) and RBIs (60) since June 27, the date of his two-homer, nine-RBI game at Yankee Stadium.

Brewers lose Sheets then the game

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:56:38 -0500

Monday was not a good afternoon if you're a fan of the Milwaukee Brewers. Ben Sheets left the game after five innings due to tightness in his groin and the bullpen was unable to hold the lead and the Brewers lost a tough one to the Mets, 4-2. Sheets was on his way to pitching a gem before the injury sidelined him. He tossed five scoreless innings while only giving up two hits.

Brewers dominate the Cardinals

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 06:21:16 -0500

Ben Sheets picked up his 12th win on the season Tuesday night as the Brewers destroyed the Cardinals, 12-0. Sheets pitched six shutout innings and struck out four while only allowing five hits and walking two. Brian Shouse, David Riske and Eric Gagne each pitched a scoreless inning to finish off the Cards.

Mets will look for that closing arm...

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 18:42:11 -0500

Mike Pelfrey took matters into his own hands last night by pitching a complete game. The bullpen rested and watch the young marvel master his craft in front of 50,000 last night. But the Mets won't have starts like that every game. Billy Wagner has said that he will be back but it is going to take some time, probably 3 weeks. So they will need to close out games whether it comes from what they got or they go out and purchase a rent -a- player for the stretch.

In the last week, the Mets have obtained Luis Ayala and Al Reyes. Luis Ayala has connections with Omar Minaya and Brian Schneider. Minaya was his GM in Montreal/Washington and Brian Schneider was his catcher. Ayala is having a off year but he is not closer material. He is on the team to take the work load from Duaner Sanchez who is still recovering from his injuries in the past. Al Reyes is a guy who used to close out games for the Rays. Al is 38 yrs old and a guy that has not had a good year since 2005, when he was a member of the St.Louis Cardinals. The Mets hope and hold a candle up to the sky praying for a miracle comeback.

So you have to wonder, is Minaya done his duty as a GM to set his team up final run and post season. The Mets have proven commodities that have cleared waivers but it is up to Minaya to pull the trigger.

Before the deadline the Mets discussed Brian Fuentes and Huston Street, now they have rumored to clear waivers.

Huston Street: Billy Beane knows the Mets Farm System better than anyone. Beane would demand a king's ransom for him. But Street's velocity has been down. Street, who admits he struggled with a hip flexor injury during a rough July, feels that he's nearly back to 100 percent healthy according to the team's web site. Can the Mets give up a couple of lower level prospects to get Street? Probably, Not! But he would definitely strengthen the pen , even when Wagner comes back.

Brian Fuentes: This is a guy who would help against lefties, would put pressure on the Phillies Offense because their best two hitters Utley and Howard would have to face him. He can save games and he can set up, like he did for Manny Corpus before he went down with a injury. The Rockies know he is a free agent next year and believe they have a chance to make the playoffs. So if they were to trade him they would like compensation that would get if left for Free agency. He could very well be a Type A or B free agent. That means if the Mets were to get him they would have to give up one of there better prospects and that's not going to happen!

Then there are the B Listers - Guy who used to save games, but don't NOW...This list includes:

Eric Gagne - Gagne has been awful this year, as his walks and home runs skyrocketed and he dealt with rotator cuff tendinitis. Understandably, no one wanted to pay the $2.15MM remaining on his contract.

David Riske

David Weathers - Weathers is owed only $610K on the season, and he has a 2.52 ERA and 2.78 K/BB since the beginning of June. I am quite surprised he cleared waivers.

They Mets have other options in the farm like Robert Parnell, who from reports throws hard and many feel he can benefit from working out of the pen.

Let's see what Minaya does, under what he has said lately he will go with what he has got.. I hope it's enough to make a good run to and through the playoffs..

It's all about the pen

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:40:48 -0500

The Mets have a playoff caliber rotation, solid defense and while the offense tends to drive you crazy when the injured return along with plugging in call up guys it's enough.

But this bullpen now, as it's currently constructed it just not going to get it done in late Sept. and Oct. (if were there). Looking into the minors we don't have a stud waiting to dominate the majors, Muniz and Kunz were projected closers. At 27 y/o Muniz is starting to look like a flop and Kunz just isn't ready. The Mets could promote Parnell or Niese but I'd be surprised if they'd have any better results then Kunz jumping levels this late in the season, in a pennant race.

Beyond that the Zephyrs are using journeyman Nate Field as their closer, the 32 y/o righty has 13 saves with an ERA 4.68, in the majors he has a career 5.12 ERA in 89 games over six seasons ( Royals, Rockies, Marlins). Willie Collazo, Ruddy Lugo and Brandon Knight have been called up to mixed results as starters and relievers.

