Gagne Has Something To Prove
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by user Leslie Monteiro
It was just couple of years ago when everyone hailed Eric Gagne as the best closer in baseball. He had a period in which he saved 84 consecutive games from 2002 to mid-2004.
Gagne was part of the recent trend of hype by the media. Today's professional athletes are overhyped for doing a great job. Guys like Tracy McGrady, Gilbert Arenas, Dwayne Wade, Vince Young, Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush, Josh Beckett, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, Francisco Rodriguez, Sidney Crosby, LaDainian Tomlinson, and Tony Romo all became an invention of hype from the folks of ESPN.
Whatever luster that Gagne had was gone thanks to injuries. His season ended prematurely in the last two years. He had two elbow surgeries in 2005 and this year, he suffered a back injury.
The Dodgers decided to treat him like yesterday news by letting him walk. They offered a 1 million contract offer for one year knowing that he would reject it. They seem to be set with Takashi Saito as their new closer which is why they did not make a serious effort in bringing him back. Gagne sense that too which is why he wanted to move on. He felt disrespected by them.
He signed a contract with the Texas Rangers couple of weeks ago. It was a one year contract worth 6 million with incentives. It was officially finalized last week.
Even though this may have been expected, it is still strange to see Gagne leave Los Angeles. Did anyone thought that he would be closing for the Rangers even when he was a free agent? This just shows how sports can be a cruel business. Dodgers did not think he was worth the money considering he has been hurt. They have decided that it was best to go to another direction. It is sad in so many ways because a player should not be treated that way because he got hurt. There has to be loyalty, but then again loyalty is a two-way street. If the players can not show loyalty, why should the teams.
The Rangers are paying him 6 million to close out games. They expect him to be the pitcher he was with the Dodgers prior to injuries. It will be interesting if he is up to the task. He has not pitched for two full years thanks to being in the disabled list. The question will be if he is rusty and if his speed, velocity, and his stuff will be the same. Things can change for pitchers if they have not pitched for so long.
Texas took a chance on him because they needed someone who could finish the deal in the ninth inning.
Francisco Cordero had an early slump. He never recovered from it so former Rangers manager Buck Showalter decided to swap roles.
Setup man Akinori Otsuka became the new closer and Cordero became the setup man. The move did not work out for either guys.
Cordero was so lousy in that role that the team decided to give up on him. He was traded along with Kevin Mench and Laynce Nix to the Brewers for slugger Carlos Lee, who has a signed a free agent deal with the Houston Astros.
Otsuka was horrible too in that role which is why the Rangers made this move.
This is a great move for the Rangers. A great risk to take. If it fails, it will be an one-year investment. He either will be great or the Rangers can go groom a closer for the future.
Obviously, Gagne wants this to work for the short term and long term. For one thing, if he does well, he can get overpaid like his fellow pitchers. A pitcher now gets 10 million dollar per year as the market rate. He has that incentive to do well for the short term.
He needs to do well this year for long term. If he fails or if he gets hurt again, there is a good chance that his career could be over. No team would want him ever again. Already, there are theories from the fans about him using steroids considering that he is very animated and that he is being built like the Incredible Hulk. They also think he was so bad for years that they wonder how he became so good.
It sure is shocking that the Rangers new closer will not be finishing his fantastic career with the Dodgers. Dodger Stadium will no longer be the same without the scoreboard blinking "Game Over" when he enters the mound from the bullpen. He provided great memories for sure. It is unfortunate that injuries has affected him to pitch. It goes to show people that a player can not be taken for granted. Circumstances like injuries can happen to anyone so fans should enjoy the stars on their team because it could end in a blink.
Gagne knows that sports is a business. He learned it the hard way.
Now, he has to prove that he can manage to stay in Major League Baseball by proving that he can pitch and be healthy as he takes his act to Arlington. The hope is that he can regain that form from what he was from 2002-2004. It is going to be tough for him mentally and emotionally.
He will definitely be an interesting case study for the 2007 season.
He knows that he is pitching for his career.
