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Gagne out as closer

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that, as expected, Eric Gagne has been removed from the closers role for the Brewers. This comes after an awful start to the season for Gagne in which he has blown five saves. He’s obviously extremely frustrated, saying after a loss yesterday that he shouldn’t get the ball in the ninth anymore.

Manager Ned Yost claims that it’s a simple mechanical error that can be easily fixed. Hmm, that would be awfully convenient. Unfortunately for them, I doubt that is the case. Gagne’s stuff has diminished this season, along with his control and poise. His confidence shouldn’t be too bad in a setup or middle relief role, but I’m not sure how he’ll do. If he shows the Brewers that his confidence and control are back, than he could return to being the closer.

For now, though, the Brewers will likely do a closer by committee, determined by the opponent and who is doing well in the bullpen. Guillermo Mota, David Riske, and Salomon Torres figure to get the bulk of save opportunities, being the main set-up men. Torres, in my opinion, is probably the best option and will get the most saves out of the three with his experience. One thing is for sure, and that is that these three will be better than Gagne has been. Maybe the Brewers will find a closer for the entire year out of this group, but it’s unlikely. Therefore, they will probably have to go back to Gagne, as their bullpen might get worse by not having a set guy in the ninth.

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 11th, 2008 at 1:29 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.