Ricardo Rincon who is a 38 y/o LOOGY and once dominant relievers in the Indians and A's pen. Rincon has a lifetime 3.58 ERA but last year missed the season and the year before had injury problems while struggling in St. Louis. He is currently pitching in the Mexican league with an ERA of 3.82 in 35 innings, the Diablos are in the Mexican league WS and when it's finished he can return if the Mets want him.

Joel Sherman today takes a look at who has made it through waivers and is available for trade. The Mets aren't interested in Jamie Walker, Eric Gagne or David Riske. Of the three, I was hoping during the off- season the Mets would sign Riske who is still owed 10 mil and is pitching to an ERA of 3.96 as the Brewers set-up man. David Weathers would make alot of sense but he's a type B free agent and the Reds would want too much in return.....

Bill Madden believes Huston Street and possibly Brian Fuentes have cleared waivers but both would cost more then the team is willing to pay.

For his part, Minaya has to hope Wagner's loss can be filled from within because, as he said, "there are few other options" on the outside. Although no closers were dealt at the trading deadline, only Oakland's Huston Street is believed to have cleared waivers. And even though Street is having a subpar season, A's GM Billy Beane is going to want premium prospects back for him. Same thing for Colorado's Brian Fuentes, a free agent after the season who may also have cleared, but is probably not going to be moved. The Rockies have said all along they would have to be overwhelmed rather than just take the two No.1 draft picks as compensation for Fuentes. That's Minaya's dilemma. The price for a closer from outside is prohibitive and, besides, he has pretty much tapped the Mets' system of the kind of prospects it would take to land one. source Daily News

One report has the team putting in claims on anyone who becomes available and in another a quote of Omar admitting they're closely evaluating available relievers. I've said this since he was placed on waivers and now that he's a free agent AL Reyes makes the most sense.......

Around The Web: Manny And Boston

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 22:20:16 -0500

Los Angeles Times-Bill Shaikin suggests that Andruw Jones could use a trip to the minors. I think he could use an outright release.

Mike

Top Ten: Biggest Thieves in Baseball - Pitchers

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 17:45:22 -0500

I started thinking about just how much money the Milwaukee Brewers are flushing away as their prized Closer sits on the bench, since putting him in the game holds the risk of another blown save. More on that later. I realized he was making $10,000,000 dollars this year. He is basically stealing money from the Brewers organization, which I am ok with. So I started wondering, who else is stealing money from their organization and severely underperforming. So bear witness to the Top Ten pitchers who should be wearing little masks with the eyes cut out when they leave the clubhouse. 10) Paul Byrd - Cleveland Indians: $7,500,000 Might be on the higher end of the total salary he actually earns it, well more of it than some of the others on this list. His 4.72 ERA isn't something many brag about but his 122 Innings does help the ....

Red Sox Owner Soon To Be Boston's Most Eligible Bachelor

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 15:15:17 -0500

Ladies, listen up! Are you at home right now, watching re-runs of Facts of Life, drooling over a young George Clooney and asking yourself if you'll ever get your chance with a hunky piece of stud like that? Well, if you can hold out for just a few more days you may get the chance to grab yourself a man once described as, "A cross between James Bond and Mr. Burns." That's right, the beloved owner of the Red Sox, Mr. John William Henry II is getting a divorce from his wife, Peggy Sue, after nearly 10 years of marriage.... continued...

Absolutely DOMINATING

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:29:56 -0500

What else can you say? 4 games series against a team just 1 out. On the road. 4 wins. 4 dominating wins. 3 blowouts. The Cubs finished the sweep of the Brewers this afternoon. It was a laugher. In more ways than one. Jim Edmonds gave the cubs a 1-0 lead in the 2nd with a home run and hit a grand slam in the 4th to make it 5-0. It was 9-1 in the 9th when Eric Gagne came in and threw at Edmonds. Gagne was ejected. The Cubs added 2 more runs and led 11-1 when the bottom half of the inning began. Prince Fielder popped out, broke his bat on the ground, slowly ran to first and then got ejected by the home plate umpire after he began complaining about a previous pitch that was called a strike. Eyre eventually allowed 3 runs and Marshall had to come in to finish it out. cubs won 11-4. 31 runs and 49 hits in the 4 game series for the Cubs. 11 runs and 31 hits for the Brewers.

Memo to P.R. Reps: Newspapers Ads in Player's Former Hometown Is a Bad Idea

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 04:25:33 -0500

I first broached this topic last year when Eric Gagne spurned the Dodgers to sign with the Rangers for a few extra million dollars. Even though he left the Dodgers and their fans high and dry — a year after taking a full season's salary for only like an inning pitched — he decided [...]